"Roxy Music" were a British Art-rock group founded in the early 1970s as a collaborative project between art school graduate Bryan Ferry (vocals, musical keyboard|keyboards) and electronic music wizard Brian Eno. The group's name was partly a homage to the titles of old cinemas and dance halls, and partly a pun on the word 'rock'. This juxtaposition of nostalgic and contemporary, even futuristic-sounding themes, was a distinctive feature of the band's style of music and general appearance.
Their first single "Virginia Plain", which reached the top three in the British charts, was typical of the band's blend of highly literate lyrics and musical inventiveness, combined with a powerhouse glam rock backbone. During that decade, they emerged as one of the foremost bands of the time. Their influence was significant upon the early British punk movement, as
well as the New Romantic and experimental electronic groups of the early 1980s, and is still felt today to some degree.
Eno left after the group's second album - "For Your Pleasure" - amidst some differences of opinion with Ferry. He was
replaced on keyboards by Eddie Jobson, late of Progressive rockers Curved Air. The main element in the dispute concerned the
amount of control that Ferry exercised over the band. Eno's concerns were shared by other key members such as the classically
trained Andy Mackay (saxophone, oboe), the experienced progressive rock guitarist Phil Manzanera and talented and skillful
drummer Paul Thompson. Manzanera, Thomspon and Mackay were permanent members. The bassist position was vacant. Instead, they
hired new bassists for each record and tour. The other three members elected to remain, however, and gradually their
songwriting was allowed by Ferry to become more integral to the band's direction.
In spite of this, though, right up until their final split in 1982 all of Roxy's singles were written either wholly or
jointly by Ferry, with the exception of their only number one hit, "Jealous Guy", which they recorded as a tribute to John
Lennon shortly after his death. Bryan Ferry is also noted as a solo performer, usually of lounge-lizard style ballads, an art
form which he seems to have made his own in recent times. However, his solo career began in 1973, when still very much a
member of the band, and solo albums alternated with Roxy's releases. Often, Manzanera, Mackay and Thomspon took part in the
recordings of some of his work. Notably when the band was together as a four-piece.
Following their fifth album, "Siren", Roxy Music disbanded temporarily, to come back together with the "Manifesto" album
(minus Jobson) which marked a return to their roots whilst ringing the changes with musical arrangements that predicted their
future direction. During sessions of "Flesh and Blood", Thompson briefly left the band because he broke his thumb during a
motorcycle incident. Instead the album was recorded as a trio and a host with touring musicians.
Generally, their later music is slicker and musically less adventurous than that of the earlier albums; however, Ferry's
apparently effortless elegance and the musical abilities of Mackay, Manzanera and Thompson, are always much in evidence. This
culminated in the sombre perfectionism and beautifully sculpted soundscapes of their final album "Avalon" (for which Paul
Thompson|Paul returned). After that all of the band members pursued simultaneously extensive solo careers.
The original line-up - Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay, and Thompson - reformed in the early 2000s and toured extensively for a
couple of years. Notably, the only significant one-time member missing was Brian Eno. Manzanera and Thompson also recorded
and toured with Ferry on his 2002 album "Frantic".
Discography
"Roxy Music" (1972)
"For Your Pleasure" (1973)
"Stranded" (1973)
"Country Life" (1974)
"Siren" (1975)
"Manifesto" (1978)
"Flesh and Blood" (1980)
"Avalon" (1982)