Phil Manzanera's '6 Strings and a Plank of Wood' Roisin Murphy: Slave To Love Roxy Music: Live In America Bryan Ferry To Receive BMI Icon Award
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	Bryan Ferry played the Community Theater in Sacramento, California today in 1988

Roxy Music, the highly regarded and heavily influential UK pop-art rock band came together in January 1971 and soon achieved a settled line-up comprising Bryan Ferry, (vocals, keyboards); Brian Eno, (electronics, keyboards), Andy Mackay (saxophone/oboe), Paul Thompson(drums) and Phil Manzanera, (guitar). The band were to release a long sequence of radio-friendly singles, as well as eight highly-regarded studio albums. Their self-titled 1972 debut album for Island Records was a pop music potpourri, with Ferry's 50s-tinged vocals juxtaposed alongside distinctive 60s rhythms and 70s electronics. The novel sleeve concept underlined their art school background, while the band's image (from 50s quiffs to futurist lurex jackets) emphasized their stylistic diversity. Reviews verged on the ecstatic, acclaiming the album as one of the finest debuts in living memory. Ferry's quirky love songs were often bleak in theme but strangely effervescent, fusing romanticism with bitter irony. The band issued 'Virginia Plain', a classic single combining Ferry's cinematic interests and love of surrealistic art. Bassist Graham Simpson departed and thereafter they went through a succession of bass players, including John Porter, John Gustafson, John Wetton, Rik Kenton, Sal Maida, Rick Wills and Gary Tibbs.

After failing to break into America, Roxy Music scored a second UK Top 10 hit with 'Pyjamarama' and released For Your Pleasure. Another arresting work, the album featured the stunning 'Do The Strand', with breathtaking saxophone work from Mackay. 'Beauty Queen' and 'Editions Of You' were strong tracks and the album's centrepiece was the haunting 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache'. In June 1973, Eno left, following disagreements with Ferry over his role in the band. The replacement was former Curved Air violinist Eddie Jobson. After taking time off to record a solo album of cover versions 'These Foolish Things', Ferry took the band on a nationwide tour to promote the excellent Stranded. 'Street Life', the first album track to be issued as a single, proved another Top 10 hit. Following his second solo album, work was completed on their fourth album, Country Life, another strong set ranging from the uptempo single 'All I Want Is You' to the aggressive 'The Thrill Of It All' and the musically exotic 'Triptych'. In the USA, the album sleeve was withdrawn due to its risque portrayal of two semi-naked women. Including a challenging pilot single, 'Love Is The Drug', their next album, Siren, continued the charm and innovation of its predecessors. 'Both Ends Burning', which hinted at a disco direction, gave evidence of real vocal passion.

The album was followed by a three-year gap during which the individual members pursued various solo projects. The 1979 comeback, Manifesto, included two excellent hit singles, 'Angel Eyes' and the fatalistic 'Dance Away'. The succeeding Flesh And Bloodwas another accomplished work with some strong arrangements, including a reworking of Wilson Pickett's 'In The Midnight Hour' and an unusual interpretation of the Byrds' 'Eight Miles High'. Three UK hit singles also followed: 'Over You', 'Oh Yeah (On The Radio)', and the song which launched a thousand New Romantic bands, 'The Same Old Scene'. In 1981 they finally achieved their first number 1 single with 'Jealous Guy', a tribute to the recently assassinated John Lennon. The following year, they released their final album Avalon, which topped the album charts and was praised by most critics. The band then broke up, following rumours of internal friction, and Ferry continued his successful solo career with the smash-hit single 'Slave To Love' from the album 'Boys and Girls', and Manzanera and Mackay formed the short-lived Roxy-lite ensemble The Explorers with Ferry-a-like James Wraith. Ferry's solo career struggled through the late '80s and '90s as his lyrical muse seemingly deserted him.

Persistent rumours of a reunion were confirmed in January 2001 as the band announced they were to reform for a 50 date World tour. Following this triumphant return, which resulted in the DVD: Live at the Apollo, both Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music have continued to tour, with Ferry extensively supporting his twin hit albums 'Frantic' and 'Dylanesque'.

Roxy Music's legacy is an inventive body of work that has remained highly influential with current acts such as the Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand acknowledging a debt to the band. Glam, techno, dance, ambient and electronic genres all owe a considerable debt to their early days, and the band have been the subject of cover versions on many occasiona.

And in 2006 came the news that many fans had eagerly awaited - that the original line-up of Roxy Music, with the intriguing possibility of a contribution of sorts from Brian Eno- was recording a new Roxy Music album - their first in 25 years. The subsequent announcement of a remix album to precede the new offering will buy some valuable creative time. In November 2006, in a surprise move, Bryan Ferry announced his intention to release an album of Bob Dylan songs to be called 'Dylanesque', preceded by a single 'The Times They Are A-Changing' and accompanied by a tour in March 2007, indicating that the promised Roxy Music project is probably in further hiatus. In 2008 the song 'If There Is Something' with its famous 'when you were young' refrain, was featured in the movie 'Flashbacks Of A Fool' bringing further new interest in the band.

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