Bryan Ferry
Encyclopedia
Bryan Ferry, CBE
(born 26 September 1945, Washington
, County Durham
, UK
) is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music
, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten single
s entering the top ten charts in the United Kingdom. Ferry began his solo career in 1973, while still a member of Roxy Music, which continues to the present day.
family (his father, Fred Ferry, was a farmer who also looked after pit ponies
), Ferry attended Washington Grammar-Technical School (now called Washington School) on Spout Lane from 1957 and achieved nine O levels, then studied fine art
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
under Richard Hamilton
.
His contemporaries included Tim Head
and Nick de Ville. Ferry became a pottery
teacher at Holland Park School in London
. Ferry formed the band The Banshees, and later, together with Graham Simpson, the band the Gas Board.
and his acquaintance Brian Eno
, who owned tape recorders and played Mackay's synthesiser. Other early members included timpanist Dexter Lloyd and ex-Nice
guitarist David O'List, who were replaced respectively by Paul Thompson
and Phil Manzanera
before the band recorded its first album (early Peel Sessions for the UK's BBC Radio 1
feature O'List's playing).
Roxy Music's first hit, "Virginia Plain", made the UK Top 5 in 1972, and was followed up with several hit singles and albums, with Ferry as vocalist and occasional instrumentalist (he taught himself piano in his mid-twenties) and Eno contributing synthesiser backing.
For many years, Ferry has collaborated with fashion designer Antony Price
for clothing and image consultations. Price is famous for his shop on London's Kings Road
. He created suits recognised worldwide for their elegance, and gained fame when celebrities and rock stars dressed in his designs. Indeed, one comment by Nicky Haslam about Ferry was that he was more likely to redecorate a hotel room than to trash it as a typical rock star might.
After their second album, Brian Eno
left Roxy Music, leaving Ferry its undisputed leader. Ferry had already started a parallel solo career in 1973, initially performing cover versions of old standards on albums such as These Foolish Things (1973) and Another Time, Another Place
(1974), both of which reached the UK Top 5. After the concert tour in support of their fifth studio album, Siren
, Roxy Music temporarily disbanded in 1976 though bandmembers Paul Thompson
, Phil Manzanera
and Eddie Jobson
took part in recording Ferry's subsequent solo material. In 1976 Ferry covered a Beatles song, “She's Leaving Home
” for the transitory musical documentary All This and World War II
. He went on to release three solo albums during this period, Let's Stick Together
(1976), In Your Mind (1977) and The Bride Stripped Bare
(1978). All three albums reached the UK Top 20, but by this time his career had begun to wane.
Roxy Music reconvened in 1979, with Ferry, Manzanera, Thompson and Mackay (Jobson was no longer a member). The band recorded the albums Manifesto (1979), Flesh + Blood (1980) and Avalon (1982), the latter two reaching number one in the UK album charts. The band also achieved their first and only UK number one single, "Jealous Guy
", released in 1981 as a posthumous tribute to its author John Lennon
who had been murdered some months earlier. It was the only one of their singles not to be written or co-written by Ferry.
After lengthy tours to promote the Avalon album in 1982, Ferry decided to put Roxy Music on hold and continue as a solo artist.
In July 1985 Ferry performed at the London Live Aid
show, again accompanied by David Gilmour. He was hit with technical difficulties on sound, the drummer's drumstick broke at the start of the first song "Sensation" and Gilmour's Fender Stratocaster
went dead, so he had to switch to his candy-apple red Stratocaster for the rest of the performance. The difficulties in sound were overcome for "Slave to Love
" (featured on the soundtrack to 9½ Weeks
) and "Jealous Guy". As with other successful Live Aid acts, his current album, Boys and Girls, remained in the UK chart for almost a year.
After the Avalon promotional tours, Ferry was rather reluctant to return to life on the road; however, a change of management persuaded him to try touring again in 1988 to promote the previous year's Bête Noire release. Following the tour, Ferry teamed up again with Brian Eno for Mamouna
(collaborating with Robin Trower
on guitar and as producer). The album took more than five years to produce, and was created under the working title Horoscope. During production, Ferry simultaneously recorded and released another covers album, Taxi
in 1993, which proved to be a greater commercial and critical success than Mamouna would be when it was finally released in 1994. In 1996 Ferry performed the song "Dance With Life" for the Phenomenon
soundtrack, which was written by Bernie Taupin
and Martin Page. In 1999 Ferry appeared with Alan Partridge
(played by Steve Coogan
) on BBC's Comic Relief.
After taking some time off from music, Ferry returned in 1999. He began to perform a mix of 1930s songs and songs of his own, including several from the Roxy collection, and recorded them on the album As Time Goes By
, which was nominated for a Grammy award.
, which featured several tracks written by David A. Stewart
as well as a collaboration with Brian Eno
. The album was a mix of new original material and covers - something that Ferry had not attempted on a solo album since The Bride Stripped Bare in 1978.
In 2003 Ferry provided the entertainment for the Miss World
election, a show with an expected 2 billion viewers worldwide.
In 2004, Ferry starred in the short film The Porter. In 2005 it was confirmed that Roxy Music (Ferry, Eno, Mackay, Manzanera and Thompson) would be performing further shows at that year's Isle Of Wight festival and that they would also be recording a further album of new and original songs, with no indication of when such a project would reach completion. Brian Eno confirmed that he has worked in the studio with Roxy Music once more and has co-written songs for the new album. However, Ferry later debunked the idea of a new Roxy Music album and stated that the material from these sessions will most likely be released as part of his next solo album, and that "I don't think we'll record as Roxy again."
In October 2006 Ferry signed a contract with the British retailer Marks and Spencer to model their "Autograph" men's clothing range. In March 2007 he released the album Dylanesque
, a tribute album to Bob Dylan
. The album charted in the UK Top 10, and Ferry undertook a UK tour. On 7 October 2008 Ferry was honoured as a BMI
Icon at the annual BMI London Awards. He joined past Icons including Peter Gabriel
, Ray Davies
, Steve Winwood
, and Van Morrison
, amongst others.
In 2009 Ferry provided vocals on DJ Hell
's record, U Can Dance. A new version of the track was recorded for Ferry's new studio album, Olympia
, released in October 2010. The album contained the material he had been recorded with his former Roxy Music band members, and also featured an impressive cast of other musicians such as Nile Rodgers
, David A. Stewart
, Scissor Sisters
, Groove Armada
, Michael "Flea" Balzary, Johnny Greenwood and David Gilmour
, and also featured model Kate Moss
on the front cover. Despite this, and being released in multiple "deluxe" editions (one including a large format hardback book), the album was not a commercial success in comparison to Ferry's previous studio albums, barely making the UK Top 20 and dropping out of the chart altogether after only three weeks.
In June 2011 Ferry was made a CBE
in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his contribution to the British music industry.
, who was photographed with a black jaguar for the cover of the For Your Pleasure
album. She later went on to date David Bowie
.
Ferry then began a relationship with model Jerry Hall
. Ferry first met Hall when she posed for the Roxy Music album cover for Siren
in Wales during the summer 1975. Hall's autobiography Tall Tales (1985) describes the photo session, and she elaborates on how the blue body paint she wore to look like a mythical siren would not wash off; Hall says that Ferry took her back to his house, claiming he would help her to remove the paint.
Her stay at Ferry's Holland Park
(London) home, following the album cover photo shoot, marked the start of their affair. Hall and Ferry lived together, sharing homes in London and in the ritzy Bel Air
district of Los Angeles
, and Hall also appeared in some of Ferry's music videos, including "Let's Stick Together" and "The Price of Love" (both 1976). Their relationship ended when she left him for Mick Jagger
in late 1977. To this day, Ferry rarely speaks about Hall, but fans often speculate that his song "Kiss and Tell" from the Bête Noire album (1987) was Ferry's response to Hall's tell-all book about their relationship published a couple of years earlier. Additionally, Ferry's 1978 solo album The Bride Stripped Bare
is widely believed to contain allusions to his break-up with Hall - particularly the song "When She Walks in the Room". Ferry's original songs on the album were in fact written some time before the relationship ended, although it was recorded afterwards.
On 26 June 1982 Ferry married London socialite
and model Lucy Helmore
(14 years his junior), who had become pregnant with their child Otis
(b. 1 November 1982). Although her face is not seen, Helmore was the model on the front cover of Roxy Music's 1982 album Avalon, released a month before their wedding. The couple went on to have three more sons, Isaac, Tara and Merlin. After they married, Helmore helped Ferry to kick a prevailing cocaine habit, though herself attended Alcoholics Anonymous
and Narcotics Anonymous
in the mid-1990s. In recent years Otis Ferry has become known in the British media for his pro-hunting political activities. He has been arrested and charged several times for activities relating to hunting, one of which led to a conviction
. He also has a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol
. Ferry's second son, Isaac, was suspended from Eton College
for sending abusive e-mails to an anti-hunting campaigner. By 2008, Tara was performing in a rock band called Rubber Kiss Goodbye and was about to start studying at Chelsea College of Art and Design. By 2008, Merlin was studying for "A" Levels at Marlborough College, and now plays guitar in his band Voltorb. Ferry's children have also contributed to his 2010 album Olympia
. Tara played drums on several tracks, Merlin played guitar on one track, and Isaac was the producer of the album's artwork. Tara also toured with Ferry (and Roxy Music) on the band's 2011 For Your Pleasure tour, performing additional drums.
In 2000 the whole Ferry family were on a British Airways
flight to Nairobi
when a deranged passenger forced his way into the cockpit, attacked the pilot and caused the plane to lurch downward. A crash was only prevented when the assailant was eventually overcome.
Ferry and Helmore split in the early 2000s following an affair she had had, and were divorced in 2003. After their separation, British newspapers photographed Ferry with Katie Turner, 35 years his junior, naming her as his new 'girlfriend'.
Ferry and Turner met while she worked as one of the dancers on Roxy Music's concert tour in 2001 (and is featured on the DVD of the 2001 Hammersmith Odeon Show). She went on to appear with Ferry on several TV shows to promote the Frantic album, and also performed on the Frantic tour in 2002. After their break-up, Ferry had a relationship with British socialite Lady Emily Compton.
In 2006 he resumed his relationship with Katie Turner for some time. Ferry is now in a relationship with Amanda Sheppard, who previously worked in public relations, until she quit her job in 2009 after Ferry offered to financially support her.
Ferry was estimated to have a fortune of £30 million in the Sunday Times Rich List
of 2010.
...And the buildings of Albert Speer
and the mass marches and the flags—just fantastic. Really beautiful." In the same interview Ferry was also reported to have referred to his West London recording studio as "The Führerbunker
" (Adolf Hitler
's bunker during World War II
).
Ferry's comments caused considerable controversy in the media and, the following month he made a public apology, stating "I apologize unreservedly for any offence caused by my comments on Nazi iconography, which were solely made from an art history perspective. I, like every right-minded individual, find the Nazi regime, and all it stood for, evil and abhorrent." At the time of the controversy, Ferry was contracted to the British retailer Marks and Spencer to model their "Autograph" menswear line. However, despite Ferry's public apology for his comments, Marks and Spencer opted to sever their ties with him.
, referring to himself as "conservative by nature," but essentially apolitical. Without elaborating, he stated he was "proud" of his son Otis and declared the ban on fox hunting "futile." He also alluded to an opposition to "left-wing bitterness" and the spectre of "political correctness," but the model of free speech he cited was the anarchic 1970s and not the Thatcher
era or a more distant past. In a 2009 interview, Ferry stated: “I would support a Cameron
government. I have met him, and he’s a bright guy. I hope they do well. I don’t like the way the present Government has done things, most of all putting my son in prison for four and a half months, totally unlawfully ... and that’s not just my opinion: judges, all sorts, have said it was a stitch-up. It was politically motivated. The poor lad just wants to live the traditional country life.”
Ferry is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance
and has played concerts to raise funds for the organisation. He has also played at a concert in support of Silvio Berlusconi's Milan mayoral candidate in the 2011 election.
-Tom Cruise
film Legend
. The song (featuring guitar work by David Gilmour
) plays during the end credits of the U.S. theatrical release, and was released with the Tangerine Dream
version of the soundtrack on CD (although this is out of print and rare). A promotional music video was created, integrating Ferry and Gilmour into scenes from the film; this is included as a bonus in the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release.
In 2005 Ferry appeared in Neil Jordan
's movie, Breakfast on Pluto
, starring Cillian Murphy
as a young Irish transvestite
who goes to London in the glam
1970s to find his mother. Ferry, appearing in a bit part as Mr. Silky String, played a suave but creepy punter who picks up the sexually ambiguous young man and, after a short conversation, attempts to strangle him in the front seat of his car.
Ferry is referenced in the comedy show The Mighty Boosh
in the episode "Hitcher", as Vince Noir's adopted father and King of the Forest. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that 'Brian Ferry' actually resembles Terry Wogan
.
Ferry is mentioned in Farkas Berci széjjelfagy, a paraphrase-parody of the Hungarian folk tale A kismalac és a farkasok, the plot of which is very similar to Three Little Pigs
. Little pig, the hero of the tale, who is portrayed as a music fan in the parody, claims he wouldn't let the wolf enter his house, even if he were Bryan Ferry himself.
Ferry is mentioned in the musical comedy "Glee." Blaine Anderson is seen dancing to Roxy Music before making a comment about how he'd like to build a time machine, visit the 1970s, and give Ferry a high-five.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 26 September 1945, Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s entering the top ten charts in the United Kingdom. Ferry began his solo career in 1973, while still a member of Roxy Music, which continues to the present day.
Early life
Born into a working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family (his father, Fred Ferry, was a farmer who also looked after pit ponies
Pit pony
A pit pony was a type of pony commonly used underground in coal mines from the mid 18th up until the mid 20th century.-History:Ponies began to be used underground, often replacing child or female labour, as distances from pit head to coal face became greater...
), Ferry attended Washington Grammar-Technical School (now called Washington School) on Spout Lane from 1957 and achieved nine O levels, then studied fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963. Newcastle University is...
under Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton (artist)
Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
.
His contemporaries included Tim Head
Tim Head
Tim Head is a British artist.Born in London, He studied at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1965 to 1969, where his teachers included Richard Hamilton and Ian Stephenson. His contemporary students included Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry...
and Nick de Ville. Ferry became a pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
teacher at Holland Park School in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Ferry formed the band The Banshees, and later, together with Graham Simpson, the band the Gas Board.
Roxy Music and solo years (1971–1983)
Ferry formed Roxy Music with a group of friends and acquaintances, beginning with Graham Simpson, in November 1970. The line-up expanded to include saxophonist/oboist Andy MackayAndy Mackay
Andrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
and his acquaintance Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, who owned tape recorders and played Mackay's synthesiser. Other early members included timpanist Dexter Lloyd and ex-Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
guitarist David O'List, who were replaced respectively by Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson (musician)
Paul Thompson is the drummer for Roxy Music from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 onwards.In between those stints with Roxy Music, he was drummer in the Oi! band, Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde...
and Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. 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...
before the band recorded its first album (early Peel Sessions for the UK's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
feature O'List's playing).
Roxy Music's first hit, "Virginia Plain", made the UK Top 5 in 1972, and was followed up with several hit singles and albums, with Ferry as vocalist and occasional instrumentalist (he taught himself piano in his mid-twenties) and Eno contributing synthesiser backing.
For many years, Ferry has collaborated with fashion designer Antony Price
Antony Price
Antony Price is a London fashion designer who is best known for glamorous evening wear and suits, and for the seventies icon of the cap sleeve t-shirt...
for clothing and image consultations. Price is famous for his shop on London's Kings Road
Kings Road
King's Road or Kings Road, known popularly as The King's Road or The KR, is a major, well-known street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both in west London, England...
. He created suits recognised worldwide for their elegance, and gained fame when celebrities and rock stars dressed in his designs. Indeed, one comment by Nicky Haslam about Ferry was that he was more likely to redecorate a hotel room than to trash it as a typical rock star might.
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
left Roxy Music, leaving Ferry its undisputed leader. Ferry had already started a parallel solo career in 1973, initially performing cover versions of old standards on albums such as These Foolish Things (1973) and Another Time, Another Place
Another Time, Another Place (album)
Another Time, Another Place was Bryan Ferry's second studio album as a solo artist. The album reached #4 in the UK charts in 1974.Recording took place in London at Island, Ramport and AIR studios....
(1974), both of which reached the UK Top 5. After the concert tour in support of their fifth studio album, Siren
Siren (Roxy Music album)
Siren is the fifth album by British rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 .In 2003, the album was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
, Roxy Music temporarily disbanded in 1976 though bandmembers Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson (musician)
Paul Thompson is the drummer for Roxy Music from 1971 to 1980 and from 2001 onwards.In between those stints with Roxy Music, he was drummer in the Oi! band, Angelic Upstarts and the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde...
, Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera
Phil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. 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...
and Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
took part in recording Ferry's subsequent solo material. In 1976 Ferry covered a Beatles song, “She's Leaving Home
She's Leaving Home
"She's Leaving Home" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney and released in 1967 on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney wrote and sang the verse and Lennon the chorus...
” for the transitory musical documentary All This and World War II
All This and World War II
All This and World War II is a 1976 musical documentary that juxtaposes Beatles songs, performed by a number of musicians, with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films from the 1940s...
. He went on to release three solo albums during this period, Let's Stick Together
Let's Stick Together
Let's Stick Together is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbandment of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry’s two previous solo recordings, Let’s Stick Together was not a dedicated album project, instead being made up of material released...
(1976), In Your Mind (1977) and The Bride Stripped Bare
The Bride Stripped Bare (album)
The Bride Stripped Bare is a 1978 solo album by Bryan Ferry and is his fifth album released independent of Roxy Music. It was recorded after his girlfriend Jerry Hall left him for Mick Jagger in 1977, and appears to contain references to their break-up....
(1978). All three albums reached the UK Top 20, but by this time his career had begun to wane.
Roxy Music reconvened in 1979, with Ferry, Manzanera, Thompson and Mackay (Jobson was no longer a member). The band recorded the albums Manifesto (1979), Flesh + Blood (1980) and Avalon (1982), the latter two reaching number one in the UK album charts. The band also achieved their first and only UK number one single, "Jealous Guy
Jealous Guy
"Jealous Guy" is a song written and performed by John Lennon which first appeared on his 1971 album Imagine. It is one of the most commonly covered Lennon songs, with at least ninety-two recorded cover versions, the most notable being Roxy Music's version, which reached number one in several...
", released in 1981 as a posthumous tribute to its author John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
who had been murdered some months earlier. It was the only one of their singles not to be written or co-written by Ferry.
After lengthy tours to promote the Avalon album in 1982, Ferry decided to put Roxy Music on hold and continue as a solo artist.
After Roxy Music (1984–2001)
Ferry continued to record, and released his sixth solo album, Boys and Girls, in 1985. The album reached number one in the UK, his first and only solo recording to do so, and also became his biggest selling album in the US.In July 1985 Ferry performed at the London Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
show, again accompanied by David Gilmour. He was hit with technical difficulties on sound, the drummer's drumstick broke at the start of the first song "Sensation" and Gilmour's Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
went dead, so he had to switch to his candy-apple red Stratocaster for the rest of the performance. The difficulties in sound were overcome for "Slave to Love
Slave to Love
"Slave to Love" is the first single released from Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry's 1985 release, Boys and Girls, and is one of his most popular solo hits. The single was released on 28 April 1985 and spent 9 weeks in the UK charts in 1985, peaking at number 10...
" (featured on the soundtrack to 9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks
9½ Weeks is a 1986 erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. It is based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth McNeill....
) and "Jealous Guy". As with other successful Live Aid acts, his current album, Boys and Girls, remained in the UK chart for almost a year.
After the Avalon promotional tours, Ferry was rather reluctant to return to life on the road; however, a change of management persuaded him to try touring again in 1988 to promote the previous year's Bête Noire release. Following the tour, Ferry teamed up again with Brian Eno for Mamouna
Mamouna
Mamouna is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in September 1994. He spent six years writing the album and perfecting it...
(collaborating with Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
on guitar and as producer). The album took more than five years to produce, and was created under the working title Horoscope. During production, Ferry simultaneously recorded and released another covers album, Taxi
Taxi (Bryan Ferry album)
Taxi is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in April 1993, over five years after the release of his previous album Bête Noire.-Track listing:#"I Put a Spell on You"...
in 1993, which proved to be a greater commercial and critical success than Mamouna would be when it was finally released in 1994. In 1996 Ferry performed the song "Dance With Life" for the Phenomenon
Phenomenon (film)
Phenomenon is a 1996 romantic fantasy-drama film written by Gerald Di Pego, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, and Robert Duvall....
soundtrack, which was written by Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
and Martin Page. In 1999 Ferry appeared with Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
(played by Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
) on BBC's Comic Relief.
After taking some time off from music, Ferry returned in 1999. He began to perform a mix of 1930s songs and songs of his own, including several from the Roxy collection, and recorded them on the album As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By (Bryan Ferry album)
As Time Goes By is an album of popular songs and jazz standards by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in 1999.It is co-produced by Rhett Davies and Bryan Ferry.-Track listing:# "As Time Goes By" – 2:35...
, which was nominated for a Grammy award.
Roxy Music reunion 2001 and after
Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay and Thompson re-reformed Roxy Music in 2001 and toured extensively for a couple of years, though the band did not record any new material. In 2002 with the help of Manzanera and Thompson, Ferry returned with his next studio album, FranticFrantic (album)
Frantic is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in 2002. It was co-produced by Rhett Davies, Colin Good, and Bryan Ferry.- Track listing :#"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" #"Cruel"...
, which featured several tracks written by David A. Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
as well as a collaboration with Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. The album was a mix of new original material and covers - something that Ferry had not attempted on a solo album since The Bride Stripped Bare in 1978.
In 2003 Ferry provided the entertainment for the Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
election, a show with an expected 2 billion viewers worldwide.
In 2004, Ferry starred in the short film The Porter. In 2005 it was confirmed that Roxy Music (Ferry, Eno, Mackay, Manzanera and Thompson) would be performing further shows at that year's Isle Of Wight festival and that they would also be recording a further album of new and original songs, with no indication of when such a project would reach completion. Brian Eno confirmed that he has worked in the studio with Roxy Music once more and has co-written songs for the new album. However, Ferry later debunked the idea of a new Roxy Music album and stated that the material from these sessions will most likely be released as part of his next solo album, and that "I don't think we'll record as Roxy again."
In October 2006 Ferry signed a contract with the British retailer Marks and Spencer to model their "Autograph" men's clothing range. In March 2007 he released the album Dylanesque
Dylanesque (album)
Dylanesque is a 2007 album by Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music´s frontman. It is an album of covers of Bob Dylan songs. As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 11,985 copies in the US and has reached the top 10 on both UK and Swedish album charts.- Track listing :...
, a tribute album to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. The album charted in the UK Top 10, and Ferry undertook a UK tour. On 7 October 2008 Ferry was honoured as a BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Icon at the annual BMI London Awards. He joined past Icons including Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, and Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, amongst others.
In 2009 Ferry provided vocals on DJ Hell
DJ Hell
This article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
's record, U Can Dance. A new version of the track was recorded for Ferry's new studio album, Olympia
Olympia (album)
Olympia is an album by the British singer Bryan Ferry, released by Virgin Records on 25 October 2010. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of largely original material since 2002's Frantic. The album features a wide range of contributors, including co-songwriter...
, released in October 2010. The album contained the material he had been recorded with his former Roxy Music band members, and also featured an impressive cast of other musicians such as Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
, David A. Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
, Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
, Groove Armada
Groove Armada
Groove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
, Michael "Flea" Balzary, Johnny Greenwood and David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, and also featured model Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
on the front cover. Despite this, and being released in multiple "deluxe" editions (one including a large format hardback book), the album was not a commercial success in comparison to Ferry's previous studio albums, barely making the UK Top 20 and dropping out of the chart altogether after only three weeks.
In June 2011 Ferry was made a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his contribution to the British music industry.
Personal life
Several of the women Ferry had been involved with have appeared as cover models on the Roxy Music albums. Ferry dated the French singer and model Amanda LearAmanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
, who was photographed with a black jaguar for the cover of the For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure
For Your Pleasure is a 1973 album by the British glam and art rock group Roxy Music, released by Island Records . The band's second album, it was also their last to feature synthesiser and sound specialist Brian Eno, who would later gain acclaim as a solo artist and producer.-Production:The group...
album. She later went on to date David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
Ferry then began a relationship with model Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall
Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:...
. Ferry first met Hall when she posed for the Roxy Music album cover for Siren
Siren (Roxy Music album)
Siren is the fifth album by British rock band Roxy Music, released in 1975 .In 2003, the album was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
in Wales during the summer 1975. Hall's autobiography Tall Tales (1985) describes the photo session, and she elaborates on how the blue body paint she wore to look like a mythical siren would not wash off; Hall says that Ferry took her back to his house, claiming he would help her to remove the paint.
Her stay at Ferry's Holland Park
Holland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
(London) home, following the album cover photo shoot, marked the start of their affair. Hall and Ferry lived together, sharing homes in London and in the ritzy Bel Air
Bel Air
Bel Air or Bel-Air may refer to:Places in the United States:* Bel Air, Los Angeles, a district of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States* Bel Air, Alabama* Bel-Air , a placename in Seminole County, Florida, United States...
district of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Hall also appeared in some of Ferry's music videos, including "Let's Stick Together" and "The Price of Love" (both 1976). Their relationship ended when she left him for Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
in late 1977. To this day, Ferry rarely speaks about Hall, but fans often speculate that his song "Kiss and Tell" from the Bête Noire album (1987) was Ferry's response to Hall's tell-all book about their relationship published a couple of years earlier. Additionally, Ferry's 1978 solo album The Bride Stripped Bare
The Bride Stripped Bare (album)
The Bride Stripped Bare is a 1978 solo album by Bryan Ferry and is his fifth album released independent of Roxy Music. It was recorded after his girlfriend Jerry Hall left him for Mick Jagger in 1977, and appears to contain references to their break-up....
is widely believed to contain allusions to his break-up with Hall - particularly the song "When She Walks in the Room". Ferry's original songs on the album were in fact written some time before the relationship ended, although it was recorded afterwards.
On 26 June 1982 Ferry married London socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and model Lucy Helmore
Lucy Helmore
Lucy Ferry is a former model and London socialite who is the former wife of Roxy Music lead singer Bryan Ferry....
(14 years his junior), who had become pregnant with their child Otis
Otis Ferry
Charles Frederick Otis Ferry, born is a British fox hunting enthusiast and prominent pro-hunting protestor. He is the son of singer Bryan Ferry and model Lucy Helmore. Ferry is joint master huntsman of the South Shropshire hunt....
(b. 1 November 1982). Although her face is not seen, Helmore was the model on the front cover of Roxy Music's 1982 album Avalon, released a month before their wedding. The couple went on to have three more sons, Isaac, Tara and Merlin. After they married, Helmore helped Ferry to kick a prevailing cocaine habit, though herself attended Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
and Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
in the mid-1990s. In recent years Otis Ferry has become known in the British media for his pro-hunting political activities. He has been arrested and charged several times for activities relating to hunting, one of which led to a conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
. He also has a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
. Ferry's second son, Isaac, was suspended from Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
for sending abusive e-mails to an anti-hunting campaigner. By 2008, Tara was performing in a rock band called Rubber Kiss Goodbye and was about to start studying at Chelsea College of Art and Design. By 2008, Merlin was studying for "A" Levels at Marlborough College, and now plays guitar in his band Voltorb. Ferry's children have also contributed to his 2010 album Olympia
Olympia (album)
Olympia is an album by the British singer Bryan Ferry, released by Virgin Records on 25 October 2010. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of largely original material since 2002's Frantic. The album features a wide range of contributors, including co-songwriter...
. Tara played drums on several tracks, Merlin played guitar on one track, and Isaac was the producer of the album's artwork. Tara also toured with Ferry (and Roxy Music) on the band's 2011 For Your Pleasure tour, performing additional drums.
In 2000 the whole Ferry family were on a British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
flight to Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
when a deranged passenger forced his way into the cockpit, attacked the pilot and caused the plane to lurch downward. A crash was only prevented when the assailant was eventually overcome.
Ferry and Helmore split in the early 2000s following an affair she had had, and were divorced in 2003. After their separation, British newspapers photographed Ferry with Katie Turner, 35 years his junior, naming her as his new 'girlfriend'.
Ferry and Turner met while she worked as one of the dancers on Roxy Music's concert tour in 2001 (and is featured on the DVD of the 2001 Hammersmith Odeon Show). She went on to appear with Ferry on several TV shows to promote the Frantic album, and also performed on the Frantic tour in 2002. After their break-up, Ferry had a relationship with British socialite Lady Emily Compton.
In 2006 he resumed his relationship with Katie Turner for some time. Ferry is now in a relationship with Amanda Sheppard, who previously worked in public relations, until she quit her job in 2009 after Ferry offered to financially support her.
Ferry was estimated to have a fortune of £30 million in the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
of 2010.
Nazi controversy
In 2007 a controversy arose after Ferry praised the imagery and iconography of the Nazi regime in an interview with the German newspaper, Welt Am Sonntag. Ferry stated "the way that the Nazis staged themselves and presented themselves, my Lord!...I'm talking about the films of Leni RiefenstahlLeni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
...And the buildings of Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
and the mass marches and the flags—just fantastic. Really beautiful." In the same interview Ferry was also reported to have referred to his West London recording studio as "The Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
" (Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's bunker during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
).
Ferry's comments caused considerable controversy in the media and, the following month he made a public apology, stating "I apologize unreservedly for any offence caused by my comments on Nazi iconography, which were solely made from an art history perspective. I, like every right-minded individual, find the Nazi regime, and all it stood for, evil and abhorrent." At the time of the controversy, Ferry was contracted to the British retailer Marks and Spencer to model their "Autograph" menswear line. However, despite Ferry's public apology for his comments, Marks and Spencer opted to sever their ties with him.
Political views
In 2008 Ferry alluded to support for the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, referring to himself as "conservative by nature," but essentially apolitical. Without elaborating, he stated he was "proud" of his son Otis and declared the ban on fox hunting "futile." He also alluded to an opposition to "left-wing bitterness" and the spectre of "political correctness," but the model of free speech he cited was the anarchic 1970s and not the Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
era or a more distant past. In a 2009 interview, Ferry stated: “I would support a Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
government. I have met him, and he’s a bright guy. I hope they do well. I don’t like the way the present Government has done things, most of all putting my son in prison for four and a half months, totally unlawfully ... and that’s not just my opinion: judges, all sorts, have said it was a stitch-up. It was politically motivated. The poor lad just wants to live the traditional country life.”
Ferry is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance
Countryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as country sports, including hunting, shooting and angling...
and has played concerts to raise funds for the organisation. He has also played at a concert in support of Silvio Berlusconi's Milan mayoral candidate in the 2011 election.
In other media
In 1985 Ferry contributed the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" to the Ridley ScottRidley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
-Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
film Legend
Legend (film)
Legend is a 1985 fantasy film released by Universal Pictures, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and Tim Curry. Though not a very notable success when first released, it received a single Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup, and since its initial release, has developed...
. The song (featuring guitar work by David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
) plays during the end credits of the U.S. theatrical release, and was released with the Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
version of the soundtrack on CD (although this is out of print and rare). A promotional music video was created, integrating Ferry and Gilmour into scenes from the film; this is included as a bonus in the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release.
In 2005 Ferry appeared in Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
's movie, Breakfast on Pluto
Breakfast on Pluto (film)
Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Neil Jordan and based on the novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, as adapted by Jordan and McCabe...
, starring Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
as a young Irish transvestite
Transvestism
Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...
who goes to London in the glam
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
1970s to find his mother. Ferry, appearing in a bit part as Mr. Silky String, played a suave but creepy punter who picks up the sexually ambiguous young man and, after a short conversation, attempts to strangle him in the front seat of his car.
Ferry is referenced in the comedy show The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
in the episode "Hitcher", as Vince Noir's adopted father and King of the Forest. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that 'Brian Ferry' actually resembles Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
.
Ferry is mentioned in Farkas Berci széjjelfagy, a paraphrase-parody of the Hungarian folk tale A kismalac és a farkasok, the plot of which is very similar to Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older...
. Little pig, the hero of the tale, who is portrayed as a music fan in the parody, claims he wouldn't let the wolf enter his house, even if he were Bryan Ferry himself.
Ferry is mentioned in the musical comedy "Glee." Blaine Anderson is seen dancing to Roxy Music before making a comment about how he'd like to build a time machine, visit the 1970s, and give Ferry a high-five.
Studio albums
- These Foolish Things (October 1973, UK #5)
- Another Time, Another PlaceAnother Time, Another Place (album)Another Time, Another Place was Bryan Ferry's second studio album as a solo artist. The album reached #4 in the UK charts in 1974.Recording took place in London at Island, Ramport and AIR studios....
(July 1974, UK #4) - Let's Stick TogetherLet's Stick TogetherLet's Stick Together is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbandment of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry’s two previous solo recordings, Let’s Stick Together was not a dedicated album project, instead being made up of material released...
(September 1976, UK #19, US #160) - In Your Mind (February 1977, UK #5, US #126, Aust.#1)
- The Bride Stripped BareThe Bride Stripped Bare (album)The Bride Stripped Bare is a 1978 solo album by Bryan Ferry and is his fifth album released independent of Roxy Music. It was recorded after his girlfriend Jerry Hall left him for Mick Jagger in 1977, and appears to contain references to their break-up....
(April 1978, UK #13, US #159) - Boys and Girls (May 1985, UK #1, US #63)
- Bête Noire (October 1987, UK #9, US #63)
- TaxiTaxi (Bryan Ferry album)Taxi is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in April 1993, over five years after the release of his previous album Bête Noire.-Track listing:#"I Put a Spell on You"...
(13 April 1993, UK #2, US #79) - MamounaMamounaMamouna is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in September 1994. He spent six years writing the album and perfecting it...
(5 September 1994, UK #11, US #94) - As Time Goes ByAs Time Goes By (Bryan Ferry album)As Time Goes By is an album of popular songs and jazz standards by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in 1999.It is co-produced by Rhett Davies and Bryan Ferry.-Track listing:# "As Time Goes By" – 2:35...
(15 October 1999, UK #16, US #199) - FranticFrantic (album)Frantic is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in 2002. It was co-produced by Rhett Davies, Colin Good, and Bryan Ferry.- Track listing :#"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" #"Cruel"...
(18 May 2002, UK #6, US #189) - DylanesqueDylanesque (album)Dylanesque is a 2007 album by Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music´s frontman. It is an album of covers of Bob Dylan songs. As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 11,985 copies in the US and has reached the top 10 on both UK and Swedish album charts.- Track listing :...
(5 March 2007, UK #5, US #117) - OlympiaOlympia (album)Olympia is an album by the British singer Bryan Ferry, released by Virgin Records on 25 October 2010. Co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, Olympia is Ferry's first album of largely original material since 2002's Frantic. The album features a wide range of contributors, including co-songwriter...
(26 October 2010, UK #19, US #71)
Sources
- Bracewell, Michael Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Art, Ideas, and Fashion (Da Capo Press, 2005) ISBN 0-306-81400-5
- Buckley, David The Thrill of It All: The Story of Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music (Chicago Review Press, 2005) ISBN 1-55652-574-5
- Rigby, Jonathan Roxy Music: Both Ends Burning (Reynolds & Hearn, 2005; revised edition 2008) ISBN 1-903111-80-3
- Stump, Paul Unknown Pleasures: A Cultural Biography of Roxy Music (Quartet Books, 1998) ISBN 0-7043-8074-9