Roxy Magic

Ferry was born into a working class family and was a son of a coal miner/ farm laborer. Despite Ferry’s family background he pursued a completely opposite career path. He studied fine art at the University of Newcastle and went on to become a pottery teacher at Holland Park School in London. During the late 60s Ferry became involved with several bands including his school band The City Blues and the Beatles influenced group The Banshees.

By 1968 Ferry devoted the entirety of his attention to music and in 1970 he formed Roxy Music with former Banshees members Graham Simpson and John Porter. The band eventually evolved into a lineup consisting of oboist/saxophonist Andy Mackay and keyboardist/sound effects specialist Brian Eno.The band completed it’s final stage of formation after the addition of Paul Thompson and Phil Manzanera and in 1972 they released their first hit “Virginia Plain”.

Roxy Music followed up “Virginia Plain” with a succession of other hit songs and albums. Brian Eno was heavily involved in the production and writing process of Roxy Music; however, after his departure in 1973 Bryan Ferry took full reign of the band. Also by 1973 Ferry started his own solo career in sequence to his work with Roxy Music. Ferry released music profusely throughout the 70s. In 1973 he released his solo album “These Foolish Things” as well as two studio albums “For Your Pleasure” and “Stranded” with Roxy Music. Ferry followed those releases with another solo album “Another Time, Another Place” and an additional Roxy Music album “Country Life”. The following year Ferry put out the album “Siren” with Roxy Music before taking a brief break from the band.

During Roxy Music’s period of inactivity, Ferry released 3 studio albums including: 1976’s “Let’s Stick Together”, 1977’s “In Your Mind” and 1978’s “The Bride Stripped Bare”. He returned to Roxy Music in 1979 and put out three more albums with the group: 1979’s “Manifesto” 1980’s “Flesh + Blood” and 1982’s “Avalon”.

“Avalon” was the last album released by Roxy Music and following the band’s break up Ferry delved back into his solo career, releasing his highest praised album yet “Boys and Girls”. “Boys and Girls” featured a killer lineup of guest musicians ranging from Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler to Chic’s Nile Rodgers. The album was a critical and commercial success, proving to be Ferry’s first album to reach No.1 on the UK charts. Ferry continued the trend of recruiting high profile guitarists (his next album “Bete Noire” featured Johnny Marr of the Smiths).

Ferry released a compilation of cover songs in 1993 entitled “Taxi” and in 1994 released an album of originals entitled “Mamouna”. Ferry’s next release “As Time Goes By” did not come out until 5 years later. The album was a collection of standards and was proceeded by a short promotional tour.

Ferry reconnected with Roxy Music after the release of “As Time Goes By” and embarked on a European and US tour with the band. This touring stint ended the group’s 10+ year hiatus.

Ferry returned to his solo career in 2002 with the release of his album “Frantic”. “Dylanesque” (a collection of Bob Dylan covers) followed in 2007 and featured past collaborators of Ferry such as Brian Eno and Robin Trower.

Through the label Astralwerks he issued his 13th studio album “Olympia” and in 2012 he put out “Jazz Age”, which was a compilation of previously released material spanning Ferry’s career and delivered in 1920s era jazz style.

On his 15th studio album “Avonmore” Ferry stayed true to the classic smooth pop sound he is so recognized for. The album reached No. 19 on the UK charts and included guest spots from Johnny Marr and Nile Rodgers.