T. Rex – Jeepster

Electric Warrior cut, Fly single, UK No. 2 without Bolan’s blessing

Jeepster sits as the third track on T. Rex’s 1971 album Electric Warrior, recorded between March and June across Trident and Advision in London, Wally Heider in Hollywood, and Mediasound in New York. Marc Bolan wrote it; Tony Visconti produced. The band is Bolan on guitar and lead vocal, Steve Currie on bass, Bill Legend on drums, Mickey Finn on percussion, with Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (Flo & Eddie) adding backing vocals. Fly Records released the single on 5 November 1971 with Life’s a Gas on the B-side.

The UK chart peak was number 2. The release was tense: Bolan had just left Fly for EMI and his own T. Rex Wax Co. imprint, and Fly pushed Jeepster without his full agreement, which left him reluctant to promote it at home. The song still did the commercial work. On the record you hear a blues-leaning glam cut that Visconti tied to Howlin’ Wolf shapes, with a key jump Bolan added that older blues sides rarely used.

The opening has a physical stamp: Bolan jumping while he played shook microphone stands, and Visconti kept the rattle instead of cleaning it out. The vocal is close and teasing. Guitar stays upfront; the rhythm section keeps a dancing pulse without soft edges. It is glam costume over a boogie chassis, written to move rather than to lecture.