T here are plenty of tribute acts around these days and the pubs of Kent and Sussex are often entertained by the likes of faux Beatles and clichéd Elvis Presley impersonators.

But one Tunbridge Wells venue is welcoming a tribute band with a difference next month.

TooREX are a T-REX and Marc Bolan act who have dedicated themselves to giving Bolan fans the very best live music experience. Starring Bobby T as the charismatic T-REX frontman, the band are all experienced musicians who have been drawn together by a shared love of the legendary 1970s glam rock band.

Caroline Read spoke to TooREX's drummer Steevi.

How was the band formed?

"Bobby's always been a fan of Marc Bolan since he was a kid. A lot of folk commented on how he looked like and sounded like Marc. People who came to see the show thought he even spoke like Marc but it's his real voice. He plays guitar and he even has quite curly hair. And one day he realised he could do what these tribute acts were doing. So he put a band together.

"The band's evolved and the people have changed – like most bands it's been about evolution. And then lots and lots of gigs, playing really dodgy venues, sleeping on floors. I promise you it's such hard work. Jolly hard work, determination and focus – that's how the band was formed."

What was it about Marc Bolan that still has people so bewitched?

"Marc was really one of the first rebel rock stars, we all think. You had Lulu who was safe, Cliff Richard who was safe, Bill Haley: very, very safe.

"We believe that teenagers weren't really invented then. If you go back to our grandparents, they were just carbon copies of their parents. They wore the same clothes, had their parents' hairstyles.

"Marc Bolan smashed all that to pieces. He said 'I'm going to wear make-up'. David Bowie was doing a similar thing but even he wasn't really a pop star monster. Bolan was the bad guy.

"He had the guitar, he had the crazy wild hair, he had the make-up but he had the pop songs – not the heavy rock that people might have expected.

"He was actually a very gentle man. He was the bad guy but he had a heart of gold and all his songs are about love, and about relationships, magic and wizards."

Do your gigs cover the whole of Marc Bolan's career?

"Yes, we go right back to things from the Tyrannosaurus Rex era, like Deborah, and we've just recently been doing By The Light Of The Magical Moon. We finish up in the mid-seventies with the Dandy In The Underworld album and stuff like that. So we touch on everything."

Does the show have lots of make-up and costume changes?

"The guys behind Marc weren't iconic. Mickey Finn was – he had the long hair and the bongos – he was sort of Bolan's right hand man. But yeah, we have the outfits, we have the long hair, the make-up, the glitter. But it's Bobby who has to do all the costume changes."

Which songs go down the best with your audiences?

"The hits really. I Love To Boogie – even youngsters know that because it was on the Billy Elliot soundtrack.

"Kids go 'I've never heard of Marc Bolan' and then it's 'Oh, I know this one – I've got this as my ringtone!'".

What sort of person comes to see TooREX?

"We attract generations. Youngsters come along – the ones who have grown up with it. We also chat to 80-year-old people and they got into it because their children used to play it growing up.

"So many people loved what Marc did. He left behind a very strong legacy. And that's our job, as we see it. We're not responsible for keeping it going but we help to keep it going. We want to help keep those flames burning as brightly as possible."

The Kelsey Arms, Southborough November 14 at 8pm Tickets £10 from 01892 614709 or 07803 940665