To his fans he was an irreplace-able genius who ushered in the era of glam rock with his glitter and camp clothing, and defined the 1970s with his screeching guitar sounds.

But nearly 30 years after Marc Bolan died in a car accident his unfinished songs have been completed by a tribute band from Glasgow.

Hot Love, named after one of his most famous hits and headed by the guitarist and vocalist Alex “Midge” Peebles, has spent the past six months bringing to life music and lyrics that have been gathering dust for three decades.

Under a deal agreed with Bolan’s estate, the tribute band has turned 39 snippets of music into 15 tracks to be released next month at a party to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the former T-Rex frontman’s death.

Mr Peebles, 48, said yesterday: “It was such a great honour, but at the same time it was really daunting. When I first heard the melodies, I was blown away. But they were only a couple of lines long and we needed to make an album. It was a lot of work.”

Bolan was at the forefront of the glam rock era before he died in a car crash in September 1977, weeks before his 30th birthday. His death left a trail of devastated fans all desperate to hear more of his music. Now Hot Love are hoping they can give the fans what they crave.

Mr Peebles, a father of two, said: “We didn’t want to copy him. We wanted to pay a tribute and introduce a bit of ourselves as well. There has never been anyone like Marc Bolan.”

He was given a CD containing some of Bolan’s last recorded melodies and snippets of lyrics after meeting Andy Gardner, a former head of the Bolan Society fan club, at a charity concert in Glasgow in January.

Mr Gardener said last night: “The music Hot Love have produced is absolutely tremendous. They have done an incredible job and all the Bolan fans who have heard [it] are just amazed.”

The Hot Love tracks are on an album called 21st Century Stance, released on July 21 in Glasgow. Mr Peebles will release the album under his own record label, Unicorn, and is negotiating with record companies over distribution rights.

As part of a series of events to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death, Universal Music will release a special CD in September containing 40 of Bolan’s greatest hits.

As well as being cited as a major influence by Johnny Marr and Morrissey, Bolan’s music has been covered by the Fratellis, and has featured in three films – Moulin Rouge, Jarhead and Billy Elliot.

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