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Roxy Music |
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| Winter 70/71: |
Bryan Ferry has the idea of founding a
group with Graham Simpson on bass. He advertises for a keyboard player
but gets Andy Mackay instead, who plays sax and oboe and also has a synthesizer.
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| January 71: |
Andy Mackay meets Brian Eno by chance
and recruits him as "technical advisor" for the group, because
he has a Revox reel-to-reel tape machine. Eno slowly but steadily becomes
a member of the group. Rehearsals continue through the year. Classically
trained timpanist Dexter Lloyd is employed, but leaves after a few demo
sessions. |
| June 71: |
Paul Thompson joins as a drummer; some
other musicians sit in, but do not become permanent members. Roger Bunn
joins on guitar, but leaves again in September. |
| September 71: |
Phil Manzanera answers the advertisement
for a guitarist and jams with Roxy Music but fails the recruitment, as
Ferry gets his favoured guitarist David O'List, who played with The Nice
and October. Manzanera becomes assistant sound-mixer and road manager.
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| October 71: |
The now complete group is called Roxy
but because an american group has the same name, they change it to Roxy
Music. Bryan Ferry is trying to get a contract, but no record company wants
to buy the demos. |
| November & December 1971 |
Roxy Music play pre-Christmas gigs at
private functions only, including the Tate Gallery and the "End of
Term Bash" at Reading University. |
| December 1971: |
Richard Williams, a journalist
from the British music weekly Melody Maker gets hold of a demo and writes
a most important feature in favour of Roxy Music in the MM's edition of
December 12, 1971. |
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The band get a booking on John Peel's
"Sound of the Seventies" (first show on 21/1/72) for 4 shows.
They also appear at the "100 Club" in London. As they are not
making a lot of money, Ferry is still teaching two days a week, Thompson
is employed on a building site and Mackay is still teaching music at Holland
Park and driving the van with the gear. |
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At the gigs, Eno and Manzanera do not
appear on stage, but are seated behind the mixing desk at the back of the
venue. This means that Eno is free to sing harmony, to work on the mixer
and play synthesizer and "special treatments". |
| January 72: |
Ferry approaches E.G. Management through
the help of King Crimson's Robert Fripp. E. G. don't want the group, only
Ferry is considered as a valuable deal. E. G. are persuaded to audition
Roxy Music in Wandsworth and after that they sign the group. Within a week,
Roxy Music also sign with Island Records. |
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David O'List is ousted from the group
after the first John Peel Show, because his playing style is not considered
suitable for the kind of music that Roxy Music is going to produce.
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| February 72: |
Phil Manzanera is now asked to join as
a guitarist after three days of auditioning, as he is familiar with the
material they are playing. |
| March 72: |
The first LP is completed with producer
Pete Sinfield at "Command Studios" in London. The image-making
flashy clothes are bought with a large advance from Island Records. Some
gigs are played in small clubs. |
| May 72: |
One week before the first official appearance
at the "Great Western Pop Festival", Graham Simpson leaves the
group after a bout of depression, a nervous breakdown and becoming involved
in Sufism, an Eastern religion. This is the start of the "Group with
no Permanent Bass Player" dilemma. Ferry recruits John Porter, who
was not proficient enough, so Pete Sinfield gets Rik Kenton to join. He
stays 8 months with an unclear status, but most possibly is merely a session
player. |
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In the last week of May, Roxy Music also
appear at the "GWEPF" in Lincoln. |
| 23/6/72: |
The debut LP is released and receives
tremendous reviews in New Musical Express and Melody Maker, reaching No.
6 in English charts. No single was released from this LP at that time,
which was a strange way of trying to break a new group. |
| 25/6/72: |
Support act for David Bowie at Croydon.
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| 30/6/72: |
Support act for Alice Cooper at Wembley
Empire Pool. |
| July 72: |
The band play the "Electric Mecca"
in Bristol and the "Summer Garden Party" at Crystal Palace Bowl.
They are regarded as as glam-rock group and pick up a substantial amount
of gay people and Bowie supporters as followers. Riots take place when
the band support Rory Gallagher, as his fans do not like the group and
their image. |
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"Virginia Plain", the band's
first single, is recorded at "Command Studios" with Rik Kenton
on bass. |
| 20/7/72: |
Appearance on the English TV program "Old
Grey Whistle Test", although the people in charge of the program do
not like them at all and part of the music business believes they are a
hype. |
| 28/7/72: |
"Virginia Plain" is released
and gets to No. 4 in the English charts. This is considered as one of the
strangest moves by a new group, as the single is recorded well after the
LP and is not even included on it (although it is included on the Canadian
version of the album and on the CD 15 years later). Due to the success
of the single, the band appear on "Top of the Pops", this time
dressed in gold lamé suits. |
| 20/8/72: |
Roxy Music again support David Bowie at
the Rainbow, London. |
| October 72: |
On the eve of the first gig of the band's
first headlining British tour Ferry loses his voice. His tonsils have to
be removed. The tour has to be rescheduled. This means some time off for
the others, who try out new ideas during this time. |
| November 72: |
The rearranged British tour is a big success.
Roxy Music becomes one of the household names in glam-rock. Rik Kenton
is still the bass-player at this time. |
| December 72: |
The first visit to America. The band play
nearly 20 cities in less than 30 days, including New York, L.A., Miami,
Athens/Ohio, Washington, Chicago. The tour is disastrous, because America
is not ready for another British invasion, this time glam-rock. Roxy Music
are considered as weirdos. A lot of this might have to do with the planning
of the tour, because the band has to support groups like Edgar Winter,
Jethro Tull, Jo Jo Gunne, Humble Pie, Allman Brothers, none of which have
anything in common with what Roxy Music is all about. Audiences are not
able to tune into Roxy's sound. The press, however, is impressed by Brian
Eno and his synthesizer-playing theories. He does a good send-up by telling
most interviewers that Roxy Music's next single will include the amplified
sounds of earthworms. |
| January 73: |
Roxy Music win "Best Act of 72"
category in the polls of NME, MM, Sounds and Disc. |
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They start work on "Pyjamarama",
the second single, at "Air Studios" in London with John Porter
sitting in on bass. |
| February 73: |
The second album "For Your Pleasure"
is recorded at "Air Studios" with Chris Thomas producing and
John Porter sitting in again. |
| 23/2/73: |
"Pyjamarama" is released and
gets to No. 10 in the English charts. Roxy Music play a gig at the Rainbow
to packed audiences. They try to enhance their stage act. Bryan Ferry,
who has always sung from the right side of the stage hidden behind the
keyboard, tries to take the center and become a fully acknowledged front
man. |
| March 73: |
Sal Maida is recruited for the British
and European Tour. They play 22 dates in Britain. At the last two dates
at the Rainbow they are introduced by Amanda Lear. Then they hit Europe
and play in Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland.
In Germany, they play 5 songs live on TV ("Musikladen-Special").
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The group get to meet Salvador Dali in
Paris; Ferry appears at the "Olympia" gig in Paris in a gold
brocade D'Artagnan coat. Riots take place at a live TV show in Paris, as
not all the fans could get in. They are awarded "Le Grand Prix De
Disque" for the best album of the year in Montreux. |
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"For Your Pleasure" is released,
selling 50,000 copies in the first week, reaching No.3 in England. Again,
the single is not included on the album, giving somehow value for money
to the customer who buys both. |
| June & July 73: |
Ferry works on his first solo LP, consisting
of old standards. Rumours of Eno recording with Robert Fripp circulate
in music papers. Eno also appears with the Portsmouth Sinfonia at the York
festival. |
| July 73: |
The tensions in the group grow, especially
between Ferry and Eno. Eno has lost some of his interest in the group,
as he is always looking for new fields to explore. Ferry is jealous of
the exposure Eno gets with his theories and outrageous overall appearance.
There is also an American review of "For your Pleasure", crediting
Eno with singing half of the lead vocals on the record, which makes Ferry
furious. At the York festival in June, the audience shout Ferry down with
calls for Eno whilst singing "Beauty Queen", one of his favourites.
Eno leaves the stage, but the crowd gets louder. Ferry announces afterwards
that he will never play on the same stage with Eno again. After Ferry's
return from Corfu/Greece, where he spent a holiday, Eno asks for a general
meeting of the group and decides to leave, only to find afterwards that
he is 15,000 Pounds in debt, due to the large advance from the record company.
(It was only a lot of years later that Ferry and Eno did record together
again). |
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In the same week, it is announced that
Eddie Jobson, who was invited to the York Festival by Ferry to watch Eno's
part on stage, will replace him. This makes Mackay and Manzanera, who have
not been asked and fight for Eno, furious with Ferry. Rumours of a complete
split are all over the place, but finally both give in. From then on, Roxy
Music seem to decline more or less into Ferry's backing band over the years.
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Eddie Jobson's status in the group is
so insecure that he could be fired every day. He never becomes a member
of the group, but is more or less a permanently hired session musician.
On the other hand, he does not have to pay back the large advances from
the early days. |
| Autumn 73: |
The third big British Tour (The "Casablanca
Look" Tour) includes 13 dates. Jobson takes over all keyboards to
give Ferry the possibility of becoming the front man and the face of Roxy
Music. Jobson also introduces electric violin into the sound, Sal Maida
plays bass. Special guests in Edinburgh: The London Male Voice Choir and
two Highland pipers. In London, a forest of real palm trees decorates the
stage. Due to fans chasing him, Phil sprains his leg and has to sit during
the show in Bournemouth and use a walking stick on the other dates.
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Shortly before the tour, "Stranded"
is recorded with Johnny Gustafson on bass. |
| November 73: |
The second tour of Europe, Sal Maida is
still on bass. Ferry wants to include songs from his solo album in the
set, but faces great opposition from the other band members. Roxy Music
record a TV-special in Zuerich/Switzerland. |
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"Stranded" is released and soon
gets to No. 1 in England. The single "Street Life" is included
on the album this time. |
| Early 74: |
Roxy Music tour Europe again. Sal Maida
is again invited to stand in on bass. They also play two unscheduled gigs
in Southport/England. Preparations for a second US tour take place after
switching from Warner Brothers to Atlantic as record distributors in America.
Ferry does a five day trip for radio promotion, on which he visits New
York, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. Roxy Music
are still considered too weird for America. They do not seem to fit into
any playlist scheme that American radio is governed by, so their music
is ignored on Top 40 radio stations. |
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Ferry and Mackay start work on their new
solo projects. |
| May 74: |
Ferry returns to America to have his picture
taken in Hollywood for the cover of "Another Time, Another Place",
his second solo LP. |
| May & June 74: |
Second US Tour, again Sal Maida on bass.
The band play six headlining concerts (New York, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit,
Cleveland and Philadelphia). They are still considered to be too sophisticated
for American audiences of the time and have only cult status, resulting
in a small but affectionate following. The music itself is not played a
lot on American radio, because nobody knows where to put it into the program.
The songs are not simple enough for daytime radio and too strange for nighttime
LP-track orientated radio. |
| June 74: |
As "Another Time, Another Place",
Ferry's second solo LP, is released, containing some major hits with "The
In-Crowd" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", rumours of a split
circulate again. The rumours gain more fuel when Andy Mackay releases his
first solo LP "In Search of Eddie Riff" in different formats
in Europe and America. |
| August & September 1974 |
"Country Life" is recorded;
Johnny Gustafson plays bass on the record again |
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Fourth tour of Britain, this time with
John Wetton on bass (The "Goucho/Facismo" Tour). The press hates
it, especially because of Bryan Ferry's new outfit. The tour includes 4
dates at the Rainbow, London. |
| September 74: |
"All I Want is You" is released
as a single. |
| November 74: |
"Country Life" is released for
the Christmas market and climbs to No. 3 in England. The cover, consisting
of a picture of two German girls with not a lot of underwear but lots of
pubic hair, is rejected by American retailers, so it is put into a dark
green shrink-wrap. |
| January 75: |
Third US Tour, again with John Wetton
on bass. The band now achieve cult status in Cleveland and Detroit, but
the rest of the country still seems to ignore them. |
| March 75: |
The band embark on their first tour of
Japan with John Wetton on bass. |
| April & May 75: |
Tours of New Zealand and Australia. After
that, Roxy Music go back into the recording studio for the fifth LP with
Johnny Gustafson on bass again. |
| Autumn 75: |
"Love Is The Drug" is released
as a single, the first record to really fit in with American radio schedules.
It reaches the American Top 30. The B-side, which was always something
that Roxy Music ignored completely, consists of Ferry playing around with
a Farfisa organ and some effects. When Eddie Jobson hears it, he is so
disappointed about the output, he thinks about quitting the group.
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| October 75: |
Fifth British tour with The Sirens on
backing vocals and The Sadistic Mika Band as support act. Johnny Gustafson
is on bass this time. The tour climaxes with two shows at London, Wembley
Empire Pool. "Siren" is released during the tour. |
| December 75: |
Fourth US Tour, with John Gustafson on
bass. Despite the minor success of the single, Roxy Music are again not
able to crack the American market. |
| January & February 76: |
The American tour is followed by a tour
of Europe. Johnny Gustafson is replaced by Rick Wills on bass. |
| March 76: |
Fifth US Tour with Rick Wills on bass.
The band again has only cult status. |
| Summer 76: |
Roxy Music disband officially to give
all memers a rest from the exhaustive touring schedule and the possibility
of going into their own solo careers. Eddie Jobson never returns to the
group. |
| July 76: |
"Viva! Roxy Music" is released,
consisting of selected live tracks from the last 3 years. |
| October 76: |
The "Greatest Hits" LP is released.
Rumours of a special farewell single occur here and there, but nothing
sees the light of day. |
| Winter 78: |
After two and a half years, Ferry, Manzanera,
Mackay and Thompson meet again to discuss another formation of Roxy Music.
Sessions for "Manifesto" take place in England and New York with
Gary Tibbs (from The Vibrators), Alan Spenner on bass and Paul Carrack
on keyboards. |
| February 79: |
"Trash" is released as a single
by the newly reformed Roxy Music. |
| March 79: |
"Manifesto" is released. A world
tour starts in Germany with David Skinner on keyboards and Gary Tibbs on
bass. |
| April 79: |
When the tour hits America, the people
coming to the concerts seem to love it. Roxy have finally overcome their
cult status and are now one of the big groups, with several concerts broadcast
live on radio. Whether this has to do with Americans having caught up with
the Roxy Music sound or whether the new songs are now clean and reshaped
enough for American radio schedules has never been researched properly.
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| May 79: |
British leg of the tour, which the press
seem to hate again. Although, a good two years after the first punks came
out, this is no surprise to anyone involved. |
| Autumn 79: |
Ferry stars in the French TV soap opera
"Petit Dejeuner Compris" as an old friend of the deceased ex-owner
of a cheap hotel, who falls in love with her niece that leaves her husband
for him (but they are reunited backstage at a Roxy gig). He plays out all
the clichés that are associated with rock stars. All in all, he
makes a complete fool of himself. |
| Spring 80: |
"Flesh & Blood" is recorded
without Paul Thompson. His drumming does not suit Ferry's requirements
for an "American" sound any longer. Gary Tibbs plays on one track
only, the rest, except the parts of Mackay and Manzanera, is done by session
players. Even Manzanera is not allowed to play guitar on the title track.
This LP seems to mark the end of Roxy Music as a band and the official
beginning of Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music. |
| May 80: |
"Flesh & Blood" is released
worldwide. |
| Summer 80: |
Tour of Europe and Britain. Paul Thompson
is asked to join again, but breaks his thumb in a motorcycle accident and
is replaced at the last minute by Andy Newmark. Gary Tibbs is added on
bass, Neil Hubbard on guitar and Paul Carrack plays keyboards. Ferry collapses
after a concert in France with a serious kidney infection. Parts of the
tour have to be rescheduled for the autumn. |
| Autumn 80: |
Rescheduled part of the tour. |
| 18 & 19/12/80: |
Roxy Music play two shows for the second
German TV channel (ZDF) at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, West Germany,
together with Mike Oldfield, Talking Heads and Dire Straits. It marks their
first time at an occasion like this since they played the festivals in
the early days. As John Lennon had been murdered a few days before, they
do "Jealous Guy" as a special tribute. |
| January 81: |
A short series of dates at Leicester,
Birmingham and Manchester takes place as replacement for the cancelled
British shows in the summer. |
| January & February 81: |
"Jealous Guy" is recorded and
released as a tribute to John Lennon, marking the first No. 1 single for
Roxy Music in England. |
| Winter 81: |
"Avalon" is recorded, mostly
with session musicians helping out. |
| May 82: |
"Avalon" is released worldwide,
becoming the biggest success in Roxy Music's career. |
| August - October 82: |
The "Avalon Tour" conquers Britain
and Europe with the largest cast of musicians ever on a Roxy Music stage:
Andy Newmark on bass, Guy Fletcher on keyboards, Jimmy Maelen on percussion,
Alan Spenner on bass, Neil Hubbard on guitar, Michelle Cobbs and Tawatha
Agee on backing vocals. A video of the show is cut in Frejus, France, and
released the following year. Years later the show is also released as a
live record. |
| January & February 83: |
Tour of Japan with the same musicians,
adding Fonzi Thornton on backing vocals. |
| May 83: |
Tour of America. After the tour Roxy Music
disband again. "The High Road", a mini live LP, is released with
material from the British Tour. The American record company releases "The
Atlantic Years" as a greatest hits collection to coincide with the
tour. |
| Spring 86: |
As "Street Life", a double album
greatest hits collection by Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music is released, rumours
of a Roxy reformation spread but nothing happens. |
| November 87: |
"Roxy reform" rumours appear
again, as Ferry's latest solo LP "Bete Noir" does not seem to
make a lot of impact on sales figures. |
| March 90: |
A video, "Totall Recall", is
released. It includes a lot of cuts and snippets from the early 70ies to
the mid 80ies. All in all it is a rip-off, because none of the songs is
complete. It brings back some memories, but there are better and more complete
versions around in collectors' circles. |
| Winter 1990 |
"Heart Still Beating"D WIDTH=156>Winter 1990 |
"Heart Still Beating", the Frejus
live tracks from 1982, are released |
| Early 1995 |
A 4-CD Collection "The Thrill Of
It All" is released. It has all major releases and a lot of b-sides,
a superb cover and some more background info on certain tracks.
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| Fall 1995 |
Another compilation "More Than This"
is released in CD and video format. It has Bryan Ferry tracks as well as
Roxy Music tracks. |
| May 1996 |
"Love Is The Drug" is released
in a couple of remixed versions, remixes done by Rollo and Sister Bliss.
Not at all listenable, just for die-hard collectors. |
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