"Children of the Revolution" is a song by

T. Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' liv ...

, written by Marc Bolan. It was a UK No. 2 hit single in September 1972. The song broke their sequence of four official single releases all reaching No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart (" Hot Love", " Get It On", " Telegram Sam", "

Metal Guru "Metal Guru" is a song by the British rock band T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was the band's fourth (and final) number one on the UK Singles Chart when it topped the chart for four weeks from May–June 1972. It was also included on the al ...

"). It did not receive a regular album release.

Recording

"Children of the Revolution"

"Children of the Revolution" was first recorded at Ascot Sound Studios for the film '' Born to Boogie'', and featured

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

on piano and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

on a second drum kit. A longer version of the song, at over twelve minutes in length, was recorded on 31 March 1972 at Copenhagen's Rosenberg Studios during sessions for the band's third album '' The Slider''. Flo & Eddie, formerly of the Turtles, contribute backing vocals to this version of the release. The tape box contained the note that the jam was "for the attention of Ringo". The recording of the single version of the song began during the sessions for the '' Tanx'' album in August 1972. The track was mixed at Air Studios in mid August before being release on 8 September.

"Jitterbug Love"

"Jitterbug Love" was initially recorded on 2 August 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville in France, however only the drum track recorded at this session made it to the final release. Additional instrumentation was added at Air Studios on 11 August 1972.

"Sunken Rags"

"Sunken Rags" was recorded during the last of the sessions for '' The Slider'' at Rosenberg Studios, Copenhagen in March 1972.

Cover versions

In 1986, Violent Femmes released the version of the single from their Album, "The Blind Leading The Naked" The Blind Leading the Naked In 1989, Greater Manchester artist Baby Ford released an acid house version on the Rhythm King record label. This cover was a No. 53 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1989. In 2001, Bono handled lead vocals on a version for Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge and accompanying soundtrack. In June 2020, it was announced that

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

would record a cover of the song along with Marc Bolan's son, Rolan, on backing vocals. The tribute album containing the recording, ''Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex'', was released in September 2020.

Legacy

Outside Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art

Dinaw Mengestu Dinaw Mengestu (ዲናው መንግስቱ) (born 30 June 1978) is an Ethiopian-American novelist and writer. In addition to three novels, he has written for ''Rolling Stone'' on the war in Darfur, and for ''Jane Magazine'' on the conflict in north ...

's 2017 novel ''

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears ''The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears'', is the first novel by the Ethiopian author Dinaw Mengestu. Published in 2007 by the Penguin Group, the novel focuses on the life of Sepha Stephanos, an Ethiopian immigrant living in Washington, D.C. afte ...

'' was originally published in the UK as ''Children of the Revolution'', and includes lyrics from the song within the story. In 2014,

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

vocalist and guitarist Thurston Moore named "Children of the Revolution" as one of his 25 favourite songs.

Chart performance

T. Rex version

Baby Ford version

References

{{authority control 1972 singles 1972 songs EMI Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Songs written for films Songs written by Marc Bolan T. Rex (band) songs Scorpions (band) songs Violent Femmes songs