Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry

Is they a tranny now?

Roxy Music, and Bryan Ferry are huge in Europe. Not Queen huge, but very big. Some acts don't translate here in The Colonies. T. Rex, David Bowie never were open heart surgeries the way The Rolling Stones are. Just an example: when The Rolling Stones played Seattle in July 1975, 15K tickets sold out in something under six hours. When David Bowie played Portland in February 1976, 10K tix didn't sell out.

In August 1973 T. Rex headlined at the Seattle Paramount. In 1974, T. Rex opened for Blue Oyster Cult.

Bryan Ferry is a genius. Not just his Roxy Music work, his solo albums are great too. “These Foolish Things” & “Dylanesque” are two that deserve multiple listens.

Love is the drug

Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music is one of the acts my folk rock and blues loving dad and my pop and disco obsessed mother both loved.

R4 Love is the Drug was a big hit for Roxy Music.

Not sure of OP’s assertions.

My favorite clip on Youtube, live, with Eno playing wearing gloves.

Agree, both re. RM and BF. Love is the Drug still sounds as fantastic today as it did when it was released 47 (?!?!) years ago.

I love Ferry's moody sophisticated sound especially on albums like Mamouna and Taxi.

[quote] Love is the Drug was a big hit for Roxy Music. Not sure of OP’s assertions.

OP is correct. Love is the Drug was Roxy Music's only Top 40 hit in the U.S., and it peaked at #30. "Kiss and Tell" was Bryan Ferry's only solo Top 40 hit in the U.S., and it peaked at #31. Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music certainly had a cult following in the U.S., but never had much U.S. chart success.

Big fan….

[R7], "Baby Jane's in Acapulco/We are flying down to Rioooooooooooooo."

I like Grace Jone’s cover of Love is The Drug

J’adore Bryan Ferry. So handsome and always beautifully turned out.

I love their version of, "In the Midnight Hour".

‘If there is something’ - early genius

Love love love them/ him.

I like Dance Away by Roxy Music

The Right Stuff (remix) by Bryan Ferry

Roxy Music/BF were many things. RM before Eno left were a challenging, baroque glam-Art band, RM in the 80s was sophisticated adult party soundtrack, BF solo was.... eccentric.

I love all versions, but sometimes in the solo music his "warble" seems too tongue-in-cheek, to ironic. "A Hard Rain is Going to Fall" is not a funny song, but is as he sings it.

Anything on Avalon still makes me want to do drugs and fuck.

Why Eno left?

Love 'em. Saw the Avalon tour. Twenty-nine years later, got to meet and chat w. BF in a Dubai art gallery. Much fun to say, "All these years later, thank you for a great show in Santa Barbara." He remembered that it was at an outdoor venue, said they were tired from doing lots of media stuff in L.A.

Avalon is such a great album. One of the best to come out of the 80’s.

Sophie ward in the Avalon video. She should have had a bigger career. She was very beautiful and and interesting screen presence.

Love bf and rm. My favourite Is “while my heart is still beating” from Avalon.

LOVE this one:

I love " More than This"

^Eno "left" because he got too big for his gold lame' britches. Yes, they are a great, great band. Lately, I've been really astounded at how good "Stranded" still sounds, from beginning to end. Try just the simple song "Sunset," which is just Ferry, an electric piano and viola (??) for continuo. Even the covers of the LPs were ingenious.

Love Roxy Music, my dad listened to it a lot when I was growing up and was surprised when I learned that they were huge in the UK.

Oasis is another band that got nowhere near the love in the US as it did in the UK

👍👍👍

I think the US is too egalitarian to get oasis.

I love early Roxy Music. From 1973 to 1975 they were out of this world. All of the music they made during this period is just incredible. I linked Street Life below which still sounds so far ahead of it's time

Charts don't always tell the full story. Avalon, the final Roxy album, eventually became popular enough to go platinum in the US, and "More Than This," while it never made the Top 40, has endured as a sleeper classic, covered by Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation" and others.

For most of their career they were a cult band in the US though, much like the Velvet Underground. Loved by critics but not broadly popular.

Love them. This track is in my opinion their most underrated.

Love them. This is in my opinion their most underrated song.

My fav too R23.

I enjoy them. I've never dived all that deeply into their full catalogue though I keep meaning to.

He had just dumped the future Bride of FrankenMurdoch

I don't think music gets more dreamily, devastatingly romantic than the three songs in the middle of side 2 of Avalon: "Take a Chance with Me," "To Turn You On," "True to Life." That sequence gives me chills.

The music can be heartbreakingly beautiful. “More Than This” and “Avalon” never fail to take my breath away.

It can also sound very rich, lush, even decadent — that’s why Roxy featured occasionally on “Babylon Berlin,” backdated to a ‘30s eurojazz a ound. The Roxy sound is perfect for strange, perverse, lush Berlin post-Hohenzollern.

Too bad Ferry himself is kind of a rightwing guy, which surprised me, but then again, “conservative” is the UK is more like centrist democrat in the US. Although he’s been known to put his foot in his mouth about the Nazis on occasion as well, lol! No one ever said musicians have to be smart.

I liked him until I found out that he was a Tory with idiot sons who hunted.

She dumped him, [R35].

With Bryan Ferry, I'm still not at the same point as with Morrissey. In the case of the latter, I reached the stage where I had a very hard time separating his work from his increasingly deranged and dangerous political views which he felt the need to air every time he opened his mouth. And, to be honest, his work in the past 20 years just wouldn't justify even looking for that line. With Brian Ferry, I still find enough to enjoy in his music, even in his late career work, and he's not out there being a vile bigot looking for an audience. Interesting how many of the UK pop/rock stars of the 70s and 80s turned out to be cranky old right wingers.

Absolutely love Roxy Music. Especially the early years. They've been a big influence on quite a few bands, but no one has ever come close to how unique, eccentric and romantic Bryan Ferry was/is.

I doubt that Jerry Hall's ends are still burning, more like smudge pots.

What do you think "To Turn You On" is about? I thought it was charming and romantic, now the Internet tells me the singer finds the subject pathetic...

Oh Yeah can bring tears to my eyes.

The first time I heard Ferry was on a flight from Iceland to London on the in-flight entertainment, and this was so long ago they were still using the plastic tube-style system. Upon landing, I immediately went to the first record shop I found and bought "Boys and Girls" to listen to throughout my stay. That album, Bête Noire and Mamouna are still in my heavy rotation list.

I don't really put Ferry in the same category as Morrissey. Ferry has said a few dumb things over the years, most egregiously in support of fox hunting (which I'm sure put him on Mozzer's good side, even though the latter once declared Roxy's For Your Pleasure "the only great British LP") but mostly he stays out of politics. With Morrissey the comments became more vile and more frequent the older he got, coupled with a rancid personality. In particular he really doubled down on the alt-right nationalist shit during the Trump era. At some point he switched from charming, awkwardly asocial eccentric to hateful crackpot. I don't really get that vibe from Ferry.

No fucking shit, r46.

A favorite track

When BF was in the little not-flashy gallery in Dubai, it felt impossibly cool, with people from around the world to include gorgeous Arab men and women, a show of pictures he art directed.

True to Life was playing low in the gallery as he walked in.

If this makes sense, it was like life conjured up a moment of living-in-a-Roxy song reality.

Find a man who looks at you the way Bruce Willis looks at Demi Moore

If that doesn’t ruin that song, nothing will!

My favorite song is Slave to Love. Mondino's music video for it is beautiful.

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

I spent the first year of covid taking a deep dive into T.Rex, Roxy Music, Ferry, Eno, Echo & the Bunnymen, and all the strands that spiraled out from those. I’d listened to a lot of Bowie previous to that, but never the rest of it (mid-thirties). I’d guess I’m not the only one who picked up T.Rex through a Spotify recommendation and wound up in a glam rock wormhole.

Bryan Ferry was gorgeous in his heyday but reading too much about his politics is a turnoff.

R54... I am R53, and I guess that post's link vaporized the post. But I was extolling the accomplishments and value of Eno... his ground breaking solo records in the 70s, his invention of ambient music (he's responsible to the term "ambient music"), his production of some of the most popular music in history (U2, Talking Heads), but even more his own decades of ambient and electronic music, art installations, and critical perspective. No one of his generation has been more productive of the last 20 years (well, Bowie died, so that kind of stopped his production).

So props to Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.

[quote] Too bad Ferry himself is kind of a rightwing guy, which surprised me, but then again, “conservative” is the UK is more like centrist democrat in the US.

Not even close. The Tories may not decry homosexuality and abortion but in every other respect a “Centrist Conservative” is slightly further right than a “Centrist Republican”.

R56 My understanding is that a "centrist conservative" in the UK would never want to get rid of National Health Service. It would be political suicide. Even the "Leave" campaign promised that the financial savings from Brexit would "rescue" NHS. For those in the US, this is a significant difference. No republican, centrist or MAGA, would approve of "socialized medicine."

[quote]My favorite song is Slave to Love. Mondino's music video for it is beautiful.

Agreed; unlike a lot of "glam rock" songs, it still holds up. Same with Avalon. You don't realize how good it is until you listen to the anemic version 100,000 Maniacs (post Natalie) put out. All those songs about disillusionment/nothing gold can stay seem more relevant now than ever.

Bete Noire is a great album. I had the cassette (yes, cassette) in constant rotation in my car the year it came out.

Roxy Music was great. Ferry had a great voice and a good schtick. But Eno is a far more consequential figure to both popular music and the culture in general. And his politics are better too.

Eno's first two, "Here Come the Warm Jets", and "Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy" are in class all by themselves, nothing else has ever approached what they have going on, and the sound of them hasn't aged a bit in 40+ years. The 3rd one, "Another Green World", is also a masterpiece, but is much less deranged-seeming than the first 2. All three are terrific.

Another Green World was "transitional" to the kind of sounds, textures and production that ultimately became his trailblazing ambient work.

"Baby's on Fire".... kind of the "It's a Small World" of 70s art pop. Once it gets in your head, it will never leave.

There is an irony, if not a poetic justice, that this thread about Ferry shifts to a discussion of Eno.

I like both Bryan Ferry and Eno. There's no comparison of their music. They both have such different styles, it's like comparing apples and oranges. It's no wonder both couldn't create music together. And I don't think one is better than the other. Both are unique innovators.

Eno's solo on 'If There Is Something,' from the VIVA! album is an all time classic.

R63 Agreed, comparisons are odious, unnecessary.

Still, I'm curious... we know that Eno had enormous influence on the music of many, many others for decades. What and who did Ferry's "innovations" impact?

I LOVE BF's Boys and Girls album. The first three tracks alone: Sensation (with recognisably outstanding guitar work by Dave Gilmour and less noticeably by Mark Knopfler) was it a single? If not it should have been...then Slave to Love, then Don't Stop the Dance...ahhh...great album.

So many gems already mentioned in this thread for both BF and RM but love Limbo and Kiss and Tell (obviously directed at Jerry after she wrote her memoirs...did anyone read them?) as well by BF. And a second vote for Both Ends Burning, Oh Yeah, Same Old Scene, More Than This, etc... by RM

What about Angel Eyes? Love that RM track

Martini Italy's Y2K commercial+ Bryan Ferry is match made in heaven.

“More Than This” reminds me of senior year college.

“Voodoo’ reminds me of my first summer on Fire Island.

I love everything Roxy Music -so integral to the soundtrack of my life.

The pencil story on CDAN changed how I see Bryan Ferry forever. It’s not an awful thing, but took away the sexy image I had of him. (Has an intern / staff member who goes around his home & office making sure all the pencils are sharpened.) But that’s not all. All pencils must never be longer or shorter than the ideal length that Mr. Ferry has determined !!! Once they grow too short, they must be relegated to somewhere out of Mr. Ferry’s vision! Mr. Ferry does not like short stubby pencils crowding the delicate genius of his mind.

anyway, I LOVE the music!

[R69], if you had to live with Jerry Hall for two years, you'd've walked away with some damage in the top story as well!

R67, if only Naomi had asked Sharon for her plastic surgeon's phone number! Seeing young Naomi reminds me she hasn't aged well at all!

[quote] R56 My understanding is that a "centrist conservative" in the UK would never want to get rid of National Health Service

The NHS doesn’t pay for itself and the Conservatives threaten to privatise it constantly, in fact literally until Boris contacted COVID.

Make no mistake - the Tories in the UK are not fusty, posh, centrist Democrats. They starve their own people and sow racial division to gain power

R71. Naomi has aged quite ok. Speaking of plastic surgery, the girl in the elevator (0:33) in this montage commercial is Nicolette Sheridan.

Roxy Music and Julie Christie - what could be more beautiful

I love Avalon, but the dress Sophie Ward wore in the video is a Lovecraftian abomination. She looks like a whale's clit.

Seeing them tonight in Boston!

I’m a major fan of Roxy Music and especially Bryan Ferry solo!!

A few of my random faves from Roxy Music are: Morher of Pearl, Love is the Drug, Dance Away

A few Bryan Ferry faves: The ‘In’ Crowd, Slave to Love, The Right Stuff (Remix), You Can Dance, Shameless, Loop De Li.

I love Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, too.

I think their music still holds up, even some of the early stuff. My favorite album is Country Life.

The tour's a must-see - wonderful set design, Phil Manzanera's guitar genius, and the ageless Fonzi Thornton on backing vocals.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned "Is Your Love Strong Enough." Hearing that song play in the ad for the movie is why I went to see Legend. I still listen to it regularly.

[quote]T. Rex, David Bowie never were open heart surgeries the way The Rolling Stones are.

🤔

this song was my heartache.

I saw them in concert just last week, at Madison Sq. Garden…a good night trippin’ down memory lane to sexy sounds of my college years. Who could want more than this…?

Demi Moore on "Moonlighting"

Madonna at a Brian Ferry concert in 1988

In 1982 I was 19, had fake student ID, was naive and somewhat shy in college, and had my first apartment, a studio in a rundown building, but it was by the beach. At night I could hear soothing ocean waves. Had a well-paying, part-time job. Bought my first stereo (used). Life was pretty good, but I was sort of lonely. Was in Tower Records browsing on a rainy afternoon, listening to the amazingly atmospheric album the cute clerk was playing. I'd been in several times before (like every payday) and he had turned me on (in addition to himself, lol) to Grace Jones, Thomas Dolby, and the Go-Go's, among others. And he was so nice. I had undeveloped gaydar at the time.

Asked what he was playing. "Avalon" by Roxy Music, which had just come out. Could not believe the next words that came out of my mouth: "Could I get it on cassette? Would you like to listen to it with me at my place sometime?" He stared straight into my eyes and said, "Yes". So much for catching up on studying.

He showed up with a bottle of red wine that evening, wearing cologne. We smoked a joint and drank wine while listening to "Avalon" and then his tongue was in my mouth with my heart pounding. To this day, that album is still the sexiest and most romantic to me. I probably listened to it hundreds of times at home and in my car over the next decade.

Is Bryan still good on stage or has his arteries hardened by now?

i went on a roxy music kick this week and listened to a bunch of their albums straight through, watched a couple live performances. they were truly influential and innovative, Bowie clearly drew a lot from what they were doing as did the post-punk and new romantic movements. Apparently Duran Duran were obsessed with Flesh + Blood when recording their debut. The video I've linked is a fully restored live performance from 1980, with a timestamp that skips to 'The thrill of it all" near the end of the set. Best version of the intense opener to Country Life that I've heard.

My most listened to song in Spotify last year was this ubderrated master piece.

Loved Roxy and Brian solo when I was an arty college boy and in my 20s. Eventually I stopped listening to the solo albums but most of it still sounds pretty good. I had more sustained love for Japan and David Sylvian.

R89 I’ve been meaning to get more into Japan and David Sylvian - do you have a recommendation as far as his solo work? The only Japan album I’ve heard start to finish is Gentlemen take Polaroids, which I liked a lot

You could listen to the compilation "A Victim of Stars" and see what tone of Sylvian appeals to you and then go to the albums. Gentlemen Take Polaroids is great as are the albums before (Quiet Life) and after (Tin Drum).

Who went to these live shows? Please tell us about them

Thanks in advance

Love his music. Hate his politics. His sons appear to be trash but good for him for standing by them.

Bumping this thread as I just fell down a RM rabbit hole. I tried to get into them when I was much younger and went through a glamrock phase (circa Velvet Goldmine), but it didn't really take at the time, apart from a few songs. Now I can appreciate them much more. This has to be one of their best. So atmospheric and creepy...a perfect short story. I love it.