"Telegram Sam" is a song written by

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

for the

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

group T. Rex, appearing on their 1972 album ''

The Slider ''The Slider'' is the seventh studio album by English rock band T. Rex, and the third since abbreviating their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 21 July 1972 by record labels EMI and Reprise. Two number-one singles, "Telegram Sa ...

''. The song was their third UK number one single, remaining at the top of the charts for two weeks before being knocked off the top by "

Son of My Father "Son of My Father" is a song popularised in 1972 by Chicory Tip. The song was originally published in German as "Nachts scheint die Sonne" (''In the Night Shines the Sun''), written by Giorgio Moroder with German lyrics by Michael Holm in 197 ...

" by

Chicory Tip Chicory Tip are an English pop group, formed in 1967 in Maidstone, Kent. The band originally comprised vocalist Peter Hewson (born 1 September 1945, in Gillingham); guitarist Richard "Rick" Foster (born 7 July 1946); bass guitarist Barry May ...

. The lyrics feature numerous figures such as Bobby (who is a natural born poet who is just outta sight), Golden Nose Slim (knows where you been), Jungle Faced Jake (about whom no mistake must be made) and Purple Pie Pete (whose lips are like lightning and are capable of generating a heat power sufficient to liquefy females). Despite their charms, the singer expresses his loyalty to his "main man", the titular Sam. It also contains these lines

wrote to refer to himself: ''Me I funk/but I don't care/I ain't no square/with my corkscrew hair'', a line which industrial rock band

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

would borrow for their song "Me I Funk". The riff is similar in character to their massive hit from the previous year, " Get It On" but in the key of A rather than E. "Telegram Sam" was not as successful as "Get It On" worldwide, and it only peaked at number 67 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Eventually, this was the band's last single charted in the US. "Telegram Sam" was the first single to be issued by Marc Bolan's own T.Rex Wax Co. label, and was released on 21 January 1972. The b-side featured two songs in the UK, "Cadilac" (as printed on the EMI label of the original single) and "Baby Strange", the latter also included in the album ''The Slider''. "Telegram Sam" was written by Bolan about his manager

Tony Secunda Anthony Michael Secunda (24 August 1940 – 12 February 1995)
– accessed 27 March 2012 was an English manager of rock gro ...

(''T''elegram ''S''am = ''T''ony ''S''ecunda) who was his 'main man' in respect of him being Bolan's manager and narcotics supplier. The single was recorded at the Rosenberg Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark in November 1971. In 1980, it was covered by the gothic rock band

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

as a single, which peaked at number 12 in New Zealand. It was also covered by the Croatian punk-rock band Psihomodo Pop.

Personnel

: lead vocals, guitar * Steve Currie: bass guitar * Mickey Finn: congas *

Bill Legend Bill Legend (born William Arthur Fifield, 8 May 1944, Barking, Essex, England) is an English musician and former drummer for glam rock band T. Rex during their most successful period. Biography One of three children, Legend worked as a comme ...

: drums *

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of ...

: backing vocals *

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo ...

: backing vocals *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

: backing vocals

Chart performance

Bauhaus version

"Telegram Sam" is the fourth single released by British gothic rock band

. It was released in 7" and 12" format, the latter featuring a cover of John Cale's "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" as an extra track.

Track listings

;7" Side A: #"Telegram Sam" - 2:08 Side B: #"Crowds" - 3:13 ;12" Side A: #"Telegram Sam" - 2:08 Side B: #"Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" - 5:31 #"Crowds" - 3:13

Song appearances

*The Bauhaus version was used in "What's the Big Deal About Bauhaus?", a 1998 episode of ''

The Ongoing History of New Music ''The Ongoing History of New Music'' is a radio program produced in Canada by Corus Entertainment and hosted by Alan Cross.Bauhaus (band) songs 1980 singles 4AD singles 1972 singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles T. Rex (band) songs Songs written by Marc Bolan Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Fly Records singles Reprise Records singles 1972 songs {{1970s-single-stub