9pm Saturday 20 September

In the early Seventies, Marc Bolan and his band T Rex became the biggest pop phenomena in Britain since the Beatles. They sold millions of records, notching 10 top five UK singles, including Hot Love, Get It On and Telegram Sam, all of which made number one.

But by the end of 1977, Bolan’s success had ended in tragedy. On the morning of 16th September, just two weeks short of his 30th birthday, Bolan’s purple Mini crashed into a tree on Putney Common, South London, killing him and badly injuring his partner, Gloria Jones, who had been driving.

Within hours of Bolan’s death, his flat had been broken into and his papers, letters and receipts stolen. Rumours abounded of lost wills and missing fortunes but Bolan’s two year old son, Rolan, and Gloria Jones saw nothing of Bolan’s supposed riches.  Despite T Rex having sold 39 million records, Bolan’s estate was worth just £10,000.

The whereabouts of Bolan’s lost fortune remains a mystery today.  His stolen papers have never been recovered and, with the exception of a trust fund set up for Rolan’s education, none of his family or friends has seen any evidence of the missing millions.