"Do the Strand" is the first song from 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...

's second album, 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...

. In contrast to the songs from Roxy Music's eponymous debut album

Roxy Music (album)

Roxy Music is the debut album by art rock band Roxy Music, released in June 1972. It was generally well-received by contemporary critics and made #10 in the UK charts.-Style and themes:...

, this song starts suddenly without any instrumental fanfare

Fanfare

A Fanfare is a relatively short piece of music that is typically played by trumpets and other brass instruments often accompanied by percussion...

.

Lyrics

The song tries to convince the listener to do "The Strand", which refers to the advert for The Strand cigarettes and its moody advert. The lyrics are, typically for early Roxy Music lyrics, intellectual references, including The Sphinx

Sphinx

A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...

, Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

, Lolita

Lolita

Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...

 and Guernica.

The song gives no instructions on how The Strand should be danced, but the advert was famous for presenting a lonesome image, and it is likely that the band had no specific dance in mind. Simon Puxley wrote in 1973 that the dance was "indefinable," and best thought of as "where it's at, whatever turns you on. The buzz, the action, the centre, the quintessence, the energy." Incidentally, there was a dance from the 50s known as The Strand and referenced in Maureen Gray's song "Dancing the Strand," though this is most likely coincidental.

Single

"Do the Strand" was released as a single in 1973 in some countries (but not the UK). It was released as a single in the UK in 1978 to promote Roxy Music's Greatest Hits album, but it failed to chart. Despite this, the song remains one of the most popular amongst Roxy Music fans, especially at live concerts.

Covers

German synthpop band Alphaville

Alphaville (band)

Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd , and Frank Mertens Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum,...

 did a cover version of "Do the Strand" in their 2003 album CrazyShow

CrazyShow

CrazyShow is a limited-edition four-CD album by Alphaville, composed of new material as wellas rare and remixed tracks, and three cover versions...

.

American pop band 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...

 did a cover version of "Do the Strand" for the War Child

War Child (charity)

War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...

 charity's 2009 charity album War Child Presents Heroes.

Musicians

• Andy MacKay
  Andy Mackay
  Andrew "Andy" Mackay is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the art-rock group Roxy Music....
  
  : Oboe And Saxophone
• Bryan Ferry
  Bryan Ferry
  Bryan Ferry, CBE 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 singles entering the top ten charts in...
  
  : Voice And Keyboards
• 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,...
  
  : Synthesizer And Tapes
• 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...
  
  : Drums
• 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...
  
  : Guitar
• John Porter
  John Porter (musician)
  John Porter is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:He attended St Michael's School, Allerton Grange School, King's College, and Newcastle University....
  
  (Guest Artist): Bass