| Bill Legend | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 May 1944 (age 67) |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Associated acts | T. Rex |
Bill Legend (born William Arthur Fifield, 8 May 1944, Barking, Essex) was the drummer for glam rock band T.Rex during their most successful period.
One of three children, Bill worked as a commercial artist after leaving school, while playing the drums for a variety of bands. He was drumming under his real name for a group called Legend, fronted by Mickey Jupp, when Marc Bolan, the man behind the new-found success of T. Rex, spotted him and asked producer Tony Visconti to approach him.
Bill agreed to give it a try and immediately bought a number of the old T.Rex albums from their days as Tyrannosaurus Rex in order to familiarise himself with Bolan's previous work. At the time, T.Rex had enjoyed their first hit single with "Ride a White Swan". Bolan and his percussionist Mickey Finn had already recruited a bassist in Steve Currie but still needed a drummer to complete the rhythm section of their new electric direction. Bill's first works were playing drums on "Hot Love" and the B-side "Woodland Rock" while T.Rex stayed as a Three-Piece for a short period. So Finn had been forced to mime playing the drums on Top of the Pops when Hot Love was at No. 1.
Legend was given his stage name by Bolan, who suggested the new name, based on the band Legend he had been playing in with Micky Jupp.
Legend played drums for T.Rex on 4 albums ("Electric Warrior", "The Slider", "Tanx" and "Zinc Alloy") until 1973, when the band began to disintegrate after the hits dried up. They had enjoyed four UK No. 1 singles and four UK No. 2 singles in a three year period. Legend reverted to session drumming afterwards.
Bolan (in 1977) and Currie (in 1981) both died in car crashes, Steve Peregrin Took choked to death in 1980, and Finn succumbed to illness in 2003.
As of 2011, Legend is the only surviving member of the 1970-1973 T.Rex lineup. He has seven children, six boys and one girl, and lives in California, U.S.A. He has a brother, David, who used to be a woodwork teacher in Tauranga Boys' College, New Zealand.
Legend also plays drums regularly at Elim Christian Centre, Chelmsford, Essex. Legend has a website, where he tells about his years with T. Rex: [1]
He has a sister, Eileen, who lives in Pitsea, Essex.
Bill got married in 2010, to an American lady, and now lives in California, U.S.A.
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