See also Biography Index (B) :: Filmography Index (B) :: Discography Index (B)

William Fifield, also known as Bill Legend, was born on 8th May 1944 in East London. His Mum was a beautiful and kind woman and he has very fond memories of her. His Father could be slightly more authoritarian at times, but he had a happy childhood.
When he was 14 he began taking an interest in drums, firstly influenced by a friend at school who played skiffle guitar. He began by simply playing with rulers on desks and then we started our first band together. They spent many evenings in his parent`s kitchen playing with brushes on an old Boys Brigade drum. He had also joined a church group called `Covenenters`, and from the age of 12 had developed a faith and made a commitment as a Christian.
When he was 20 he trained to be an illustrator and this was to be his intended career, but his interest in music and drumming was a big hobby.
He was hugely influenced by early Blues and Rock `n` Roll and didn`t want to be left out, so he concentrated on the rythm - people like Booker T and the MG`s, Elvis, Rick Nelson, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, The Shadows. This was his big `apprenticeship`. Actually, he saw Jimmy Page do one of his first ever gigs when he was 16 years old.
In the year 1968 he formed a group called `The Romford Golden Sunshine Band`, a group of friends producing a one off vynal album of instrumental tracks.
His drumming was always self taught, he applied all that he heard and saw and kept practicing to get it right. he went to see lots of live bands including `Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps`, Johnny Kidd, The Pirates, and `Lord Such & The Savages`
His first proper band was The 4 Zodiacs. They played in and around East London as `The Zodiacs` eventually changing their name to `The Epics`. They made some recordings too. One of which (`Blue Turns To Grey`) Bill actually heard played on the radio recently on Brian Matthew`s `Sound of the Sixties` programme. Other bands Bill played in were `Teen Beats` and `Scorpians`. He also played in backing bands for Billy Fury, Billie Davis and even for an early Freddie Starr.
Then came `Legend` which was lead by Micky Jubb and produced by Tony Visconti. Thee enjoyed some success on the gig curcuit around Southend and London and on the national collage circuit. The band played at the original `Marquee` club long before it bacame famous. Other gigs included the 100 Club, Revolution, The Roundhouse and Ronnie Scott`s. Tony Visconti had offered to produce their first album known as the `Red Boot` for Vertigo Records. They made a 2nd album called `Mooonshine` and released five singles altogether. Tony was also producing T. Rex and David Bowie at the time when he introduced Bill to Marc (Bolan) who was in need of a drummer (having just had a hit with `Ride A White Swan`). His first encounter and recording session with Marc produced `Hot Love` and `Woodland Rock` at Air Studio`s. So there he was - thrown in to a band that were already in the charts. Bill was the oldest in the band and already married with two children when he joined. So this was an unexpected change in life style for him. Marc and Bill had common Rock `n` Roll influences, so he always knew where he was coming from (as it were). Bill loved Jimi Hendrix`s version of `Hey Joe` and Marc loved Hendrix too. Marc bought him a copy of the `Cry of Love` album saying it was "some of Jimi`s finest guitar playing".

His first ever T.Rex gig was in Detroit on their inaugural U.S. tour. They recorded mo