Metal Guru

"Metal Guru"
"Metal Guru"
	German picture sleeve by Ariola label
Single by T. Rex
from the album The Slider
B-side	"Thunderwing"; "Lady";
Released	5 May 1972
Genre	Glam rock[1]
Length	2:25
Label	T. Rex Wax Co.
Songwriter(s)	Marc Bolan
Producer(s)	Tony Visconti
T. Rex singles chronology

"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 album The Slider in 1972.

Despite coming only ten months after the success of "Get It On", it failed to chart in the United States. The song reached No. 45 in Canada in July 1972.

Bolan himself described the song's apparent religious references as this:

Is a festival of life song. I relate 'Metal Guru' to all gods around. I believe in a god, but I have no religion. With 'Metal Guru', it's like someone special, it must be a godhead. I thought how god would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone. I don't answer the phone any more. I have codes where people ring me at certain times.

In 2008, Freaky Trigger placed "Metal Guru" at number 37 in their list of "The Top 100 Songs of All Time".[2]

Track listing

United Kingdom (EMI)

"Metal Guru"
"Thunderwing"
"Lady"

Germany and Spain (Ariola)

"Metal Guru" (2:25)
"Lady" (2:12)

France (Columbia)

"Metal Guru" (3:45)
"Lady" (3:50)

Personnel

Marc Bolan – vocals, guitar
Mickey Finn – percussion, vocals
Steve Currie – bass
Bill Legend – drums
Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman – backing vocals
Tony Visconti – string arrangements
Produced by Tony Visconti

Chart performance

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	10
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[4]	8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5]	45
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[6]	22
France (IFOP)[7]	29
Ireland (IRMA)[8]	1
Norway (VG-lista)[9]	4
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[10]	14
Spain (AFE)[11]	13
UK Singles (OCC)[12]	1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[13]	1

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[8]	27

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14]	80

Cover versions

In 2005, rock band Rooney covered the song for the Herbie: Fully Loaded soundtrack.
"Metal Guru" was covered and recorded by Serbian new wave band Električni Orgazam as a B-side for the band's fourth single "Locomotion" from their cover album Les Chansones Populaires, released in 1983. Srđan Gojković Gile provided the lead vocals for the track. There are no recorded live versions of the song.
Simon Goddard has said that "Panic" by The Smiths mimics "Metal Guru,[15] while John Luerssen calls the song Johnny Marr's homage to the T. Rex song.[16]
American indie rock band Louis XIV were heavily influenced by this song when writing "A Letter to Dominique" from The Best Little Secrets Are Kept.
German Singer Nena covered the song in 2020

References

Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 822. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Bolan (...) started writing manic chant-along glam-rock hits such as "Metal Guru," "20th Century Boy," "Solid Gold Easy Action," and "Children of the Revolution."
Baran, Pete (18 November 2008). "FT Top 100 Tracks of All Time: 37: T-REX – Metal Guru". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
"Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
"Go-Set Australian charts – 12 August 1972". Go-Set. Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"Top RPM Singles: Issue 7680." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"Forum – General – Finnish singles chart archive". Finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
"InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "T. Rex" from the artist drop-down menu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Metal Guru". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"T. Rex – Metal Guru". VG-lista. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (T)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
"Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
"Offiziellecharts.de – T. Rex – Metal Guru" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON T. Rex"
"Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
Goddard 2002, p. 195.
Luerssen 2015, p. 220.

Bibliography

Goddard, Simon (2002). The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life. Richmond: Reynolds & Hern Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-47-1. OCLC 1280821539 – via the Internet Archive.
Luerssen, John D. (2015). The Smiths FAQ. Montclair, NJ: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4803-9449-0 – via the Internet Archive.

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[1] Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 822. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Bolan (...) started writing manic chant-along glam-rock hits such as "Metal Guru," "20th Century Boy," "Solid Gold Easy Action," and "Children of the Revolution."

[2] Baran, Pete (18 November 2008). "FT Top 100 Tracks of All Time: 37: T-REX – Metal Guru". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

[3] "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.

[4] "Go-Set Australian charts – 12 August 1972". Go-Set. Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-5] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7680." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[6] "Forum – General – Finnish singles chart archive". Finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.

[7] "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "T. Rex" from the artist drop-down menu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[sc_Ireland2_-8] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Metal Guru". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[sc_Norway_T._Rex-9] "T. Rex – Metal Guru". VG-lista. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[10] "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (T)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 18 February 2014.

[11] Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.

[sc_UK_-12] "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

[sc_West_Germany_T._Rex-13] "Offiziellecharts.de – T. Rex – Metal Guru" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON T. Rex"

[14] "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014.

[FOOTNOTEGoddard2002195-15] Goddard 2002, p. 195.

[FOOTNOTELuerssen2015220-16] Luerssen 2015, p. 220.