Telegram Sam

Infobox Single
Name = Telegram Sam


Artist = T. Rex
from the Album = '"The Slider"'
Released = 1972
Format = 7" single
Recorded = 1971
Genre = Glam rock, Proto-punk
Length = 3:45
Label = Fly (UK); Reprise (US)
Writer = Marc Bolan
Producer = Tony Visconti
Chart position =

• #1 (UK)

[Reviews =] *
Last single = "Get It On"
(1971)
This single = "Telegram Sam"'
(1972)
Next single = "Jeepster"
(1972)

Telegram Sam was the third UK number one single for the British rock group T. Rex. It also appeared on their 1972 album The Slider.

Perhaps best known for bringing the term "mainman" into popular cultureFact|date=September 2008, it was number one for two weeks, before being knocked off the top by "Son of My Father" by Chicory Tip (which also kept "American Pie" by Don McLean from reaching #1).

The lyrics feature numerous figures such as Bobby (who's a natural born poet who's just outta sight), Golden Nose Slim (who knows where you been), Jungle Faced Jake (make no mistake) and Purple Pie Pete. It also contains these lines Marc Bolan wrote to refer to himself: "Me I funk / but I don't care/ I ain't no square / with my corkscrew hair", a line which industrial rock band KMFDM would borrow for their song, Me I Funk. The riff is similar in character to their massive hit from the previous year, "Get It On". The songs slashing guitar chords and slurred vocal style prefigure punk rock. Telegram Sam wasn't as successful as "Get It On" worldwide, and it only peaked at #67 in the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1980, it was covered by the gothic rock band Bauhaus as a single.