Roxy Music is a name well known to fans of the British rock scene. This legendary band existed in various forms from 1970 to 2014. The group periodically left the stage, but eventually returned to their work again.
The birth of Roxy Music
The founder of the team was Bryan Ferry. In the early 1970s, he already managed to try himself in many creative (and not so) professions. In particular, he worked as an artist, a driver and tried many other specialties. Until I realized that I would like to make music. He loved rock, but at the same time he dreamed of combining it with rhythm and blues and jazz.
The goal at that time was almost unrealistic - young Britons adored psychedelics. Ferry started his interesting journey with one of the local bands. However, it soon ceased to exist. And the young man became a teacher at the local music school. But a new problem arose - he got a job there not to teach people, but to look for them. In particular, the young man regularly arranged auditions among local students, for which he was subsequently fired.
At the end of 1970, Ferry met like-minded people who, like him, were interested in experimenting in music. And so the Roxy Music group was created. In 1971, the guys created the first collection of demos. He had several main tasks. Firstly, “get used to” each other and hone your skills, find your own style. Secondly, the demos were supposed to play the role of a promo for the group. Cassettes were distributed to people who were associated with the producers.
The release of this disc was not liked by the listeners, but it aroused interest among the managers of record companies. In 1972, the first audition took place at the EG Management studio. After releasing several songs, the guys signed an agreement to release a full-length album.
The release was recorded within two weeks at one of the London studios. After that, the notorious Anthony Price, a legendary fashion designer, known for the outrageous images he invented, began to cooperate with the team. When the guys fell into his hands, they were no exception. Price created looks and many unusual costumes for their future performances.
Change of label
Roxy Music decided to release a second record, but for a number of reasons they were looking for a new label. The musicians chose Island Records. It is interesting that at first the group did not make any impression on the head of the company.
However, a few weeks later the contract was signed. Roxy Music (this was the name of the release) became a breakthrough for the band. It was sold in thousands of copies, the songs hit the main British charts. And the group got the opportunity to tour and participate in various television shows.
Ferry's dream began to come true. He combined several genres and interested the listener in this. Critics noted the successful combination of several varieties of rock music, jazz and folk. It was new and interesting for the audience. It is interesting that later this particular record was called one of the most influential in the world of rock music. According to journalists, it was a real breakthrough - a step into the future.
Group success
A big tour began, which was accompanied by high loads. In 1972, Ferry lost his voice as a result of an illness. The tour had to be put on hold for the vocalist to undergo surgery. A few weeks later, the situation returned to normal, the group again went to the USA with concerts. But a sudden break in performances made itself felt. The audience was no longer ready to warmly welcome the musicians.
Then the team actively began to create a new release. For Your Pleasure has become one of the band's most recognizable works of all time. New experiments in sound, frank themes (which is worth only one song about a man's love for an inflatable doll).
Even thanks to the images created by Price, the group continued to shock the audience. So, for example, not wanting to look like everyone else, they gave interviews and performed on stage in 1950s clothes. All this only increased the interest in the group from the public (especially young people who are always interested in something extraordinary). The album took a leading position in the European charts. In the UK, it entered the top 5 of the best (according to the main national chart).
First rotation in the group
Along with success, there were also negative developments. In particular, Brian Eno left the band. As it became known, the reason was the constant conflicts between him and the leader of the team - Ferry. In particular, the latter humiliated Eno all the time, did not give him freedom of creativity and, according to some sources, even envied him that journalists prefer to interview and work with Brian more often. All this led to another reshuffle in the composition.
The group decided not to stop there and released two new releases at once. Albums Stranded and Country Life once again hit the audience and hit all sorts of tops. Stranded is a disc that not only hit the top 5 of the UK's main chart, but took the 1st position and stayed there for a long time.
With the same release, the group gained long-awaited recognition in the USA - now it was possible to go on tour to this country without fear that the concert would not gather even half of the audience. Critics also praised the release, calling it one of the best rock albums to come out in the 1970s.
A new wave of success for Roxy Music
1974 was a very successful year for the team. It all started with a big tour that covered the countries of Europe and America. In addition, almost all participants managed to release one solo disc, which were also quite successful. Separately, the popularity of the main vocalist, Bryan Ferry, also increased. He became a real star, and popularity only increased every month.
It was a great time to release the band's new record. So the album Country Life came out. The guys continued to actively experiment with styles and instruments, tried themselves at the junction of different genres.
They tried to improve their level of quality. However, despite all the advantages, the album was less appreciated in Europe than the previous ones. However, when released separately in the US, it reached number 3 on the legendary Billboard chart.
Interruption and termination of activities
After the release of the first successful albums, there was a creative break, during which each of the musicians was engaged in the creation of their solo works. Since then, the team has periodically met for new concerts and recording material. The last album was released in 1982 and was called Avalon. The band played several successful tours with him and broke up again.
Especially for the 30th anniversary, the Roxy Music group gathered again to perform a series of concerts. From 2001 to 2003 they traveled to the cities of Europe and America. The live recordings were eventually released on a separate disc.
Despite the fact that there was information that the musicians got together again in the studio to record a collaboration, the fans did not hear the new album. Since 2014, all members have been pursuing solo careers and have stated that they no longer want to work together.
