Oliver Thompson | |
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Born | Oliver Forrest Thompson 22 March 1988 Swanage, England |
Occupation(s) | Musician, band Ollie Forrest |
Oliver Thompson (born 22 March 1988) is an English guitar player, songwriter and singer. He has toured with Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry since 2005, [1] playing with guitarists including Phil Manzanera, Chris Spedding and Johnny Marr. He has played on Ferry's solo tours, festival dates and recording projects since he began working with him at age 17.
He played on Ferry's 2007 solo album Dylanesque [2] and was the principal guitarist on the 2010 Olympia , [3] which also featured David Gilmour, Nile Rodgers, Jonny Greenwood and Phil Manzanera. He toured with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra in 2013 for The Jazz Age . When asked in a 2013 interview about his favorite guitarists to work with, Ferry said,
In recent years, there has been my young guitarist Oliver Thompson ... also Nile Rodgers ... Neil Hubbard, Waddy Wachtel, Phil Manzanera, John Porter, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler and Johnny Marr ... all of whom have played wonderful things on my records. [4]
Thompson was given his first guitar at 13 and soon started playing in his first band White Vinyl (2003–2007). He then started the band Rubber Kiss Goodbye (2008–2011) where he was the singer, songwriter and guitarist. The latter also included Bryan Ferry's son Tara Ferry on drums and Peter Perrett Jr. (previously of the band Babyshambles) on bass. Festival appearances for Rubber Kiss Goodbye included the 2009 SXSW in Austin, Texas, [5] The Great Escape Festival (2010) in Brighton, England, and the Lodestar Festival in Cambridgeshire, England (2011).
In 2013, he started his first solo project, under his first two names Ollie Forrest. He launched his first single in London on 20 June 2014, featuring the songs "Gun To Your Baby" and "Wild's Rent".
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1971 by lead vocalist and principal songwriter Bryan Ferry and bassist Graham Simpson. By the time the band recorded their first album in 1972, Ferry and Simpson were joined by saxophonist and oboist Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera, drummer Paul Thompson and synthesizer player Brian Eno. Other members over the years include keyboardist and violinist Eddie Jobson and bassist John Gustafson. The band split in 1976, reformed in 1978 and split again in 1983. In 2001, Ferry, Mackay, Manzanera and Thompson reunited for a concert tour and have toured together intermittently ever since, most recently in 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first album. Ferry has also frequently enlisted band members as backing musicians during his solo career.
Bryan Ferry is an English singer and songwriter who achieved fame as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and as a solo artist. His distinctive voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to The Independent, Ferry and his contemporary David Bowie influenced a generation with both their music and their appearances. Peter York described Ferry as "an art object" who "should hang in the Tate".
Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams, known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. In 2006, Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On an Island, and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America. He wrote and presented a series of 14 one-hour radio programmes for station Planet Rock entitled The A-Z of Great Guitarists.
Paul Thompson is an English drummer, who is best known as a member of the rock band Roxy Music. He is a member of Andy Mackay's project with the Metaphors and joined Lindisfarne in 2013. He was also the drummer for Oi! band Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde.
Concerto is a live album by Roxy Music. All tracks were recorded during the group's "Manifesto Tour" at the Rainbow Music Hall, Denver, Colorado on April 12, 1979, except for Mother of Pearl and Editions of You, which were recorded earlier that month at the Oakland Auditorium, Oakland, California. The album was released in 2001; three years after it was previously released as Concert Classics in 1998. It was released again under the title Ladytron on August 19, 2002 on Superior Records. Roxy Music had no input to this album as it is not an official Roxy Music release but released under license.
Bête Noire is the seventh solo studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 2 November 1987 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by Reprise Records in the United States. It was a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 9 in the UK and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Andrew Mackay is an English musician, best known as a founding member of the art rock group Roxy Music.
Concert Classics is a live album by Roxy Music. All tracks were recorded during the group's "Manifesto Tour" at the Rainbow Music Hall, Denver, Colorado on April 12, 1979. The album was released nineteen years later in February, 1998, and released again in 2001 with two extra tracks, under the name Concerto. Roxy Music had no input to this album as it is not an official Roxy Music release but released under license.
Let's Stick Together is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbanding of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry's two previous solo releases, Let’s Stick Together was not a dedicated album project, instead predominately made up of singles, B-sides, and an EP. Three tracks were exclusive to the LP, all remakes of Roxy Music tracks: "Casanova", "2HB", and "Chance Meeting". It had a generally favourable critical reception, but only just made the UK Top 20.
"Virginia Plain" is a song by English rock band Roxy Music, released as their debut single in August 1972. Written by Roxy frontman Bryan Ferry, the song was recorded by the band in July 1972 at London's Command Studios. Backed with "The Numberer", an instrumental composed by Andy Mackay, as a single the song became a Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number four.
"2HB" is a song written by Bryan Ferry and first recorded by Roxy Music for their 1972 debut album, Roxy Music. Ferry also recorded a version for his 1976 solo album, Let's Stick Together.
"Ladytron" is a song by Bryan Ferry, recorded by his band Roxy Music and appearing on their eponymous debut album. The British electronic band Ladytron took their name from this song.
"In Every Dream Home a Heartache" is a song written by Bryan Ferry, originally appearing on his band Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure.
"Street Life" is the opening track of English rock band Roxy Music's third album Stranded. Written by lead singer Bryan Ferry, the song is an ode to modern life that features sound effects of street noise alongside dissonant synth noises courtesy of newly recruited member Eddie Jobson. Producer Chris Thomas provides bass on the song.
Rhett Davies is an English record producer and engineer.
Diamond Head is the first studio album by English rock musician Phil Manzanera. It was released in 1975, originally on Island Records in the UK and in the US on Atco Records. The sound quality on the US album was deemed to be worse than the UK album, so the UK import became a popular seller in the speciality record shops who sold Roxy Music and other UK bands. The diesel locomotive featured on the cover art is an EMD E9.
"All I Want is You" is a single by English rock band Roxy Music, written by Bryan Ferry, and taken from their 1974 album Country Life. It reached a peak of No. 12 on the UK Official Singles Chart, in an eight-week stint on the charts. The single is also notable for its B-side, an instrumental track called "Your Application's Failed", which is the only track to date written by drummer Paul Thompson. The track was re-released on The Thrill of It All boxset.
"Both Ends Burning" is a single by English rock band Roxy Music taken from their 1975 album Siren. Written by Bryan Ferry, the song features lyrics inspired by the pressure felt by the band to complete the Siren album as well as keep up their touring obligations. Ferry's struggles in writing the lyrics for the song meant that the band largely had to complete the instrumental track without his vocal line.
Olympia is the thirteenth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 25 October 2010 by Virgin Records. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of predominantly original material since 2002's Frantic.