"Celebrate Summer" is a song by English rock band T. Rex, which was released in 1977 as a non-album single. The song was written and produced by

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

. "Celebrate Summer" was the last T. Rex release before Bolan's death in a car crash on 16 September 1977.

Recording

"Celebrate Summer" was recorded at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

in April 1977. After the release of T. Rex's twelfth studio album ''

Dandy in the Underworld ''Dandy in the Underworld'' is the twelfth and final studio album by England, English Rock (music), rock band T.Rex (band), T. Rex. It was released on 11 March 1977 by record label EMI Records, EMI. It reached number 26 in the UK charts, the ba ...

'' in March 1977, Bolan spent April recording in Decibel Studios then AIR Studios. From the sessions at AIR Studios, he remixed and partially re-recorded the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

for its upcoming release as a single and recorded "Celebrate Summer" with T. Rex bandmates

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. ...

on bass and Tony Newman on drums. Writing for ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' in 1977, Bolan said, "'Celebrate Summer' has a very definite new wave feel about it. If anyone thinks it is deliberate they are quite right. I know a good thing when I hear it, and am young enough to enjoy adrenalin-rush rock."

Release

"Celebrate Summer" was released by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

on 12 August 1977. It was issued in a special picture sleeve bag. The song failed to garner significant airplay on

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when it was released, but did generate play on

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and

Radio Clyde Radio Clyde is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Radio Clyde is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Bauer, based at studios in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire and forms part of Baue ...

. To promote the single, T. Rex performed the song on Bolan's British TV series ''

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'' on three occasions, with broadcast dates of 24 August, 31 August and 21 September, the latter being a posthumous broadcast after Bolan's death on 16 September. The episode broadcast on 7 September also featured the song being danced to by the dance troupe Heart Throb. In the ''Record Mirror'' Reader's Poll for 1977, "Celebrate Summer" reached number 4 in the 'best single/album sleeve' category.

Critical reception

On its release,

Edwin Pouncey Edwin Pouncey (born June 1951), also known by the ''nom de plume'' Savage Pencil, is an English comics artist, musician, and music journalist. Biography As Savage Pencil and otherwise, Pouncey has contributed to magazines such as '' Sounds'' ...

of '' Sounds'' felt "Celebrate Summer" had a "strong punk influence" and considered it to be Bolan's "best

ingle Ingle may refer to: People * Ingle (surname), includes a list of people with the name * Ingle Martin (born 1982), American former football quarterback Places in the United States * Ingle, California, a community * Ingle, Florida, an unincorporate ...

for ages".

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...

of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' wrote, "For one golden instant I thought Marc had finally pulled off the unalloyed pop triumph that he needs as a convincing viable follow-up to ' Get It On'. This isn't it, but it's certainly the most likeable single he's made for a very long time, even though it borrows the melody and chord sequence of the Deviants' 'Let's Loot the Supermarket'." Robin Smith of ''

'' considered the song to be Bolan "return ngto his former glories". He said, "A sound reminiscent of his early days that takes off faster than a flight of white swans." Stan Sayer of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' commented, "Is Bolan really feeling his age or is he going, tongue in cheek, back in time with this chirpy little rock 'n' roller? The words may be modern, but the beat isn't. Still, a great combination." In a retrospective review of the song, Dave Thompson, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, described the song as "a thunderous re-creation of Bolan's classic old sound fed through the fiery updating of its punk rock legacy". He noted the "simple ingredients" of "pulsing guitar, heart-attack percussion, and a lyric which stands among the key anthems" and believed the song should have achieved "enormous" success. Mark Paytress, in his 2002 book ''Bolan: The Rise and Fall of a 20th Century Superstar'', considered it to be "merely a quirky piece of upbeat pop" with only "a few seconds of blistering white noise guitar" recalling a new wave sound.

Track listing

7-inch single (UK and France) #"Celebrate Summer" – 2:38 #"Ride My Wheels" – 2:28 7-inch single (Germany) #"Celebrate Summer" – 2:38 #"Tame My Tiger" – 2:33

Personnel

T. Rex *

– vocals, guitar, keyboards *

– bass * Tony Newman – drums Production * Marc Bolan – producer

References

{{authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles T. Rex (band) songs Songs written by Marc Bolan Song recordings produced by Marc Bolan EMI Records singles