Roxy Music
Encyclopedia
Roxy Music was a British art rock
band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry
, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera
(guitar), Andy Mackay
(saxophone
and oboe
) and Paul Thompson
(drums and percussion). Former members include Brian Eno
(synthesizer
and "treatments"), and Eddie Jobson
(synthesizer and violin
). Although the band took a break from group activities in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and have toured together intermittently since that time.
Roxy Music attained popular and critical success in Europe and Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, beginning with their debut album, Roxy Music
(1972). The band was highly influential, as leading proponents of the more experimental, musically sophisticated element of glam
, as well as a significant influence on early English punk
music . They also provided a model for many New Wave
acts and the experimental electronic
groups of the early 1980s. The group is distinguished by their visual and musical sophistication and their preoccupation with style and glamour. Ferry and co-founding member Eno have also had influential solo careers, the latter becoming one of the most significant record producers and collaborators of the late 20th century.
Rolling Stone
magazine ranked Roxy Music #98 on its "The Immortals – 100 The Greatest Artists of All Time" list.
Their music was influenced by other British artists of the time such as The Beatles
, which were Ferry's favourite band and which at the time of Roxy Music's founding had just dissolved after a period of superstardom, King Crimson
, David Bowie
, Elton John
, Pink Floyd
, The Kinks
, The Move
, The Rolling Stones
, Traffic
, The Who
, The Creation
and The Pretty Things
. Eno's "treatments" were influenced by the experimental sound of The Velvet Underground
.
A new studio album, which would have been their ninth, began recording in 2005. It would have been Roxy's first record with Brian Eno since 1973, who wrote two songs for it as well as played keyboards. However, Bryan Ferry eventually confirmed that material from these sessions would be released as a Ferry solo album, with Eno playing on "a couple of tracks," and that he doesn't think they'll record as Roxy Music again. Subsequently, this was confirmed by the announcement of a solo Bryan Ferry album, titled Olympia.
, who were seeking a replacement for departed vocalist Greg Lake
. Although Robert Fripp
and Pete Sinfield decided that Ferry's voice was unsuitable for King Crimson's material, they were impressed with his talent and 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 a saxophonist and oboist, though he did have a VCS3 synthesizer. Mackay had already met Brian Eno
during university days, as both were interested in avant-garde and electronic music. Although Eno was a non-musician, he could operate a synthesizer and owned a Revox
reel-to-reel tape machine, so Mackay convinced him to join the band as a technical adviser. Before long Eno was a member of the group. When Dexter Lloyd, a classically-trained timpani
st, left the band an advertisement was placed in Melody Maker magazine saying "wonder drummer wanted for an avant rock group". Paul Thompson
responded to the advertisement and joined the band in June, 1971. The group's name was partly an homage to the titles of old cinemas and dance hall
s, and partly a pun
on the word rock. Ferry had named the band Roxy originally, but after learning of an American band with the same name he changed the name to Roxy Music.
In October 1971 Roxy advertised in the periodical Melody Maker seeking the "Perfect Guitarist" and Phil Manzanera
was one of about twenty players who auditioned. Manzanera, the son of an English father and a Colombian mother, had spent a considerable amount of time in South America and Cuba as a child and although he did not have the same art school background as Ferry, Mackay and Eno, he was perhaps the most proficient member of the band, with an interest in a wide variety of music. 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
. However, Manazanera would not initially make the band as a guitarist; the successful applicant was David O'List
, former guitarist with The Nice
. The group was impressed enough with Manzanera that he was invited to become Roxy Music's roadie, an offer which he accepted.
The band's fortunes were greatly increased by the support of Melody Maker
journalist Richard Williams
and broadcaster John Peel
. 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 Makers "Horizons" page in the 7 August 1971 edition. This line-up of Roxy Music (Ferry/Mackay/Eno/Simpson/Thompson/O'List) recorded a BBC session shortly thereafter.
. When O'List didn't show for the next rehearsal, Manzanera was asked to come along, on the pretext of becoming the band's sound mixer. When he arrived he was invited to play guitar and quickly realised that it was an informal audition. 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. Two weeks later Roxy Music contracted 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
. Both the album and its famous cover artwork were apparently completed before the group signed with Island Records. A&R staffer Tim Clark records that although he argued strongly that Island should contract them, company boss Chris Blackwell
at first seemed unimpressed and Clark assumed he was not interested. A few days later however, Clark and Enthoven were standing in the hallway of the Island offices examining cover images for the album when Blackwell walked past, glanced at the artwork and said "Looks great! Have we got them signed yet?" The band signed with Island Records
a few days later. The LP was released in June to good reviews and became a major success, reaching #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. He was replaced first by Peter Paul, then by Rik Kenton.
To garner more attention to their album, Roxy Music decided to record and release a single. Their debut single was "Virginia Plain
", which scored #4 in the British charts. The band's eclectic visual image, captured in their 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 parodied by the British comedy series Big Train
. The single caused a renewed interest in the album. Soon after "Virginia Plain", Rik Kenton departed the band, which would never again have a permanent bass player. John Porter
, John Gustafson
, John Wetton
, Gary Tibbs
and Alan Spenner among others would fill the revolving role.
The next album, For Your Pleasure
was released in March 1973. 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. The album was promoted with the non-album single "Pyjamarama", but no album track was released as a single. At the time, Ferry was dating French model Amanda Lear
, who was photographed with a black jaguar for the cover of For Your Pleasure
(Ferry appears on the back cover as a dapper chauffeur standing in front of a limousine
). For this album, John Porter (credited as a guest) played bass, while Sal Maida played bass for subsequent live shows.
, Brian Eno left Roxy Music amidst increasing differences with Ferry about the management of the group. The other members of the band are reported to have shared some of Eno's concerns about Ferry's dominance, but they elected to remain in the group. As well, Johnny Gustafson became the band's permanent 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 Madia, John Wetton and Rick Wills.
Eno, meanwhile, was replaced by 19-year-old multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson
, formerly of progressive rock
ers Curved Air
, who played keyboards and electric violin. Although some fans lamented the loss of the experimental attitude and camp aesthetic that Eno had brought to the band, the classically-trained Jobson was an accomplished musician. His arrival reinvigorated the group, with his keyboard expertise freeing Ferry from his keyboard duties on stage, as well as lending greater refinement to the group's studio recordings. His dazzling electric violin skills added an exciting new dimension to the band's sound, as showcased on the 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 music albums of the period. Rolling Stone referred to the albums as marking "the zenith of contemporary British art rock".
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 seemed to merge 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 who had love affairs with many beautiful women, among them Playboy
playmate Marilyn Cole
(who appeared on the cover of the Stranded
album) and fashion models Amanda Lear
(who would later date David Bowie) and Jerry Hall
(who later became the common-law wife of Mick Jagger
).
On the first two Roxy albums, all songs were written solely by Bryan Ferry. Beginning with Stranded
, Mackay and Manzanera began to co-write some material. Gradually, their songwriting and musicianship became more integrated into the band's sound, although Ferry remained the dominant songwriter; throughout their career, all but one of Roxy's singles were written either wholly or jointly by Ferry. (However, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson did individually write a few of the band's B-sides). 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 U.S. Top 40, albeit at #37. Country Life was met with widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone referring to it "as if Ferry ran a cabaret for psychotics, featuring chanteurs in a state of shock". Their fifth album, Siren
, contained their only U.S. hit, "Love Is the Drug
". (Ferry said the song came to him while kicking the leaves during a walk through Hyde Park
.) At this time Ferry was involved in a relationship with Texas-born supermodel Jerry Hall
. Ferry's paean to Hall, "Prairie Rose", directly inspired the Talking Heads
song "The Big Country" and was later covered by the Scottish rock group Big Country
as a B-side to their single "East of Eden" in 1984. Hall is also featured on the cover of the Siren LP and in the video for Ferry's 1976 international solo success, a cover of Wilbert Harrison
's "Let's Stick Together".
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.
.) The sleeve of Manifesto explicitly identifies the revived Roxy Music line-up as a septet of Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, Thompson, and new members Gary Tibbs (bass), Alan Spenner (bass) and Paul Carrack
(keyboards) However, these newest three members were downgraded to session musician status (as opposed to full band members) on all subsequent releases.
Three singles were spun off from Manifesto, including the major UK hits "Angel Eyes" (UK #4), and "Dance Away" (UK #2). Both these tracks are significantly different from the album versions, as "Dance Away" was remixed for single release, and "Angel Eyes" was entirely re-recorded.
After the tour and before the recording of the next album, Flesh + Blood (1980), Thompson broke his thumb in a motorcycle mishap and took a leave from the band. Soon after, he left permanently.
At this point, Ferry, Mackay and Manzanera became the only permanent members of Roxy Music, and were supplemented by a variety of session players over the next few years (including Tibbs, Spenner, Carrack, Andy Newmark
and Neil Hubbard.) The trio's 1980 album Flesh + Blood became a huge commercial success in their homeland, as the album went to #1 on the UK charts, and spun off three UK hits: "Oh Yeah" (UK #5), "Over You" (UK #5), and "Same Old Scene" (UK #12).
However, the changed cast reflected a distinct change in Roxy's musical style. Gone were the unpredictable elements of the group's sound, giving way to smoother musical arrangements. Rolling Stone panned Manifesto ("Roxy Music has not gone disco. Roxy Music has not particularly gone anywhere else either") as well as Flesh + Blood ("such a shockingly bad Roxy Music record that it provokes a certain fascination"), while other sources praised the reunion. 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
". 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. The song topped the UK charts for two weeks in March 1981, becoming the band's only #1 single.
Later, with more sombre and carefully sculpted soundscapes, the band's eighth—and final—studio album, Avalon (1982), was a major commercial success and restored the group's critical reputation and contained the successful single "More Than This
". The album also included several Roxy Music classics, such as "Avalon," "The Main Thing," "The Space Between," and "True to Life." 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 (see below).
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 #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, whereas "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. 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. 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 performs. The album has, however, been released as a Bryan Ferry solo album entitled Olympia
.
During 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
featuring legendary football referee Pierluigi Collina
.
During July 2006, the band toured Europe. They concentrated mostly on places they had never visited before, such as Serbia
and Macedonia
. Roxy Music's second drummer, Andy Newmark, performed during the tour, as Thompson withdrew due to health issues.
During a March 2007 interview with the Western Daily Press, Ferry confirmed that although the next Roxy Music album is definitely being made, it would not be vended for another "year and a half", as Ferry 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 their new website supporting their new album. Early in the year, Phil Manzanera revealed that the band were planning to sign a record contract. During an October 2007 interview, Ferry said that the album would include a collaboration with Scissor Sisters
.
However in November 2009 Ferry stated that there will be no new Roxy Music record: "It was overly publicized, when Brian Eno and I went into the studio together, that we were re-forming. We worked together for a few days, weeks maybe, and I decided I didn’t really want to do a Roxy thing. It’s going to be a solo record. Brian plays on a couple of tracks though. I don't think we'll record as Roxy again. . . . It would be great to do some more Roxy Music concerts, although I don't think Eno will be involved."
Over the summer of 2010, Roxy Music headlined at various festivals across the world, including Lovebox at London's Victoria Park, Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland, and Bestival on the Isle of Wight. Thompson missed three dates of the tour due to illness, and was once more replaced by Andy Newmark. However, Thompson returned for the band's Bestival set.
In the January 2011 edition of Uncut Magazine, Ferry did not rule out the possibility of new Roxy material, revealing that he would be interested in doing something "more experimental. A soundtrack or something".
Roxy Music 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. The band then toured through Australia and New Zealand between February and March for a further eight shows.
backgrounds of its principal members. 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 focussed on more recent developments — most notably Pop Art
— and explored new concepts such as cybernetics
. As writer Michael Bracewell notes in his book Roxy: the band that invented an era, Roxy Music was created expressly by Ferry, Mackay and Eno as a means of combining their mutual interests in music, modern art and fashion.
Ferry studied at the Newcastle University in the Sixties under renowned pop art
ist and educator Richard Hamilton
, and many of Ferry's university friends, classmates and tutors - e.g. Rita Donagh
and Tim Head
- became well-known artists in their own right. Eno studied at Winchester College and although his iconoclastic style became apparent early and caused some conflict with the college establishment, it also resulted in him meeting important artists and musicians including Cornelius Cardew
and Gavin Bryars
. His interest in electronic music also resulted in his first meetings with Andy Mackay, who was studying at Reading University and who had likewise developed a strong interest in avant garde and electronic music.
The three eventually joined forces in London during 1970–71 after meeting through mutual friends and decided to form a rock band.
Roxy Music was one of the first rock music groups which 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, handbills, cards and badges.
They were assisted in this by a group of friends and associates who helped to sculpt the classic Roxy Music 'look'—- notably fashion designer Antony Price
, hair stylist Keith Mainwaring, photographer Karl Stoecker, the group's "PR consultant" Simon Puxley (a former university friend of Mackay's) and Ferry's art school classmate Nicholas De Ville. Well-known critic Lester Bangs
went so far as to say that Roxy represented "the triumph of artifice".
The band's debut album, produced by King Crimson
's Pete Sinfield, was the first in a series of increasingly sophisticated album covers, art-directed by Ferry in collaboration with his friend Nick De Ville. The album artwork imitated the visual style of classic "girlie" and fashion magazines, featuring high-fashion shots of scantily-clad models Amanda Lear
, Marilyn Cole
and Jerry Hall
, each of whom had romances with Ferry during the time of their contributions, as well as model Kari-Ann Muller who appears on the cover of the first Roxy album but who was not otherwise involved with anyone in the band, and who later married Mick Jagger
's brother Chris. The title of the fourth Roxy album, Country Life, was intended as a parody of the well-known British rural magazine of the same name, and the visually punning front cover photo featured two models (two German fans, Constanze Karoli — sister of Can
's Michael Karoli
— and Eveline Grunwald) clad only in semi-transparent lingerie standing in a forest. As a result, in many areas of the United States the album was sold in an opaque plastic wrapper because retailers refused to display the cover. Later, an alternative cover, featuring just a picture of the forest, was used.
The English group Madness
is amongst the artists that have cited Roxy Music as an influence and have paid tribute to Bryan Ferry in the song "4BF" (the title is a reference to the song "2HB
", itself a tribute to Humphrey Bogart
from the first Roxy Music album
). Other artists who have claimed Roxy Music as an influence include Steve Jones
and Paul Cook
of The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cars, Grace Jones
, Kate Bush
, Adam Ant
, The Human League
, Japan
, Duran Duran
, ABC
, Spandau Ballet
, The Fixx
, Depeche Mode
, Men Without Hats
, Annie Lennox
, Morrissey
, Jarvis Cocker
and Neil Hannon
.
In 1997 John Taylor (Duran Duran
) produced the tribute album Dream Home Heartaches... Remaking/Remodeling Roxy Music. The compilation features Taylor as well as Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode
) and Low Pop Suicide
, among others.
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
(guitar), Andy Mackay
Andy Mackay
Andrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
(saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
) and Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson (musician)
Paul Thompson is the drummer for Roxy Music from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 onwards.In between those stints with Roxy Music, he was drummer in the Oi! band, Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde...
(drums and percussion). Former members include Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and "treatments"), and Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
(synthesizer and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
). Although the band took a break from group activities in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and have toured together intermittently since that time.
Roxy Music attained popular and critical success in Europe and Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, beginning with their debut album, Roxy Music
Roxy Music (album)
Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.-Style and themes:...
(1972). The band was highly influential, as leading proponents of the more experimental, musically sophisticated element of glam
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, as well as a significant influence on early English punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music . They also provided a model for many New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
acts and the experimental electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
groups of the early 1980s. The group is distinguished by their visual and musical sophistication and their preoccupation with style and glamour. Ferry and co-founding member Eno have also had influential solo careers, the latter becoming one of the most significant record producers and collaborators of the late 20th century.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine ranked Roxy Music #98 on its "The Immortals – 100 The Greatest Artists of All Time" list.
Their music was influenced by other British artists of the time such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, which were Ferry's favourite band and which at the time of Roxy Music's founding had just dissolved after a period of superstardom, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, The Creation
The Creation (band)
The Creation were an English rock band, formed in 1966. The most popular Creation song was "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached #8 in the German chart in April 1967. It was later covered by Boney M in 1979, and reached the #10 position in the UK...
and The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
. Eno's "treatments" were influenced by the experimental sound of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
.
A new studio album, which would have been their ninth, began recording in 2005. It would have been Roxy's first record with Brian Eno since 1973, who wrote two songs for it as well as played keyboards. However, Bryan Ferry eventually confirmed that material from these sessions would be released as a Ferry solo album, with Eno playing on "a couple of tracks," and that he doesn't think they'll record as Roxy Music again. Subsequently, this was confirmed by the announcement of a solo Bryan Ferry album, titled Olympia.
Formation and early years (1970–71)
In November 1970, Bryan Ferry, who had recently 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 CrimsonKing Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, who were seeking a replacement for departed vocalist Greg Lake
Greg Lake
Gregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
. Although Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
and Pete Sinfield decided that Ferry's voice was unsuitable for King Crimson's material, they were impressed with his talent and helped the fledgling Roxy Music to obtain a contract with E.G. Records
E.G. Records
E.G. Records was a UK-based artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stand for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair signed on as managers of King Crimson in early 1969, during the formative stage of the band and...
.
Andy Mackay
Andy Mackay
Andrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
replied to Ferry's advertisement, not as a keyboard player but a saxophonist and oboist, though he did have a VCS3 synthesizer. Mackay had already met Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
during university days, as both were interested in avant-garde and electronic music. Although Eno was a non-musician, he could operate a synthesizer and owned a Revox
Revox
ReVox is a brand name of Swiss audio equipment created by Studer on March 27, 1951.The ReVox brand name was spun off into Studer Revox AG in 1990. During Studer's acquisition by Harman International Industries, Revox was sold separately to a group of private investors...
reel-to-reel tape machine, so Mackay convinced him to join the band as a technical adviser. Before long Eno was a member of the group. When Dexter Lloyd, a classically-trained timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
st, left the band an advertisement was placed in Melody Maker magazine saying "wonder drummer wanted for an avant rock group". Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson (musician)
Paul Thompson is the drummer for Roxy Music from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 onwards.In between those stints with Roxy Music, he was drummer in the Oi! band, Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde...
responded to the advertisement and joined the band in June, 1971. The group's name was partly an homage to the titles of old cinemas and dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
s, and partly a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the word rock. Ferry had named the band Roxy originally, but after learning of an American band with the same name he changed the name to Roxy Music.
In October 1971 Roxy advertised in the periodical Melody Maker seeking the "Perfect Guitarist" and Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
was one of about twenty players who auditioned. Manzanera, the son of an English father and a Colombian mother, had spent a considerable amount of time in South America and Cuba as a child and although he did not have the same art school background as Ferry, Mackay and Eno, he was perhaps the most proficient member of the band, with an interest in a wide variety of music. Manzanera also knew other well-known musicians, such as David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, who was a friend of his older brother, and Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
. However, Manazanera would not initially make the band as a guitarist; the successful applicant was David O'List
David O'List
David 'Davy' O'List is a rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter.Most notably, he played with The Attack, The Nice and Jet.- Career :...
, former guitarist with The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
. The group was impressed enough with Manzanera that he was invited to become Roxy Music's roadie, an offer which he accepted.
The band's fortunes were greatly increased by the support of Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
journalist Richard Williams
Richard Williams (journalist)
Richard Williams is a British music and sports journalist.As a writer, then deputy editor, of the weekly rock magazine Melody Maker, he became an influential commentator on the rise of new forms of rock music at the end of the 1960s. Williams and MM, as it was known, helped to promote and...
and broadcaster John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. 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 Makers "Horizons" page in the 7 August 1971 edition. 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 ManagementE.G. Records
E.G. Records was a UK-based artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stand for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair signed on as managers of King Crimson in early 1969, during the formative stage of the band and...
. When O'List didn't show for the next rehearsal, Manzanera was asked to come along, on the pretext of becoming the band's sound mixer. When he arrived he was invited to play guitar and quickly realised that it was an informal audition. 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. Two weeks later Roxy Music contracted with EG Management.
With this team, EG Management financed the recording of the tracks for their first album, Roxy Music
Roxy Music (album)
Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.-Style and themes:...
, recorded in March–April 1972 and produced by King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield
Peter Sinfield
Peter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
. Both the album and its famous cover artwork were apparently completed before the group signed with Island Records. A&R staffer Tim Clark records that although he argued strongly that Island should contract them, company boss Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
at first seemed unimpressed and Clark assumed he was not interested. A few days later however, Clark and Enthoven were standing in the hallway of the Island offices examining cover images for the album when Blackwell walked past, glanced at the artwork and said "Looks great! Have we got them signed yet?" The band signed with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
a few days later. The LP was released in June to good reviews and became a major success, reaching #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. He was replaced first by Peter Paul, then by Rik Kenton.
To garner more attention to their album, Roxy Music decided to record and release a single. Their debut single was "Virginia Plain
Virginia Plain
"Virginia Plain" is a song by British glam rock group Roxy Music, released as their debut single in August 1972. Written by Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry, "Virginia Plain" was recorded by his band in July 1972 at London's Command Studios...
", which scored #4 in the British charts. The band's eclectic visual image, captured in their debut performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, became a cornerstone for the glam trend in the UK; the TOTP video of "Virginia Plain" was later parodied by the British comedy series Big Train
Big Train
Big Train is a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted...
. The single caused a renewed interest in the album. Soon after "Virginia Plain", Rik Kenton departed the band, which would never again have a permanent bass player. John Porter
John Porter (musician)
John Porter is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:He attended St Michael's School, Allerton Grange School, King's College, and Newcastle University....
, John Gustafson
John Gustafson (musician)
John "Gus" Gustafson also known as Johnny Gustafson is an influential bass player who has had a thirty eight year recording and live performance career...
, John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
, Gary Tibbs
Gary Tibbs
Gary Tibbs is a bass guitarist and actor, who appeared in the film Breaking Glass, alongside Hazel O'Connor....
and Alan Spenner among others would fill the revolving role.
The next album, For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure is a 1973 album by the British glam and art rock group Roxy Music, released by Island Records . The band's second album, it was also their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno, who would later gain acclaim as a solo artist and producer.-Production:The group...
was released in March 1973. It marked the beginning of the band's long, successful collaboration with producer Chris Thomas
Chris Thomas (record producer)
Chris Thomas is an English record producer who has worked extensively with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Badfinger, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pulp and The Pretenders. He has also produced breakthrough albums for The Sex Pistols and INXS.Thomas is quoted as saying -Early life:Thomas was...
, 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 album track was released as a single. At the time, Ferry was dating French model Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
, who was photographed with a black jaguar for the cover of For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure is a 1973 album by the British glam and art rock group Roxy Music, released by Island Records . The band's second album, it was also their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno, who would later gain acclaim as a solo artist and producer.-Production:The group...
(Ferry appears on the back cover as a dapper chauffeur standing in front of a limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
). For this album, John Porter (credited as a guest) played bass, while Sal Maida played bass for subsequent live shows.
Stranded, Country Life, Siren, and solo projects (1973–77)
Soon after recording For Your PleasureFor Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure is a 1973 album by the British glam and art rock group Roxy Music, released by Island Records . The band's second album, it was also their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno, who would later gain acclaim as a solo artist and producer.-Production:The group...
, Brian Eno left Roxy Music amidst increasing differences with Ferry about the management of the group. The other members of the band are reported to have shared some of Eno's concerns about Ferry's dominance, but they elected to remain in the group. As well, Johnny Gustafson became the band's permanent 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 Madia, John Wetton and Rick Wills.
Eno, meanwhile, was replaced by 19-year-old multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
, formerly of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
ers Curved Air
Curved Air
Curved Air are a pioneering British progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classic, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements...
, who played keyboards and electric violin. Although some fans lamented the loss of the experimental attitude and camp aesthetic that Eno had brought to the band, the classically-trained Jobson was an accomplished musician. His arrival reinvigorated the group, with his keyboard expertise freeing Ferry from his keyboard duties on stage, as well as lending greater refinement to the group's studio recordings. His dazzling electric violin skills added an exciting new dimension to the band's sound, as showcased on the song "Out of the Blue". Eno himself later acknowledged the quality of the two albums that followed his departure, Stranded
Stranded (album)
Stranded is the third album by art rock band Roxy Music, and was released late 1973, reaching number one on the UK album charts. The cover features Ferry's then girlfriend and 1973 Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole...
(1973) and Country Life (1974), and they are widely regarded as being among the most original and consistent British rock music albums of the period. Rolling Stone referred to the albums as marking "the zenith of contemporary British art rock".
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 seemed to merge 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 who had love affairs with many beautiful women, among them Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
playmate Marilyn Cole
Marilyn Cole
Marilyn Cole was Playboy magazine's January 1972 Playmate of the Month. She was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold, although her pubic hair was partly covered by the shadow cast from the book in her hand, so the first clearly full-frontally nude Playmate of the Month was Bonnie...
(who appeared on the cover of the Stranded
Stranded (album)
Stranded is the third album by art rock band Roxy Music, and was released late 1973, reaching number one on the UK album charts. The cover features Ferry's then girlfriend and 1973 Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole...
album) and fashion models Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
(who would later date David Bowie) and Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall
Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:...
(who later became the common-law wife of Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
).
On the first two Roxy albums, all songs were written solely by Bryan Ferry. Beginning with Stranded
Stranded (album)
Stranded is the third album by art rock band Roxy Music, and was released late 1973, reaching number one on the UK album charts. The cover features Ferry's then girlfriend and 1973 Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole...
, Mackay and Manzanera began to co-write some material. Gradually, their songwriting and musicianship became more integrated into the band's sound, although Ferry remained the dominant songwriter; throughout their career, all but one of Roxy's singles were written either wholly or jointly by Ferry. (However, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson did individually write a few of the band's B-sides). 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 U.S. Top 40, albeit at #37. Country Life was met with widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone referring to it "as if Ferry ran a cabaret for psychotics, featuring chanteurs in a state of shock". Their fifth album, Siren
Siren (Roxy Music album)
Siren is the fifth album by British rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 .In 2003, the album was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
, contained their only U.S. hit, "Love Is the Drug
Love Is the Drug
"Love Is the Drug" is a 1975 single from Roxy Music . Taken from the album Siren it omits the gravel footstep sound effects at the start...
". (Ferry said the song came to him while kicking the leaves during a walk through Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
.) At this time Ferry was involved in a relationship with Texas-born supermodel Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall
Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:...
. Ferry's paean to Hall, "Prairie Rose", directly inspired the Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
song "The Big Country" and was later covered by the Scottish rock group Big Country
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
as a B-side to their single "East of Eden" in 1984. Hall is also featured on the cover of the Siren LP and in the video for Ferry's 1976 international solo success, a cover of Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations...
's "Let's Stick Together".
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
801 Live
801 Live is the debut live album by 801, released in November 1976. In 1976, while Roxy Music had temporarily disbanded, 801 got together as a temporary project and began rehearsing at Island Studios, Hammersmith, about three weeks before their first gig....
album.
Final albums and end (1978–83)
Roxy Music reunited during 1978 to record a new album, Manifesto, but with a reshuffled cast. Jobson was not present, and was reportedly not contacted for the reunion. (At that time, Jobson was touring and recording with his own band UKUK (band)
U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup active from 1977 until 1980.The band was composed of Singer/Bassist John Wetton, formerly of King Crimson, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep, Keyboardist/Electric Violinist Eddie Jobson, formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's...
.) The sleeve of Manifesto explicitly identifies the revived Roxy Music line-up as a septet of Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, Thompson, and new members Gary Tibbs (bass), Alan Spenner (bass) and Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
(keyboards) However, these newest three members were downgraded to session musician status (as opposed to full band members) on all subsequent releases.
Three singles were spun off from Manifesto, including the major UK hits "Angel Eyes" (UK #4), and "Dance Away" (UK #2). Both these tracks are significantly different from the album versions, as "Dance Away" was remixed for single release, and "Angel Eyes" was entirely re-recorded.
After the tour and before the recording of the next album, Flesh + Blood (1980), Thompson broke his thumb in a motorcycle mishap and took a leave from the band. Soon after, he left permanently.
At this point, Ferry, Mackay and Manzanera became the only permanent members of Roxy Music, and were supplemented by a variety of session players over the next few years (including Tibbs, Spenner, Carrack, Andy Newmark
Andy Newmark
Andrew "Andy" Newmark is an American musician, best known as a popular session drummer, and for playing with the funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1972 to 1973....
and Neil Hubbard.) The trio's 1980 album Flesh + Blood became a huge commercial success in their homeland, as the album went to #1 on the UK charts, and spun off three UK hits: "Oh Yeah" (UK #5), "Over You" (UK #5), and "Same Old Scene" (UK #12).
However, the changed cast reflected a distinct change in Roxy's musical style. Gone were the unpredictable elements of the group's sound, giving way to smoother musical arrangements. Rolling Stone panned Manifesto ("Roxy Music has not gone disco. Roxy Music has not particularly gone anywhere else either") as well as Flesh + Blood ("such a shockingly bad Roxy Music record that it provokes a certain fascination"), while other sources praised the reunion. Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
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
Jealous Guy
"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon which first appeared on his 1971 album Imagine. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions, the most notable being Roxy Music's version, which reached number one in several...
". A cover of a song written and originally recorded by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Roxy Music recorded "Jealous Guy" as a tribute to Lennon after his 1980 death. The song topped the UK charts for two weeks in March 1981, becoming the band's only #1 single.
Later, with more sombre and carefully sculpted soundscapes, the band's eighth—and final—studio album, Avalon (1982), was a major commercial success and restored the group's critical reputation and contained the successful single "More Than This
More Than This (song)
-Track listing:CD single#"More Than This " – 3:17#"Clear" - 3:59#"More Than This " - 7:18-Charts:...
". The album also included several Roxy Music classics, such as "Avalon," "The Main Thing," "The Space Between," and "True to Life." 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 (see below).
Reunion (2001–present)
Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, and Thompson re-formed in 2001 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band and toured extensively. A festival performance in Portugal and a short tour of the United States followed in 2003. Absent was Brian Eno, who criticised the motives of the band's reunion, saying, "I just don't like the idea. It leaves a bad taste". Later Eno remarked that his comment had been taken out of context. 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 #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
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
on 11 June 2005, their first UK concert since the 2001–2002 world tour. On 2 July 2005, the band played "Jealous Guy
Jealous Guy
"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon which first appeared on his 1971 album Imagine. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions, the most notable being Roxy Music's version, which reached number one in several...
", "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, whereas "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. 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. 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 performs. The album has, however, been released as a Bryan Ferry solo album entitled Olympia
Olympia (album)
Olympia is an album by the British singer Bryan Ferry, released by Virgin Records on 25 October 2010. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of largely original material since 2002's Frantic. The album features a wide range of contributors, including co-songwriter...
.
Opel Vectra
The Opel Vectra is a large family car that was engineered and produced by Opel. In the United Kingdom, the car was sold under the Vauxhall marque as the Vauxhall Cavalier and later as the Vauxhall Vectra, from 1995 onwards...
featuring legendary football referee Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina is a former Italian football referee. He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association , and is a member of the UEFA Referees Committee...
.
During July 2006, the band toured Europe. They concentrated mostly on places they had never visited before, such as Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. Roxy Music's second drummer, Andy Newmark, performed during the tour, as Thompson withdrew due to health issues.
During a March 2007 interview with the Western Daily Press, Ferry confirmed that although the next Roxy Music album is definitely being made, it would not be vended for another "year and a half", as Ferry had just released and toured behind his twelfth studio album, Dylanesque
Dylanesque (album)
Dylanesque is a 2007 album by Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music´s frontman. It is an album of covers of Bob Dylan songs. As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 11,985 copies in the US and has reached the top 10 on both UK and Swedish album charts.- Track listing :...
, consisting of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
covers.
In June 2007, the band hired a Liverpool based design agency to develop their new website supporting their new album. Early in the year, Phil Manzanera revealed that the band were planning to sign a record contract. During an October 2007 interview, Ferry said that the album would include a collaboration with Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
.
However in November 2009 Ferry stated that there will be no new Roxy Music record: "It was overly publicized, when Brian Eno and I went into the studio together, that we were re-forming. We worked together for a few days, weeks maybe, and I decided I didn’t really want to do a Roxy thing. It’s going to be a solo record. Brian plays on a couple of tracks though. I don't think we'll record as Roxy again. . . . It would be great to do some more Roxy Music concerts, although I don't think Eno will be involved."
Over the summer of 2010, Roxy Music headlined at various festivals across the world, including Lovebox at London's Victoria Park, Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland, and Bestival on the Isle of Wight. Thompson missed three dates of the tour due to illness, and was once more replaced by Andy Newmark. However, Thompson returned for the band's Bestival set.
In the January 2011 edition of Uncut Magazine, Ferry did not rule out the possibility of new Roxy material, revealing that he would be interested in doing something "more experimental. A soundtrack or something".
Roxy Music 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. The band then toured through Australia and New Zealand between February and March for a further eight shows.
Style and legacy
The early style and presentation of Roxy Music was influenced by the art schoolArt school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
backgrounds of its principal members. 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 focussed on more recent developments — most notably Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
— and explored new concepts such as cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
. As writer Michael Bracewell notes in his book Roxy: the band that invented an era, Roxy Music was created expressly by Ferry, Mackay and Eno as a means of combining their mutual interests in music, modern art and fashion.
Ferry studied at the Newcastle University in the Sixties under renowned pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist and educator Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton (artist)
Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
, and many of Ferry's university friends, classmates and tutors - e.g. Rita Donagh
Rita Donagh
Rita Donagh is an artist known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship.Formerly, Rita Donagh taught at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she met Richard Hamilton, whom she later married. She also taught at the University of Reading, the Slade School of Art, and...
and Tim Head
Tim Head
Tim Head is a British artist.Born in London, He studied at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1965 to 1969, where his teachers included Richard Hamilton and Ian Stephenson. His contemporary students included Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry...
- became well-known artists in their own right. Eno studied at Winchester College and although his iconoclastic style became apparent early and caused some conflict with the college establishment, it also resulted in him meeting important artists and musicians including Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew was an English experimental music composer, and founder of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected the avant-garde in favour of a politically motivated "people's liberation music".-Biography:Cardew was born in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire...
and Gavin Bryars
Gavin Bryars
Richard Gavin Bryars is an English composer and double bassist. He has been active in, or has produced works in, a variety of styles of music, including jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, experimental music, avant-garde and neoclassicism.-Early life and career:Born in Goole, East...
. His interest in electronic music also resulted in his first meetings with Andy Mackay, who was studying at Reading University and who had likewise developed a strong interest in avant garde and electronic music.
The three eventually joined forces in London during 1970–71 after meeting through mutual friends and decided to form a rock band.
Roxy Music was one of the first rock music groups which 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, handbills, cards and badges.
They were assisted in this by a group of friends and associates who helped to sculpt the classic Roxy Music 'look'—- notably fashion designer Antony Price
Antony Price
Antony Price is a London fashion designer who is best known for glamorous evening wear and suits, and for the seventies icon of the cap sleeve t-shirt...
, hair stylist Keith Mainwaring, photographer Karl Stoecker, the group's "PR consultant" Simon Puxley (a former university friend of Mackay's) and Ferry's art school classmate Nicholas De Ville. Well-known critic Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
went so far as to say that Roxy represented "the triumph of artifice".
The band's debut album, produced by King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's Pete Sinfield, was the first in a series of increasingly sophisticated album covers, art-directed by Ferry in collaboration with his friend Nick De Ville. The album artwork imitated the visual style of classic "girlie" and fashion magazines, featuring high-fashion shots of scantily-clad models Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
, Marilyn Cole
Marilyn Cole
Marilyn Cole was Playboy magazine's January 1972 Playmate of the Month. She was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold, although her pubic hair was partly covered by the shadow cast from the book in her hand, so the first clearly full-frontally nude Playmate of the Month was Bonnie...
and Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall
Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:...
, each of whom had romances with Ferry during the time of their contributions, as well as model Kari-Ann Muller who appears on the cover of the first Roxy album but who was not otherwise involved with anyone in the band, and who later married Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
's brother Chris. The title of the fourth Roxy album, Country Life, was intended as a parody of the well-known British rural magazine of the same name, and the visually punning front cover photo featured two models (two German fans, Constanze Karoli — sister of Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
's Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli
Michael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can....
— and Eveline Grunwald) clad only in semi-transparent lingerie standing in a forest. As a result, in many areas of the United States the album was sold in an opaque plastic wrapper because retailers refused to display the cover. Later, an alternative cover, featuring just a picture of the forest, was used.
The English group Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
is amongst the artists that have cited Roxy Music as an influence and have paid tribute to Bryan Ferry in the song "4BF" (the title is a reference to the song "2HB
2HB
"2HB" is a song written by Bryan Ferry and included on Roxy Music's eponymous debut album. He also recorded a version for his 1976 solo album Let's Stick Together....
", itself a tribute to Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
from the first Roxy Music album
Roxy Music (album)
Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.-Style and themes:...
). Other artists who have claimed Roxy Music as an influence include Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
and Paul Cook
Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band Sex Pistols.-Early life and career:...
of The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cars, Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
, The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, Japan
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
, Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
, The Fixx
The Fixx
The Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Men Without Hats
Men Without Hats
Men Without Hats is a Canadian New Wave group from Montreal, Quebec. Their music was characterized by the distinctive baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing...
, Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
, Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
and Neil Hannon
Neil Hannon
Neil Hannon is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator and frontman of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy. The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interview as saying, "The Divine Comedy...
.
In 1997 John Taylor (Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
) produced the tribute album Dream Home Heartaches... Remaking/Remodeling Roxy Music. The compilation features Taylor as well as Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
) and Low Pop Suicide
Low Pop Suicide
Low Pop Suicide was an indie rock band of the early 1990s on World Domination Recordings. Rick Boston sang and played guitar. At first, Dave Allen, founder of the record label, played bass and Jeff Ward was on drums. These two left the band and it became a vehicle for Boston. His then girlfriend...
, among others.
Discography
- Roxy MusicRoxy Music (album)Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.-Style and themes:...
(1972) - For Your PleasureFor Your PleasureFor Your Pleasure is a 1973 album by the British glam and art rock group Roxy Music, released by Island Records . The band's second album, it was also their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno, who would later gain acclaim as a solo artist and producer.-Production:The group...
(1973) - StrandedStranded (album)Stranded is the third album by art rock band Roxy Music, and was released late 1973, reaching number one on the UK album charts. The cover features Ferry's then girlfriend and 1973 Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole...
(1973) - Country Life (1974)
- SirenSiren (Roxy Music album)Siren is the fifth album by British rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 .In 2003, the album was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
(1975) - Manifesto (1979)
- Flesh and Blood (1980)
- Avalon (1982)
Members
- Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
– vocals, keyboards (1971–1983; 2001–present) - Andy MackayAndy MackayAndrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
(1971–1983; 2001–present) - Paul ThompsonPaul Thompson (musician)Paul Thompson is the drummer for Roxy Music from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 onwards.In between those stints with Roxy Music, he was drummer in the Oi! band, Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde...
– drums (1971–1980; 2001–present) - Phil ManzaneraPhil ManzaneraPhil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
– lead guitar (1972–1983; 2001–present)
Former members
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– synthesiser, "treatments" (1971–1973) - Graham Simpson – bass (1971–1972)
- David O'ListDavid O'ListDavid 'Davy' O'List is a rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter.Most notably, he played with The Attack, The Nice and Jet.- Career :...
- lead guitar (1971-1972) - Dexter Lloyd - drums (1971)
- Peter Paul - bass (1972)
- Rik Kenton - bass (1972)
- John PorterJohn Porter (musician)John Porter is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:He attended St Michael's School, Allerton Grange School, King's College, and Newcastle University....
- bass (1973) - Eddie JobsonEddie JobsonEdwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
– synthesiser, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
(1973–1976) - John GustafsonJohn GustafsonJohn Gustafson may refer to:*John Gustafson , computer scientist, inventor of Gustafson's Law and Director of Research at Intel Labs*John Gustafson , bassist and vocalist...
- bass (1973-1975) - John WettonJohn WettonJohn Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
- bass (1975-1976) - Paul CarrackPaul CarrackPaul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
- keyboards (1978-1983) - Alan Spenner - bass (1978-1983)
- Gary TibbsGary TibbsGary Tibbs is a bass guitarist and actor, who appeared in the film Breaking Glass, alongside Hazel O'Connor....
- bass (1978-1980) - Andy NewmarkAndy NewmarkAndrew "Andy" Newmark is an American musician, best known as a popular session drummer, and for playing with the funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1972 to 1973....
- drums (1980-1983) - Neil HubbardNeil HubbardNeil Hubbard is a British guitarist who performed with Juicy Lucy , The Grease Band, Bluesology, Joe Cocker, Roxy Music, Kokomo, B.B. King, Kevin Rowland, and Tony O'Malley; and played on the original 1970 concept album, Jesus Christ Superstar....
- guitars (1980-1983) - Jimmy MaelenJimmy MaelenJimmy Maelen was a percussionist in the 1960s-1980s, who worked with many artists including Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Dire Straits, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper and John Lennon...
- percussion (1981-1983)