Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 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 was the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also a solo artist. His 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".
Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 9 June 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album features the hit single "Sultans of Swing", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached the top of the album charts in Germany, Australia and France, number 2 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. Dire Straits was later certified double platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) respectively.
Before and After Science is the fifth solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno, originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977 in the United Kingdom and by Island U.S. soon after. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it is the first of Eno's popular music works to be published under his full name.
Christopher John Spedding is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of the most sought-after session guitarists in England. Spedding has played on and produced many albums and singles. He has also been a member of eleven rock bands: the Battered Ornaments, Frank Ricotti Quartet, King Mob, Mike Batt and Friends, Necessaries, Nucleus, Ricky Norton, Sharks, Trigger, and the Wombles. In May 1976, Spedding also produced the first Sex Pistols recordings.
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is the second solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno (mononymously credited as "Eno"), released in November 1974 by Island Records. Unlike his debut album Here Come the Warm Jets, which featured 16 musicians, this album utilized a core band of five instrumentalists: Eno (keyboards, guitar), Phil Manzanera (guitar), Brian Turrington (bass guitar), Freddie Smith (drums), and Robert Wyatt (percussion). Manzanera also participated in the writing and production. To help guide the musicians, Eno and Peter Schmidt developed instruction cards called Oblique Strategies to facilitate creativity during the recording process.
Here Come the Warm Jets is the debut solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno, released on Island Records on 8 February 1974. It was recorded and produced by Eno following his departure from Roxy Music, and blends glam and pop stylings with avant-garde approaches. The album features numerous guests, including several of Eno's former Roxy Music bandmates along with members of Hawkwind, Matching Mole, Pink Fairies, Sharks, Sweetfeed, and King Crimson. Eno employed unusual directions and production methods to coax unexpected results from the musicians.
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.
Second Thoughts is the second studio album by New Zealand art rock band Split Enz. It was recorded in London with Roxy Music's guitarist Phil Manzanera producing the album.
Andrew Mackay is an English musician, best known as a founding member of the art rock group Roxy Music.
Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producers and engineers, all dedicated to a specific and recognisable sound and style. The session band at the studios, as well as visiting recording artists, became known as the Compass Point All Stars.
Oliver Thompson is an English guitar player, songwriter and singer. He has toured with Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry since 2005, 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.
Dylanesque is the twelfth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. The album consists of cover versions of ten Bob Dylan songs and one traditional song that Dylan himself covered on his first album. It charted at number five in both the United Kingdom and Sweden. Soon after completion of the album, Ferry returned with most of the same musicians to film live re-recordings of the songs in the studio. The film, which includes interview clips with Ferry, is available on the DVD, Dylanesque Live: The London Sessions.
Frantic is the eleventh studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 15 April 2002 by Virgin Records. The majority of tracks were produced by the team of Rhett Davies, Colin Good, and Ferry; David A. Stewart and Robin Trower also co-produced several tracks.
Live is a double live album by English art rock band Roxy Music, released in 2003. Their fourth official live album, it contains performances from a variety of venues on their 2001 reunion world tour, and represents the entire set list from those concerts. Live was packaged in a Digipak case.
Mamouna is the ninth solo studio album by the English singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records first on 31 August 1994 in Japan and then on 5 September in the UK. It was Ferry's first album of original material in seven years and he spent six years writing and recording it, under the working title Horoscope. The album peaked at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart.
Olympia is the 13th 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.
The Jazz Age is the fourteenth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry released in 2012. It was co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, with arrangements by Colin Good. The album is a re-recording of some of Ferry's compositions played in the jazz style of the 1920s by The Bryan Ferry Orchestra. The 13 songs have been chosen from 11 albums, from his very first release Roxy Music (1972) to his then most recent solo record, Olympia (2010). It was Ferry's lowest charting album of his career, peaking at #50 on the UK Albums Chart.
Avonmore is the fifteenth studio album by the English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 17 November 2014 by BMG Rights Management.
Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music, Chic, Diana Ross, Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Robert Palmer, Patti LaBelle, Al Jarreau, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Phoebe Snow, Scritti Politti, Bette Midler, Lady Gaga and many others. In 2008, Thornton joined the musical entourage of Aretha Franklin as backing vocalist and vocal contractor and continued to accompany her in concert, on recordings and TV until her death in 2018.
