Roxy Music

This article is about the English rock band. For their self-titled debut album, see Roxy Music (album).

Roxy Music
Roxy Music on TopPop in 1974. Left to right: Eddie Jobson, Paul Thompson, Phil Manzanera, Bryan Ferry, Sal Maida, Andy Mackay
Roxy Music on TopPop in 1974. Left to right: Eddie Jobson, Paul Thompson, Phil Manzanera, Bryan Ferry, Sal Maida, Andy Mackay
Background information
OriginNewcastle upon Tyne/London, England
Genres
DiscographyRoxy Music discography
Years active
  • 1970–1976
  • 1978–1983
  • 2001–2011
  • 2022
Labels
Spinoffs
  • The Explorers
  • 801
Members
Past members
Websiteroxymusic.co.uk

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.[1] Ferry has also frequently enlisted band members as backing musicians during his solo career.

Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s. This success began with their first album in 1972.[2] The band pioneered more musically sophisticated elements of glam rock while significantly influencing early English punk music,[3] and provided a model for many new wave acts while innovating elements of electronic composition. The group also conveyed their distinctive brand of visual and musical sophistication with their focus on glamorous fashions.[4] Roxy Music's final studio album was Avalon (1982), which was certified Platinum in the United States, where the band had spent their first ten years as a moderately successful cult band.[5]

Outside of the band, Ferry and Eno have had influential solo careers, with Eno also becoming one of the most significant British record producers of the late 20th century. In 2019, Roxy Music were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[6][7]

  1. ^ Kreps, Daniel (28 March 2022). "Roxy Music to Reunite for First North American Tour in Nearly 20 Years". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Prendergast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ More Than This: The Story of Roxy Music, Eagle Rock, October 2009.
  4. ^ "Roxy Music: Biography". Stephen Thomas Erlewine. AllMusic. Accessed 3 March 2010.
  5. ^ de Lisle, Tim (20 May 2005). "Roxy is the drug". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ^ "CLASS OF 2019 NOMINEES". 5 October 2018.
  7. ^ Sisario, Ben (13 December 2018). "Janet Jackson and Radiohead Lead Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2019". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2018.