ladyislingering
retired
Bryan Ferry Official Website
Dubbed "The Electric Lounge Lizard" for the seductive tenderness of his vocal style and suave appearance, Bryan Ferry, best known as the leader of 70s art rock group Roxy Music, was born on September 26th, 1945.
Bryan hails from Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. Bryan wasn't born into opulence, so to say. He was a farm boy, though attended Washington Grammar-Technical School, going on to study fine art at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. After a brief stint as a pottery teacher, Bryan founded a band called The Gas Board, alongside Graham Simpson (the first bassist of Roxy Music).
Roxy Music began to form in 1970, with Bryan and Graham recruiting Andy MacKay (saxophone/oboe), Brian Eno (synthesizer), Dexter Lloyd (percussion), and David O'List (guitar). Dexter and David were replaced by Paul Thompson and Phil Manzanera before the first Roxy record was to be recorded. Bryan Ferry was their lead vocalist, who also occasionally played the piano, an instrument he taught himself in his 20s.
Their first hit, "Virginia Plain" was featured on Top of the Pops in 1972.
An icon of style, Bryan fancied the clothing, consultations and designs of Antony Price (who also worked with the likes of Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Amanda Lear, the woman who posed on Roxy Music's 2nd album, "For Your Pleasure"). Nicky Haslam (a British interior decorator) once said, of Bryan, that he was "more likely to redecorate a hotel room than to trash it". In fact, in 2006, Bryan modeled for British clothing retailer Marks and Spencer.
When Roxy Music temporarily broke up in 1976 after the release and tours for "Siren", Bryan was able to take his solo career into full swing. He'd already been working on a solo career since 1973. Roxy Music got back together in 1978 for their album "Manifesto", and parted again in 1980, shortly after "Avalon".
Bryan's solo material consists of the following albums: These Foolish Things (1973, #5 in the UK), Another Time, Another Place (1974, #4 in the UK) Let's Stick Together (1976, #19 in the UK), In Your Mind (1977, #5 in the UK; #1 in Australia), The Bride Stripped Bare (1978, #13 in the UK), Boys and Girls (1985, #1 in the UK), Bête Noire (1987, #9 in the UK), Taxi (1993, #3 in the UK), Mamouna (1994, #11 in the UK), As Time Goes By (1999, #16 in the UK), Frantic (2002, #6 in the UK), and Dylanesque (a collection of Bob Dylan covers, 2007, #5 in the UK).
In short that's 12 solo records; 9 records with Roxy Music.
Bryan has been known to sway the likes of beautiful ladies; he has dated a good number of fashion models (including Amanda Lear and Jerry Hall, who left him for Mick Jagger) and married Lucy Helmore in 1982, with whom he had four sons, Otis, Isaac, Tara, and Merlin. They were divorced in 2003 after Bryan started an affair with a woman 35 years younger than he was.
As far as politics go, Ferry takes a conservative stance, though tries to be mostly apolitical. In 2005 he appeared in a film called Breakfast on Pluto, playing the role of a man who picks up the protagonist, and attempts to strangle him in the vehicle. Bryan experienced a little controversy in 2007 after he made a positive comment (from an artistic perspective) toward Leni Reifenstahl (a ****-era filmmaker from Germany) who had a close friendship with Adolf Hitler. He apologized for his comments shortly thereafter.
Bryan was referenced once on British comedy The Mighty Boosh, in comparison to Terry Wogan.
His song, "Slave to Love" was featured in one of the notorious Roman Polanski films: Bitter Moon (1992).
According to Bryan's official website (Bryan Ferry - The Official Site) he'll be appearing at several festivals this summer with Roxy Music, from June to September.
Studio Albums
These Foolish Things (October 1973)
Another Time, Another Place (July 1974)
Let's Stick Together (September 1976)
In Your Mind (February 1977)
The Bride Stripped Bare (April 1978)
Boys and Girls (May 1985)
Bête Noire (October 1987)
Taxi (April 1993)
Mamouna (September 1994)
As Time Goes By (October 1999)
Frantic (May 2002)
Dylanesque (March 2007)
Olympia (October 2010)
My personal favourites by Bryan:
These Foolish Things
Nobody Loves Me
Sign of the Times
Don't Worry Baby
A few thoughts, just from me:
I love Bryan's music. His voice is positively hypnotic. He has a gentlemanly charm like none other. I love Roxy Music as well; it's just an entirely fabulous package.
Any photos/videos/other comments would be quite welcomed to this thread.
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I could be mistaken but I remember reading something like that in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 70's.
