As their successes grew, their rivalry continued. When Bowie's classic hits "Starman," "John I'm Only Dancing," and "The Jean Genie" reached the No. 10, 12, and 2 spots on the charts respectively, Bolan hit back with two No. 1s with "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" and his own No. 2s with "Children of the Revolution" and "Solid Gold Easy Action."
However, after glam ended, Bolan's career faltered due to drug abuse even as Bowie's continued to explore new areas with the help of such substances. Nothing he released worked, which was part of the reason why Bolan was hosting as music show for children when Bowie was promoting "Heroes". Yet amongst this, Bolan was beginning to find some vitality again. His partner, Gloria Jones, had just given birth to a boy, he was working on his addiction, and he found some popularity with the emerging punk scene. How successful that would've been though, we will never know.
Throughout the put downs and musical one upmanship, however, there was, as their publicist Keith Altham explained to the Daily Mail, some real love between the two: "There was always a certain rivalry. But they were very close. They had what they had between them, they didn't have to prove it to anybody else."
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