Master tapes unearthed – and much more...

After almost eighteen months of searching, on Friday 12 November 2004 it was confirmed that the multi-track master tapes from the Empire Pool Wembley concerts had been located, carefully stored in an archive in the West End of London. These are the four 16-track and two 8-track tapes of the two Wembley concerts of 18 March 1972, recorded by Tony Visconti from a mobile facility parked at the venue.

The 16-track tapes contain the full band with complete separation performing the seven electric songs at each show, while the 8-tracks are of Marc’s acoustic performances. When word came through that tapes had been found, a quick phone call was made to New York to ask a question: “Tony, how many tapes should we be expecting to find?” The answer was immediate: “Six!”.

This discovery takes the Born to Boogie project to a whole new level. Tony will be able to mix the concerts to full 5.1 surround sound, from the original master tapes he recorded over 32 years ago. This will give an unparalleled aural experience of T.Rex live in concert. The tapes have been baked; a digital transfer will be made on Monday 22 November. Tony Visconti will undertake the mix at a 5.1 facility he has set up in a New York studio, which he shares with Phillip Glass and David Bowie.

More colour film discovered

In addition, and almost unbelievably, we have also recovered 30 more cans of colour film. These are in very good condition and will be transferred to digital in the next few days, ready for editing. This new find should reveal far more of both concerts in multi-angle full colour, and may also contain elements previously unknown. The cans were stored securely in a secret Apple underground vault, housed in disused railway tunnels under Tottenham Court Road.

Final appeal: interview tapes

We have several audio interviews with Marc Bolan from 1972 in which he talks about Born to Boogie, but none which focus heavily on the topic. (This includes a rare audio tape of the BBC Pebble Mill at 1 interview, from 29/12/72, which is not of sufficient quality to include on the DVD; the BBC has confirmed that no visual recording was made of the interview, which was broadcast live.)

If you have any tapes of interviews with Marc (and Ringo or other relevant people) in which Born to Boogie is discussed, please contact us with details. All information will be treated in confidence.

Designers appointed
Recent exciting project developments also include the appointment of hot London design company Bose Collins to produce the DVD packaging, DVD menus and animation. They fully understand the importance and potential of this release and are approaching the job with huge enthusiasm.