Roxy Music Live - S/D

"More Than This" is enough of a staple that my students know the song without identifying the singer. He's not attracting younger fans because the traditional modes of image promotion at which Ferry excelled -- the glossy magazine, the poster, the constant video push -- are gone.

Plus, Ferry wasn't writing acoustic guitar hummables. One of those students shocked me last spring when in our newsroom she strummed "Criminal World" after "Life on Mars?" She loved Bowie, learned the song on her guitar from her parents' collection.

The friend I took with me to see them a couple weeks ago considered himself a fan, yet as far as I could tell only knew "More Than This."

Oh boy, it is getting rough
When his old world charm isn't quite enough.

I'm not sure I knew anyone among my peers who ever mentioned Roxy Music. I even recall bringing them up when I was in college on certain occasions and having to explain who they were. I remember when "More Than This" was used in Lost in Translation partially because I don't think I ever heard it anywhere else before, and even afterwards, I can't remember hearing it anywhere. (I don't think classic rock radio in Chicago ever programmed it or any Roxy Music, did they?) Their music in general is something I had to put it on myself.

Its more the idea of Roxymusic that I like than the music

I first heard of Roxy Music through a couple guys in college who were just intimidatingly cool to me. As it should be I guess.

(I don't think classic rock radio in Chicago ever programmed it or any Roxy Music, did they?)

"Classic rock" stations in Chicago never played it, but in addition to "More Than This," I heard all of the following on WXRT with some regularity between 1984 and 1998: "Love Is The Drug," "Do The Strand," "Both Ends Burning," "Out Of The Blue," "The Thrill Of It All," "Avalon," "Over You," "Dance Away," and even "Eight Miles High" once or twice. I have never heard Roxy on any other radio station, in the midwest or northeast, ever.

I remember a DJ back-announcing Roxy on our classic rock station, presumably to help endear them to Van Halen fans: "'Virginia Plain' - one of the many, many women Bryan Ferry has known over the years!"

In the early '90s Ferry and Bowie were wiped off American radio. I heard "Jump They Say" and "I Put a Spell on You" on my college station a couple times, dat's dat. They simply didn't fit the times. By 1997, though, Bowie had reclaimed much of his aura. Ferry, though -- my friends would nod sympathetically when I mentioned or played him, wondered why the 2001 concert DVD I got for Xmas excited me so. I don't know how anyone between 1995 and 2010 discovered Roxy Music; I had to rely on microfiche/microfilm in the uni library.

I don't know how anyone between 1995 and 2010 discovered Roxy Music

Well, Lost In Translation and Velvet Goldmine, plus Virgin's Roxy/Ferry reissue campaign for starters...

It probably came down to the critics. Greg Kot wrote about them in the Tribune when he could - there weren't really any news events to give him reason to, so when he did, it was usually some broad feature related to rock music like one of those user-friendly guides for beginners that mainstream publications would periodically do. I think I mentioned an old list of "100 Greatest CD's" by EW I found that I actually used as a library loan guide. IIRC Avalon was on there, so that was my first exposure to them, but the occasional Trib article and The New Rolling Stone Album Guide pointed me to the rest. IIRC The RS guide was really big on Siren and Kot preferred the two Eno albums.

*the critics too

Plus the Roxy reunion tour in 2001. It probably didn't make them brand-new fans, but it kept their hat in the ring. They didn't seem like underdogs at the show I saw.

I think I mentioned an old list of "100 Greatest CD's" by EW I found that I actually used as a library loan guide. IIRC Avalon was on there, so that was my first exposure to them, but the occasional Trib article and The New Rolling Stone Album Guide pointed me to the rest. IIRC The RS guide was really big on Siren and Kot preferred the two Eno albums.

In the miserable desert of the early '90s I remember these appearances (and used former ILM poster Mark Coleman's RS guide), but these are critics. I meant, like, fans. I was going to mention Velvet Goldmine but it and 10,000 Maniacs' somnolent hit cover of "More Than This," but both were too early.

I do remember Velvet Goldmine but I didn't bother seeing it for a long time due to poor word of mouth (like "too bad he couldn't use Bowie songs like he originally planned"). I didn't realize they used Roxy Music's songs, but the movie was a flop so I doubt it made that many new fans.

it's terrible

(it is better than that Stardust movie that recently came out though).

there was a daniel craig movie several years back called "Flashbacks of a Fool" which has roxy and ferry as major plot points, even dressing craig up as ferry. but it didn't do very well I suppose.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/4e9d6465fb46296ad8b916cf2da6ce80/tumblr_pa6123LPAE1wbvw5fo2_400.gif

oh I guess it was the actor who plays Craig's character when younger. anyway here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f09xX7-Kos

In the early '90s Ferry and Bowie were wiped off American radio. I heard "Jump They Say" and "I Put a Spell on You" on my college station a couple times, dat's dat.

I still heard Bowie on Chicago “classic rock” stations in the early ‘90s, but usually just “Changes” or “Suffragette City.” “Jump They Say” got heavy airplay on the northeast “alternative” station I listened to — that is, I listened to the station mainly in the hopes they’d play “Jump They Say,” and they fortunately delivered.

Heart's Filthy Lesson and I'm Afraid of Americans were legitimate alternative radio hits. Nothing much after that though (I also stopped listening to commercial radio by the late 90's, for the most part).

Tuesday's Child definitely got PR push and had a video (as did other things on Hours) but the album was so poorly received I don't recall any of it really getting much traction, and then of course Bowie stopped doing videos for Heathen, I don't think he did any for Reality, and neither of those really had 'singles' songs and radio had completely changed by then.

As for Roxy: I certainly remember Avalon on the radio at the time of release, I never know who did that song until fairly late in the 80's. My parents around 79/80/81 listened to a lot of contemporary and 'crossover country' and I swear Avalon got play on those stations so I honestly never associated it with a British band. By the time of the 90's no, I don't remember Ferry or Roxy fairing very well radiowise in the US. I was into Ferry heavily in the early 90's and was one of like three people I knew who were into that but it was an extension of interest in art rock, Japan/Sylvian/Mick Karn stuff, etc, ie we were called art fags.

Same, though I discovered Japan/Sylvian and New Pop in the '90s through Ferry.

I was a consistent college radio listener through 1999 and never once heard "Heart's..." or "I'm Afraid of Americans." Guess it depended on region.

The MuchMusic channel in Canada was still showing videos like "Mamouna" or "Thursday's Child", not in frequent rotation, but enough that I knew they existed without seeking them out.

Roxy I recall hearing (three or four or five songs) a pretty good deal on WMMR in Philly growing up. but I got into Roxy by way of Eno (though always saw "Avalon" on audiophile lists); I don't recall listening to solo Ferry until "Mamouna," and again I think that was due to Eno, who was in his imperial '90s phase and all over that album. Stuff like Sylvian I got into by way of Fripp. Bowie I likely got into by way of both, Fripp and Eno.

By the '90s I was in Chicago and recall hearing "Earthing" stuff a lot on XRT, though don't recall hearing much "Outside" stuff on the radio.

Did any of Bowie's '90s videos get much airplay? I remember getting that DVD set and thinking that I had never seen any of them before. (Which is a shame for many reasons - they clearly put in a lot of work into each of them.)

"Jump They Say" is top five Bowie videoe.

*Video

within my friendgroup roxy was kind of like a record nerd band. juts like the eno records. seeing them in the uk this tour seems like they were more like fleetwood mac are over here or something. the whole crowd knew every word from every song. also billy idol sat near me which i might have already said!

Hearing it in the wild today, I'm reminded what a different world this have been if Ferry had taken the "Don't You (Forget About Me)" assignment.

Also, re: '90s Radio & Bowie: Classic Rock radio never forgot "Fame", "Rebel Rebel" and "Let's Dance".

...and "Changes" too!

A song that was never a hit in the US was Life on Mars. It’s odd how well known it is now.

Sales figures would suggest that more Americans knew the Barbra Streisand version of "Life on Mars" until recently, as it was on her ButterFly album that charted at #13 and went gold.

Don't think Life On Mars had much recognition amongst the american general populace until a season of American Horror Story used it to death.

yes, that! it's kind of weird to see it retconned into one of his most iconic songs now but obv. the US is not the world (neither is it mars)

Hearing it in the wild today, I'm reminded what a different world this have been if Ferry had taken the "Don't You (Forget About Me)" assignment.

Yep. Ferry's top-button-buttoned-at-all-times ethos doesn't suit an arrangement meant to be bellowed.

Yeah, he's James Bond lounging by the pool at the casino (and still in a tux), not James Bond in tactical gear about to rappel down a tall building.

I still hear tons of Bowie on the radio all the time. "Changes," "Space Oddity," "Ziggy," "Suffragette City," "Let's Dance," "Modern Love," "Jean Genie," "Diamond Dogs," "Heroes," "Starman," "Young Americans," "Fame," "Ashes to Ashes," "Golden Years," "Rebel Rebel," "China Girl," "Under Pressure." Rarely "Life on Mars," sometimes "DJ" or "Scary Monsters." Pretty impressive classic rock (and beyond) showing for a guy whose fame in the US was sort of simultaneously perennial and peripheral.

IIRC Kerr came up with the “Laaaa/Lalalalaaaa…” bit himself too. I can’t remotely imagine 80s Ferry singing that (tho These Foolish Things Ferry could’ve done wonders there, I suspect).

I am a sirius XM subscriber, and I note that Berlin/Scary Monsters DB as well as Peter Gabriel from Melt on fits the "First Wave" format, i.e. new wave and major label post-punk such as the Cure, REM, Smiths, Depeche Mode, New Order et al, as well as Classic Rewind, which approximates AOR from 1978-1986… the Genesis shit/"Solsbury Hill" and DB stuff going up to Young Americans resides on "Classic vinyl"… whereas any Roxy music and Ferry solo shit at all is formatted only on First Wave…granted, that's only "Love is the Drug" and the avalon material as far as Roxy (we have agreed on this thread that that material is what Roxy amounts to as far as the mass audience in America is concerned anyway), but Ferry is purely a classic alternative artist as far as Sirius, which while a deeper experience of commercial radio than, say, IHeartRadio is still very much a product of commercial radio…

I've always wanted to start a Sirius XM thread, as I do find the fragmenting and winnowing down of commercial radio formats so that deep cuts are regularly played to be interesting…not sure if anyone else would be interested…

I really enjoyed my trial of satellite radio that came with the car. I think I might have renewed once at a discounted rate? After the rates went up fully, and dismayed by all the bullshit political stuff they broadcast, I canceled it, but I really did like all the music stations. Not sure where I would have heard most Roxy, aside from the obvious stuff. Deep Tracks channel?

they also play Roxy on Deep Tracks

First time for me seeing this great 1973 show! posted today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LspMHCeyCw

whoah.

holy shit

Holy shit!

lol xp

Bryan Ferry on guitar.

Eno doing some Terry Riley-esque time lag accumulator tape delay on the reel to reel for Mckay's epic if there is something breakdown...