Cadillac Live at Wembley A Snapshot of T Rex at Rock’s Peak
On the eighteenth of March nineteen seventy two, Marc Bolan and his band T Rex delivered a performance at Wembley’s Empire Pool in London that has since become part of rock history. Among the songs played that night was Cadillac, a gritty and stylish track from the band’s then current repertoire with the album The Slider. Though many live recordings from this era circulate only in limited soundboard form, the footage from the Wembley show remains an important document of T Rex’s live strength during one of their most influential years.
By early nineteen seventy two, T Rex were at the heart of the glam rock movement. Marc Bolan had already propelled the band from folk rock beginnings into mainstream prominence with chart topping singles such as Get It On and Telegram Sam, and by this point the term T Rextasy had been coined to describe the intense fan fervour surrounding them. The Wembley shows were among the first major homecoming performances after significant success in the United States and further solidified their position in British popular culture.
Cadillac itself sits comfortably within the band’s signature sound of the time. With Bolan’s vocals and guitar at the forefront, the song channels straightforward rock energy while maintaining a lyrical touch of cool swagger. Fans have long associated Bolan’s writing with evocative images and romantic ambition, and Cadillac conjures a sense of motion and desire that fit neatly into the broader tapestry of T Rex’s material that year.
The Wembley performance was filmed as part of a larger project that included the feature film Born To Boogie, directed by Ringo Starr. That film and associated footage have helped preserve not just the music, but the on stage presence and charisma that Bolan brought to his live shows. While not every moment from that night has been officially released, Cadillac remains among the songs that represent the rawness and directness of T Rex in their prime.
Live, the band’s interplay was tight and dynamic, driven by Bolan’s confident performance and bolstered by a solid rhythm section that kept the momentum moving. The Empire Pool gig captured a band comfortable with its success yet still pushing forward with energy and flair. The footage carries the immediacy of rock performance at its best: loud, visceral, and unfiltered.
Today, Cadillac and the Wembley recordings stand as historical pieces that remind listeners of the scale of T Rex’s influence in nineteen seventy two. They capture a moment before transformations in music styles and before Bolan’s untimely death in nineteen seventy seven ended one of glam rock’s defining voices.