Roxy Music

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Roxy Music
Roxy Music (2001-present)From left to right: Thompson, Manzanera, Ferry, Mackay
Roxy Music (2001-present)
From left to right: Thompson, Manzanera, Ferry, Mackay
Background information
Origin Flag of England England
Genre(s) Art rock, Glam rock
Years active 1971-1983
2001–present
Label(s) Virgin Records
Associated
acts		 The Explorers
801
Members
Bryan Ferry
Phil Manzanera
Andy Mackay
Paul Thompson
Former members
Brian Eno (1971-1973)
Eddie Jobson (1973-1976)

Roxy Music are an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry (vocals and keyboards). The band existed from 1971 through 1983, then reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and have announced that they will be recording a new album in 2005-2006 for a 2007 release.

The group's name was partly an homage to the titles of old cinemas and dance halls, and partly a pun on the word 'rock.' (Ferry first named the band Roxy, but learning of an American band with the same name prompted the alteration of the name.) The juxtaposition of nostalgic and contemporary (or futuristic) themes was a distinctive feature of the band, particularly in their earliest incarnation. The group is noted for their combination of idiosyncratic experimentation and sophisticated wit, evident in their literate lyrics, restrained instrumental virtuosity, and highly developed visual presentation (mainly directed by Ferry) which expropriated imagery from the realms of high fashion, kitsch, and commercial photography.

During the 1970's, Roxy Music emerged as one of the foremost bands of the time, popular throughout the UK and Europe. In the USA, Australasia and other regions, the band was esteemed by critics and enjoyed an ardent cult following, but they remained little-known among the general public until the 1980s, when they received attention for their John Lennon-tribute "Jealous Guy" that became their biggest hit.

Roxy Music were a significant influence on the early English punk movement, as well as providing a model for many "New Wave" acts and the subsequent New Romantic and experimental electronic groups of the early 1980s. Ferry and co-founding member Brian Eno have also had broadly influential solo careers, and Eno in particular has emerged one of the most significant record producers of the late 20th century, with credits including landmark albums by acts such as Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation and first two albums

In the winter of 1970/1971, ceramics teacher and aspiring rock musician Bryan Ferry advertised for a keyboard player to collaborate with him and Graham Simpson, a bass player he knew from his art college band, "The Gas Board." Earlier in 1970 Ferry had auditioned as lead singer for King Crimson (who were seeking a replacement for departed vocalist Greg Lake) and although Robert Fripp and Pete Sinfield decided that Ferry's voice was unsuitable for King Crimson's material, they were greatly impressed by his talent and they subsequently helped the fledgling Roxy Music to obtain a contract with E.G. Records.

Andy MacKay replied to Ferry's advertisement, not as a keyboard player but as a saxophonist and oboist; however, he did possess a VCS3 synthesiser. Andy met Brian Eno during university days, as both were interested in avant-garde and electronic music. It was some time later that they met again; although Eno was a self-confessed non-musician, he could operate a synthesizer and owned a Revox reel-to-reel tape machine, so Mackay convinced him to join the fledgling band as a technical advisor. It wasn't long before Eno was a performing member of the group. After Dexter Lloyd, a classically-trained timpanist, left the band the group placed an ad in Melody Maker magazine seeking a 'wonder drummer'. Drummer Paul Thompson joined the line-up in June 1971. Soon after that, guitarist Phil Manzanera, replaced former Nice guitarist Davy O'List, making them a six-piece band. With this line-up, the first album "Roxy Music" was recorded in March 1972. After recording the band's first album, Simpson was fired and replaced with Rik Kenton. The album "Roxy Music" was released in June 1972. The album received some nice reviews, and was moderately successful in the charts.

To get more attention to their album, Roxy Music decided to record and release a single. Their debut single "Virginia Plain", which was released on reached #4 in the British charts, was typical of the band's blend of highly literate lyrics, postmodern ironic approach, and musical inventiveness, combined with a powerhouse glam rock backbone which was to exert a strong influence on the generation of musicians who became the leaders of the later punk rock movement. The band's strikingly eclectic visual image, captured in their memorable debut performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops, became a cornerstone for the "glam" trend in the UK; the TOTP video of "Virginia Plain" was later brilliantly parodied by the British comedy series Big Train. The single's chart success caused the album to get attention again, and the album started rising in the charts[1]. Soon after "Virginia Plain", Rik Kenton departed the band.

The next album, For Your Pleasure, was recorded with guest bass player John Porter, and released in March 1973. Although initial reviews were lukewarm, the LP was hugely influential and went on to be recognised as one of the most original and enduring progressive rock recordings of the early 1970s. It also marked the beginning of the band's long and hugely successful collaboration with producer Chris Thomas and recording engineer Bill Price, who worked on all of the group's classic albums and singles in the 1970s. The album was promoted with the non-album single Pyjamarama, but no song of the album was released as a single.

[edit] Stranded, Country Life and Siren

Soon after recording For Your Pleasure, Brian Eno left the band; amidst increasing differences with Ferry over the direction and running of the group and jealousy over the increasing amount of media and public attention that the flamboyant Eno was receiving. The other key members of the band; the classically-trained Mackay, the experienced progressive rock guitarist Manzanera and the hard-pounding drummer nicknamed "The Great" Paul Thompson – are reported to have shared some of Eno's concerns about Ferry's dominance of the band, but they elected to remain in the group.

Eno was replaced by young multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson, late of progressive rockers Curved Air, who played both keyboards and electric violin. Although some fans lamented the loss of the experimental attitude that Eno had brought to the band, the classically-trained Jobson, fresh out of music school, was a far more accomplished musician. His arrival reinvigorated the group, with his keyboard expertise freeing Ferry from his former keyboard duties on stage, as well as lending greater refinement to the group's studio recordings. His dazzling violin skills added an exciting new dimension to their sound, as showcased on their song "Out of the Blue". Eno himself later acknowledged the quality of the two albums that followed his departure, Stranded (1973) and Country Life (1974), and they are widely regarded as being among the most original and consistent British rock albums of the period, and the songs on these albums also cemented Ferry's persona as the epitome of the suave, jaded Euro-sophisticate. Although this persona undoubtedly began as a deliberately ironic device, during the mid-1970s it increasingly merged with Ferry's real life as the working-class miner's son from the north of England became an international rock star, an icon of male style and the partner of a famous supermodel.

John Gustafson toured with the band and played bass on the next three albums. However, neither Gustafson nor Jobson was ever considered a permanent member of the band and they chose to have session musicians fill in on bass duties.

On the first two albums, all songs were written solely by Bryan Ferry. From the band's third album, Stranded, this slightly changed as some songs were co-written by Mackay and Manzarena. Gradually, their songwriting and musicianship became more integrated into the band's sound, although Ferry remained the dominating songwriter, as throughout their career all but one of Roxy's singles were written either wholly or jointly by Ferry. 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 on #37. Their fifth album, Siren, contained their only US hit, "Love is the Drug" (Ferry said the song came to him while kicking the leaves during a walk through Hyde Park). By this time Ferry was involved in a highly publicised relationship with Texas-born supermodel Jerry Hall (who later married Mick Jagger). Hall had a major impact on the group's music and image, being the subject of the influential Roxy song "Prairie Rose" (from Country Life), a song that directly inspired the Talking Heads' song "The Big Country". Hall also featured as the "cover star" of the Siren LP and in the promotional video for Ferry's 1976 international solo hit "Let's Stick Together".

Following the concert tours in support of Siren in 1976, Roxy Music temporarily disbanded. 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.

[edit] First hiatus: emerging solo careers

All members of Roxy Music started solo careers. Ferry's solo career had already began in 1973, while still very much a member of Roxy Music, and his solo albums (mostly containing ironic cover versions of pop standards) alternated with Roxy's releases. Ferry's solo debut These Foolish Things is notable as one of the first (and best) examples of the much-imitated trend which has seen scores of rock musicians recording albums made up of cover versions of songs from earlier eras, which were chosen for their influence on the performer's musical development. The same year, David Bowie's Pin Ups utilised a similar formula, also employed earlier in Ringo Starr's Sentimental Journey.

Manzanera and Mackay undertook solo projects, both of them with Thompson drumming, and Manzanera also played guitar on many of Eno's solo and collaborative recordings of the mid-70s. Phil and Andy, along with Thompson and Jobson, also took part in various of Ferry's solo recordings (some of which included reworkings of old Roxy material) and Manzanera regularly played with Ferry on his solo tours.

[edit] 1978 Reunion

Roxy Music reunited in 1978 to record a new album, Manifesto, but with a reshuffled line-up. Jobson and Gustafson were not present (reportedly they were not contacted for the reunion). After the tour and prior to the recording of the next one, Flesh + Blood, Thompson left the band because he broke his thumb during a motorcycle incident (and soon after that he left permanently). The three remaining core members were supplemented by a variety of session players over the next few years, including Andy Newmark, Neil Hubbard and Alan Spenner.

The changed line-up was reflected in a distinct change in Roxy's music, with the jagged and unpredictable elements of the group's sound giving way to smoother, brooding musical arrangements, culminating in the sombre and carefully-sculpted soundscapes of their eighth and (until their 21st Century reunion) final album Avalon in 1982, which brought them widespread international recognition and was a major commercial success. The trio toured extensively until 1983, when Bryan Ferry dissolved the band and devoted himself full time to a solo career.

[edit] Solo work (1983 – 2002)

After their last album and tour, Mackay, Manzanera, and Ferry all released solo albums. Ferry's solo career has continued uninterrupted; Newmark participated on all of Ferry's subsequent records and tours. Thompson worked as a session drummer for various artists; his post-Roxy session work included such diverse acts as a punk band The Angelic Upstarts on their 1983 album Reason Why and blues-rocker Gary Moore on his Emerald Aisles Live In Ireland tour in 1985, which was released on video. In 1990-91, Thompson replaced Harry Rushakoff as the drummer in Concrete Blonde, during which time they had their biggest hit with the single "Joey."

In 1984, Manzanera and Mackay teamed with vocalist James Wraith to form The Explorers. Signed to Virgin, the band released a self-titled album and a number of singles ("Venus de Milo" and "Falling for Nightlife", the latter of which was not included on the LP version), but none of their material charted in England. Virgin dropped the band while in the studio recording a second album. This eventually emerged in 1990 under the name Manzanera / Mackay. In 1987, Manzanera teamed with former Roxy and King Crimson bassist John Wetton for the LP Wetton/Manzanera.

[edit] Reunion and new album (2001 – present)

Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, and Thompson re-formed in 2001 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band and toured extensively for a couple of years. Absent was Brian Eno, who criticized the motives of the band's reunion. "I just don't like the idea," Eno explained, "It leaves a bad taste."[2] Later Eno remarked that his comment had been taken out of context. Manzanera and Thompson also recorded and toured with Ferry on his 2002 album Frantic. Eno also contributed to Frantic on the track "I Thought".

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the group #98 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[3]

Roxy Music also returned to the stage for a live performance at the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival on Saturday 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001-2002 world tour. On 02 July, 2005, Roxy Music played Jealous Guy, Do the Strand and Love is the Drug at the Berlin contribution to Live8. Only Do the Strand was available on the DVD.

In March 2005 it was announced on Phil Manzanera's official site[4] that the band, including Brian Eno, had decided to record an album of new material, their first since Avalon in 1982. The project would mark the first time Eno worked with Roxy Music since 1973's For Your Pleasure. 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; he did, however, rule out touring with the band.[5] The record will also be the first since Manifesto on which original drummer Paul Thompson performs.

In early 2006, a lesser-known 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. The film featured legendary football referee Pierluigi Collina, whose sartorial elegance somewhat echoed Ferry's. The remix was immediately popular across the continent and the UK, bringing Roxy to a new generation of viewers and fans.

On June 22, 2006, Manzanera confirmed that the album will be ready for 2007 release. It will mark the band's first album since Avalon 25 years ago. Speaking from London to Matt Slys and Todd Richards on the Roxy Music Marathon on 88.3FM The Sting radio show, the guitarist confirmed that an "enormous" amount of work had been done in the studio and that the band were "about to do a record contract". Manzanera also stated that in the past 15 months "about 17 tracks" have been recorded, stating: "I'm not saying they're all good, but some of them are fantastic." He also said that the band are working with more collaborative approach than before, saying that all of them put what they have got "and let's put it into the melting pot and see what we can make of it." Roxy Music second drummer Andy Newmark handled the tour as Paul Thompson withdrew due to health issues.

[edit] Style

Roxy Music was one of the first rock groups who created and maintained a carefully crafted 'look' and style that included their stage presentation, music videos, album and single cover designs and promotional materials such as posters and badges. Their debut album, produced by King Crimon's Pete Sinfield, was the first in a series of increasingly sophisticated album covers, art-directed by Ferry in collaboration with his art school friend Nicholas De Ville.

All of the group's first five LPs deliberately imitated the visual style of classic "girlie" and fashion magazines, featuring high-fashion shots of scantily-clad fashion models such as Amanda Lear and Jerry Hall. Their title of their fourth album Country Life was deliberately intended as a parodic reference to the well-known British rural magazine of the same name and the visually punning front cover photo featured two topless models apparently caught in a candid snapshot in a forest. As a result, the album had to be sold in an opaque plastic wrapper in many areas of the United States because retailers refused to display it.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Roxy Music Discography

[edit] Studio albums

  1. Roxy Music (1972)
  2. For Your Pleasure (1973)
  3. Stranded (1973)
  4. Country Life (1974)
  5. Siren (1975)
  6. Manifesto (1979)
  7. Flesh and Blood (1980)
  8. Avalon (1982)
  9. Upcoming album (2007)

[edit] Live albums

  1. Viva! (1976)
  2. Heart Still Beating (1990)
  3. 2001 World Tour Live CD (Double Album) (2003)

[edit] Band members

[edit] Core members

[edit] Former members

  • Brian Eno– synthesizer and "treatments" (1971-1973)
  • Eddie Jobson – synthesizer and violin (1973-1976)

[edit] Session and touring musicians

  • Graham Simpson – bass (1971-1972)
  • Rik Kenton – bass (1972-1973)
  • John Porter – bass (1973)
  • John Gustafson – bass (1973-1976)
  • Rick Wills – bass (1973-1975)
  • Sal Maida – bass (1973-1975)
  • John Wetton – bass (1976)
  • Allan Spenner – bass (1978-1983)
  • Neil Jason – bass (1979-1982)
  • Gary Tibbs – bass (1978-1980)
  • Zev Katz – bass (2001)
  • Paul Carrack – keyboards (1978-1980)
  • Colin Good – keyboards (2001-present)
  • Dexter Lloyd – drums (1971)
  • Rick Marotta – drums (1979-1982)
  • Steve Ferrone – drums (1979)
  • Simon Phillips – drums (1980)
  • Allan Schwartzberg – drums (1980)
  • Andy Newmark – drums (1980-1983, 2006)
  • Jimmy Maelen – percussion (1982-1983)
  • Roger Bunn – guitar (1971)
  • David O'List – guitar (1971-1972)
  • Neil Hubbard – guitar (1979-1983)
  • Chris Spedding – guitar (2001)
  • Chris Laurence – string bass (1973)
  • Richard Tee – piano (1979)
  • Yanick Ettiene Vocals 1982

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.manzanera.com/RoxyArchive/rm4.htm
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1185763.stm
  3. ^ The Immortals: The First Fifty. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ Phil Manzanera, Expression Records and the Roxy Music Archive. Retrieved on March 11, 2006.
  5. ^ Viva Roxy Music. Retrieved on May 30, 2006.

[edit] References

  • Bracewell, Michael Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Art, Ideas, and Fashion (Da Capo Press, 2005) ISBN 0-306-81400-5
  • Buckley, David The Thrill Of It All: The Story of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music (André Deutsch, 2004) ISBN 0-233-05113-9
  • Rigby, Jonathan Both Ends Burning: The Complete Roxy Music (Reynolds & Hearn, 2005) ISBN 1-903111-80-3
  • Stump, Paul Unknown Pleasures: A Cultural Biography of Roxy Music (Quartet Books, 1998) ISBN 0-7043-8074-9


[edit] External links

Roxy Music
Bryan Ferry | Andy Mackay | Phil Manzanera | Paul Thompson
Brian Eno | Eddie Jobson | Graham Simpson | Paul Carrack | Andy Newmark
Discography
Studio albums: Roxy Music | For Your Pleasure | Stranded | Country Life | Siren | Manifesto | Flesh + Blood | Avalon
Live albums: Viva! | The High Road | Heart Still Beating | Concert Classics | Concerto
Compilations: Roxy Music Greatest Hits | The First Seven Albums | The Atlantic Years | Street Life 20 Great Hits | The Ultimate Collection | More Than This | The Thrill of It All | The Early Years | Slave To Love | The Best of Roxy Music
Related Articles
New Wave music | Glam rock | New Romantic | EMS VCS 3 | Chris Thomas
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