Ferry, Mackay and Eno all had studied at prominent UK art colleges during the mid-to-late 1960s, when these institutions were introducing courses that avoided traditional art teaching practice, with its emphasis on painting, and instead focused on more recent developments, most notably pop art, and explored new concepts such as cybernetics.
Roxy Music were an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead singer and main songwriter—and bass guitarist Graham Simpson.
Ferry frequently enlisted band members as session musicians for his solo releases. Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s.
In 2019, Roxy Music were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ==History== ===Formation and early years (1970–1971)=== In November 1970, Bryan Ferry, who had just lost his job teaching ceramics at a girls' school for holding impromptu record-listening sessions, advertised for a keyboard-player to collaborate with him and Graham Simpson, a bass-player he knew from his Newcastle art-college band, the Gas Board, and with whom he collaborated on his first songs.
In early 1970 Ferry had auditioned as lead singer for King Crimson, who were seeking a replacement for Greg Lake.
Rounding out the original sextet were guitarist Roger Bunn (who had issued the well-regarded solo album Piece Of Mind earlier in 1970) and drummer Dexter Lloyd, a classically trained timpanist.
It marked the beginning of the band's long, successful collaboration with producer Chris Thomas, who worked on all of the group's classic albums and singles in the 1970s.
Multiple Roxy Music songs were featured in the soundtrack to the 2006 BBC fantasy-police drama series Life on Mars set in 1970s Manchester.
In the film, the younger version of Craig's character is also shown dressing up as Bryan Ferry during a flashback scene set in the 1970s.
After learning of an American band with the name Roxy, Ferry changed the name to Roxy Music. Roxy played live through 1971, and recorded a demo tape of some early compositions.
Paul Thompson responded to the advertisement and joined the band in June 1971. Bunn left the group at the end of the summer of 1971, and in October, Roxy advertised in Melody Maker seeking the "Perfect Guitarist".
Williams became an enthusiastic fan after meeting Ferry and being given a demonstration tape during mid-1971, and wrote the first major article on the band, featured on Melody Maker's "Horizons" page in the edition of 7 August 1971.
The second parody was performed by the cast of the comedy quiz show Shooting Stars in 2002 (Series 5, Episode 7), with Vic Reeves as Bryan Ferry, Bob Mortimer as Phil Manzanera, Johnny Vegas as Eno, and Matt Lucas as Paul Thompson. In early April 2021, an image of a purported 1971 letter addressed to "Mr B.
Records artists Atco Records artists Warner Records artists Virgin Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Progressive pop musicians Avant-pop musicians
This success began with their self-titled debut album in 1972.
This line-up of Roxy Music (Ferry/Mackay/Eno/Simpson/Thompson/O'List) recorded a BBC session shortly thereafter. ===First two albums (1972–1973)=== In early February 1972, guitarist O'List quit the group abruptly after an altercation with Paul Thompson, which took place at their audition for David Enthoven of EG Management.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Manzanera had learned their entire repertoire and as a result, he was immediately hired as O'List's permanent replacement, joining on 14 February 1972.
Manzanera also knew other well-known musicians, such as David Gilmour, who was a friend of his older brother, and Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt. Two weeks after Manzanera joined the band, Roxy Music signed with EG Management. With this team, EG Management financed the recording of the tracks for their first album, Roxy Music, recorded in March–April 1972 and produced by King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield.
The LP was released in June to good reviews and became a major success, reaching No. 10 on the UK album chart in September 1972. During the first half of 1972, bassist Graham Simpson became increasingly withdrawn and uncommunicative, which led to his leaving the band almost immediately after the recording of the debut album.
These are the final Roxy Music live performances to date. In 2012, Virgin released a box-set entitled Roxy Music: The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982, celebrating 40 years since the release of the band's debut in 1972. In a Rolling Stone Magazine interview on 3 November 2014, Manzanera stated that Roxy had been inactive since 2011 and were unlikely to perform together again.
In 2005, the band began recording what would have become their ninth studio album—and their first album with Eno since 1973 (he wrote two songs for it and also played keyboards).
Soon after "Virginia Plain", Rik Kenton departed the band, which would never again have a permanent bass player. The next album, For Your Pleasure, was released in March 1973.
Also, John Gustafson became the band's bass player for the next three studio albums, but not always for live shows; though he toured with Roxy on certain dates in 1973 and 1975, other live Roxy bassists of this period (1973–1976) included Sal Maida, John Wetton and Rick Wills. Eno, meanwhile, was replaced by 18-year-old multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson, formerly of progressive rockers Curved Air, who played keyboards and electric violin.
Stranded was released in November 1973, and produced the top-10 single "Street Life". The fourth album, Country Life, was released in 1974, and was the first Roxy Music album to enter the US Top 40, albeit at No. 37.
The project would mark the first time Eno worked with Roxy Music since 1973's For Your Pleasure.
Stranded was released in November 1973, and produced the top-10 single "Street Life". The fourth album, Country Life, was released in 1974, and was the first Roxy Music album to enter the US Top 40, albeit at No. 37.
Also, John Gustafson became the band's bass player for the next three studio albums, but not always for live shows; though he toured with Roxy on certain dates in 1973 and 1975, other live Roxy bassists of this period (1973–1976) included Sal Maida, John Wetton and Rick Wills. Eno, meanwhile, was replaced by 18-year-old multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson, formerly of progressive rockers Curved Air, who played keyboards and electric violin.
Bowie cited Roxy Music as one of his favourite British groups and in a 1975 television interview described Bryan Ferry as "spearheading some of the best music to come out of England." Roxy Music's sound and visual style have been described as a significant influence on later genres and subcultures such as electronic music, punk rock, disco, new wave and new romantic.
Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently over the next few years.
(Ferry said the song came to him while kicking the leaves during a walk through Hyde Park.) After the concert tours in support of Siren in 1976, Roxy Music disbanded.
Their live album Viva! was released in August 1976.
During this time Ferry released two solo records on which Manzanera and Thompson performed, and Manzanera reunited with Eno on the critically acclaimed one-off 801 Live album. ===Final albums and hiatus (1978–1983)=== Roxy Music reunited during 1978 to record a new album, Manifesto, but with a reshuffled cast.
The trio's 1980 album Flesh + Blood became a huge commercial success in their homeland, as the album went to No. 1 on the UK charts, and spun off three UK hits: "Oh Yeah" (UK No. 5), "Over You" (UK No. 5), and "Same Old Scene" (UK No. 12). However, the changed cast reflected a distinct change in Roxy's musical style.
A cover of a song written and originally recorded by John Lennon, Roxy Music recorded "Jealous Guy" as a tribute to Lennon after his 1980 death.
Same Old Scene plays during both the opening and end credits of the 1980 film Times Square, over the closing credits of the 2008 pilot episode for the television series Ashes to Ashes and is featured in a party scene in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The track Love is the drug is featured in 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino.
Melody Maker said, of Manifesto, "...reservations aside, this may be the first such return bout ever attempted with any degree of genuine success: a technical knockout against the odds." In 1981, Roxy Music recorded the non-album single "Jealous Guy".
The song topped the UK charts for two weeks in March 1981, becoming the band's only No. 1 single. Later, with more sombre and carefully sculpted soundscapes, the band's eighth—and final—studio album, Avalon (1982), recorded at Chris Blackwell's Compass Point Studios, was a major commercial success and restored the group's critical reputation and contained the successful single "More Than This".
Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently over the next few years.
The trio (augmented by session players) toured extensively until 1983, when Bryan Ferry dissolved the band, and band members devoted themselves full-time to solo careers. ===Reunions and final dissolution (2001–2011)=== Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, and Thompson re-formed in 2001 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band, and toured extensively.
Records artists Atco Records artists Warner Records artists Virgin Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Progressive pop musicians Avant-pop musicians
Same Old Scene plays during both the opening and end credits of the 1980 film Times Square, over the closing credits of the 2008 pilot episode for the television series Ashes to Ashes and is featured in a party scene in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The track Love is the drug is featured in 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino.
Other artists who have cited or been described as influenced by Roxy Music include Nile Rodgers, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants, U2, the Smiths, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Spandau Ballet, Radiohead, Scissor Sisters, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, Steven Wilson, Garbage, Placebo, Imogen Heap, Goldfrapp, Pulp, the Human League, Todd Terje and Franz Ferdinand. In 1997, John Taylor of Duran Duran produced the tribute album Dream Home Heartaches...
The first parody was performed by the cast of the sketch comedy series Big Train (Series 1, Episode 6) in 1998; in the show's closing sketch, a dying Chairman Mao (played by Kevin Eldon) appears to expire, but then rises from his deathbed to perform "Virginia Plain" in the style of Bryan Ferry, accompanied by the rest of the cast members (plus series co-writer Arthur Mathews) dressed as the members of Roxy Music.
Unknown Pleasures: A Cultural Biography of Roxy Music (Quartet Books, 1998) ==External links== Official Page [ Billboard.com Roxy Music Discography] Art pop musicians English art rock groups English glam rock groups English new wave musical groups English progressive rock groups British soft rock music groups Musical groups from London Musical groups from Newcastle upon Tyne Island Records artists Reprise Records artists Polydor Records artists E.G.
It was also used on a Nissan TV advertisement in 1999.
Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently over the next few years.
The trio (augmented by session players) toured extensively until 1983, when Bryan Ferry dissolved the band, and band members devoted themselves full-time to solo careers. ===Reunions and final dissolution (2001–2011)=== Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, and Thompson re-formed in 2001 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band, and toured extensively.
Eno also contributed to Frantic on the track "I Thought". During 2002, Image Entertainment, Inc., released the concert DVD Roxy Music Live at the Apollo featuring performances of 20 songs plus interviews and rehearsal footage. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the group No. 98 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Roxy Music gave a live performance at the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival on 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001–2002 world tour.
Records artists Atco Records artists Warner Records artists Virgin Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Progressive pop musicians Avant-pop musicians
Manzanera and Thompson recorded and toured with Ferry on his 2002 album Frantic.
Eno also contributed to Frantic on the track "I Thought". During 2002, Image Entertainment, Inc., released the concert DVD Roxy Music Live at the Apollo featuring performances of 20 songs plus interviews and rehearsal footage. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the group No. 98 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Roxy Music gave a live performance at the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival on 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001–2002 world tour.
The second parody was performed by the cast of the comedy quiz show Shooting Stars in 2002 (Series 5, Episode 7), with Vic Reeves as Bryan Ferry, Bob Mortimer as Phil Manzanera, Johnny Vegas as Eno, and Matt Lucas as Paul Thompson. In early April 2021, an image of a purported 1971 letter addressed to "Mr B.
A festival performance in Portugal and a short tour of the United States followed in 2003.
Sofia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translation features Bill Murray's character Bob Harris singing a comedically off-key version of "More Than This" in a karaoke club.
Eno also contributed to Frantic on the track "I Thought". During 2002, Image Entertainment, Inc., released the concert DVD Roxy Music Live at the Apollo featuring performances of 20 songs plus interviews and rehearsal footage. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the group No. 98 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Roxy Music gave a live performance at the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival on 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001–2002 world tour.
The Thrill of It All: The Story of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music (André Deutsch, 2004) Rigby, Jonathan.
In 2005, the band began recording what would have become their ninth studio album—and their first album with Eno since 1973 (he wrote two songs for it and also played keyboards).
Eno also contributed to Frantic on the track "I Thought". During 2002, Image Entertainment, Inc., released the concert DVD Roxy Music Live at the Apollo featuring performances of 20 songs plus interviews and rehearsal footage. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the group No. 98 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Roxy Music gave a live performance at the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival on 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001–2002 world tour.
On 2 July 2005, the band played "Jealous Guy", "Do the Strand", and "Love is the Drug" at the Berlin contribution to Live8; "Do the Strand" is available on the 4-disc DVD collection, and "Love Is the Drug" can be found on the Live 8 Berlin DVD. In March 2005, it was announced on Phil Manzanera's official site that the band, including Brian Eno, had decided to record an album of new material.
Later, an alternative cover, featuring just a picture of the forest, was used. ==Legacy and influence== In 2005, Tim de Lisle of The Guardian argued that Roxy Music are the second most influential British band after the Beatles.
Roxy Music: Both Ends Burning (Reynolds & Hearn, 2005; revised edition 2008) Stump, Paul.
After a number of denials that he would be involved with any Roxy Music reunion, on 19 May 2006 Eno revealed that he had contributed two songs to the new album as well as playing keyboards on other tracks.
Had the record been released as a Roxy Music album, it would have been the first album since Manifesto on which original drummer Paul Thompson performed. During early 2006 a classic Roxy track, "The Main Thing", was remixed by Malcolm Green and used as the soundtrack to a pan-European television commercial for the Opel Vectra featuring celebrated football referee Pierluigi Collina.
Multiple Roxy Music songs were featured in the soundtrack to the 2006 BBC fantasy-police drama series Life on Mars set in 1970s Manchester.
Roxy Music's second drummer, Andy Newmark, performed during the tour, as Thompson withdrew due to health issues, and Oliver Thompson (guitar) made his first appearance with the band. In a March 2007 interview with the Western Daily Press, Ferry confirmed that the next Roxy album was definitely being made, but would not be vended for another "year and a half", as he had just released and toured behind his twelfth studio album, Dylanesque, consisting of Bob Dylan covers.
In June 2007, the band hired a Liverpool-based design agency to develop a website supporting their new album.
In an October 2007 interview, Ferry said the album would include a collaboration with Scissor Sisters. Over the summer of 2010, Roxy Music headlined various festivals across the world, including Lovebox at London's Victoria Park, Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co.
Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Art, Ideas, and Fashion (Da Capo Press, 2007) Buckley, David.
Same Old Scene plays during both the opening and end credits of the 1980 film Times Square, over the closing credits of the 2008 pilot episode for the television series Ashes to Ashes and is featured in a party scene in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The track Love is the drug is featured in 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino.
The track If There Is Something plays a symbolic role in the 2008 drama/coming of age movie Flashbacks of a Fool directed by Baillie Walsh and starring Daniel Craig.
Roxy Music: Both Ends Burning (Reynolds & Hearn, 2005; revised edition 2008) Stump, Paul.
The album was released in 2010 as the Ferry solo album Olympia.
In an October 2007 interview, Ferry said the album would include a collaboration with Scissor Sisters. Over the summer of 2010, Roxy Music headlined various festivals across the world, including Lovebox at London's Victoria Park, Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co.
Rolling Stone originally ranked Roxy Music No. 98 on their greatest artists list ("The Immortals – The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time"), but dropped the group from the list when they updated it in 2011. Roxy Music's final studio album was Avalon (1982), which was certified Platinum in the United States.
It featured contributions from Eno, Manzanera, and Mackay (amongst many other session players). In 2011, Roxy Music played a series of 40th-anniversary shows, but since then they have been inactive as a performing entity.
Owing to illness, Thompson was replaced on three dates of the tour by Andy Newmark, but returned for the Bestival set. Roxy performed seven dates around the UK in January and February 2011, in a tour billed 'For Your Pleasure', to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.
These are the final Roxy Music live performances to date. In 2012, Virgin released a box-set entitled Roxy Music: The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982, celebrating 40 years since the release of the band's debut in 1972. In a Rolling Stone Magazine interview on 3 November 2014, Manzanera stated that Roxy had been inactive since 2011 and were unlikely to perform together again.
Records artists Atco Records artists Warner Records artists Virgin Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Progressive pop musicians Avant-pop musicians
These are the final Roxy Music live performances to date. In 2012, Virgin released a box-set entitled Roxy Music: The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982, celebrating 40 years since the release of the band's debut in 1972. In a Rolling Stone Magazine interview on 3 November 2014, Manzanera stated that Roxy had been inactive since 2011 and were unlikely to perform together again.
These are the final Roxy Music live performances to date. In 2012, Virgin released a box-set entitled Roxy Music: The Complete Studio Recordings 1972–1982, celebrating 40 years since the release of the band's debut in 1972. In a Rolling Stone Magazine interview on 3 November 2014, Manzanera stated that Roxy had been inactive since 2011 and were unlikely to perform together again.
Same Old Scene plays during both the opening and end credits of the 1980 film Times Square, over the closing credits of the 2008 pilot episode for the television series Ashes to Ashes and is featured in a party scene in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? The track Love is the drug is featured in 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino.
In 2019, Roxy Music were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ==History== ===Formation and early years (1970–1971)=== In November 1970, Bryan Ferry, who had just lost his job teaching ceramics at a girls' school for holding impromptu record-listening sessions, advertised for a keyboard-player to collaborate with him and Graham Simpson, a bass-player he knew from his Newcastle art-college band, the Gas Board, and with whom he collaborated on his first songs.
But there's no point in putting it out if it's not great." On 29 March 2019, Roxy Music were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay and Jobson performed a six-song set at the induction ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. ==Style== The early style and presentation of Roxy Music was influenced by the art school backgrounds of its principal members.
And although their popularity has ebbed and flowed, their influence has been strikingly consistent." In 2019, The Economist also described them as "the best British art-rock band since the Beatles", arguing that "among English rock acts of that time, their spirit of adventure and their impact" was "surpassed only" by David Bowie.
More Than This also is danced to by Toni Collette's character in the 2019 mystery film Knives Out and was featured in the Cold War set television show The Americans.
Records artists Atco Records artists Warner Records artists Virgin Records artists Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Progressive pop musicians Avant-pop musicians
The second parody was performed by the cast of the comedy quiz show Shooting Stars in 2002 (Series 5, Episode 7), with Vic Reeves as Bryan Ferry, Bob Mortimer as Phil Manzanera, Johnny Vegas as Eno, and Matt Lucas as Paul Thompson. In early April 2021, an image of a purported 1971 letter addressed to "Mr B.
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