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"20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex. Written by Marc Bolan, it peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1973. Considered one of the band's signature songs, "20th Century Boy" has been covered by many artists since Bolan's death in 1977, as well appearing in many commercials and films.

Reception
Although it did not feature on the album, "20th Century Boy" was released as a single three weeks before the release of T.Rex eight studio album, ''Tanx, and became T.Rex tenth hit single, peaking at number three in March 1973 before falling down the charts in in April.

It received mixed reviews upon its initial single release. Melody Maker wrote, "Guitars tremble, Marc howls, and it's gang awa' with another in [Bolan's] series of rhythmic entertainments. There are overtones of 'I Wanna Be Your Man' [...] It's full of nervous energy [and] the beat is more danceable than '[Solid Gold] Easy Action'." NME, one of the harshest critics of T.Rex most recent singles&mdash;"Metal Guru", "Children of the Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action"&mdash;wrote, "[...] I thought they'd lost their touch. But lo and behold, there's Marc's thunder guitar majestically assaulting you. [...] It's his best since 'Telegram Sam' and that can't be bad." Sounds gave the single a negative review and criticised Bolan for not changing T.Rex's musical style enough, before claiming "20th Century Boy" was "another variation on 'Telegram Sam'."

More contemporary reviews of the song have generally been more favourable, however. In its review of the 2002 re-release of Tanx, on which "20th Century Boy" is a bonus track, Pitchfork Media proclaimed it to be "a wallop of glam-punk that remains one of the best singles of the decade." Allmusic also praised it, stating "Never should a tune have been so obviously a number one smash and yet fail to achieve that spot." Allmusic also described it as an "incredibly influential and awe-inspriing [sic] glam anthem" in its review for the Tanx re-release.

Track listing

 * 1) "20th Century Boy"
 * 2) "Free Angel"