Every now and again it occurs to me that a band or artist I love and cannot help but immerse myself in on a regular basis are not necessarily known by everyone else in anything other than name.

One such occurrence took place when I attempted to delve into a fawning discussion about the works of Roxy Music, and found that such an endeavour was fruitless, as I was the only person there au fait with their oeuvre.

And so, thunks I, why not spazz my adulatory musings on such matters onto the blog and start a series of You Should Like This, Actually postings which will hopefully enrich yours lives and mark me out as a veritable paragon of taste into the bargain.

And so, where better to start with the series than with the band which, in a strange roundabout sort of way, spawned the monster; Roxy Music.

Formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry, the general perception of the band by Joe Public seems to be overwhelmingly weighted towards their latter work and much of Ferry’s solo career wherein he crafted the image and sound of something of a lounge lizard.  It was the 1980s, y’know.

But this is more than a little misleading, and somewhat misses how splendid, innovative and downright bonkers the majority of Roxy’s output really was.

Bryan Ferry’s art school graduate mentalities and Brian Eno’s box of noises were the perfect start-off point for a sort of high brow musical tomfoolery, which is in evidence from the very first track on their eponymous debut album.  Re-Make/Re-Model not only features a solo from all the members of the band and continual untuneful blasts from Eno’s EMS VCS3 synthesiser, but also faffs about pretending to end and then not doing so for really rather a long time.  The tongue is very firmly in the cheek.

Roxy Music performing Remake/Remodel at London Royal College of Art in 1972

On reissues of the Roxy Music album you will find arguably their most famous track Virginia Plain – their first single – but this was originally not even recorded until the album was released.  However, the success of the debut single, which peaked at No 4 in the charts, pushed additional sales of the album and thus meant that their first long player grabbed a top 10 spot.

Back in those days, bands didn’t use to tart about taking three years to contemplate their navels before sweating over an album, and so Roxy Music’s not-so-difficult second album, For Your Pleasure (y’see what I’ve done there, now?) was released, less than a year after their debut, in April 1973.

Again the record features a combination of glorious racket and brilliantly crafted songwriting.  Ferry’s wonderfully peculiar vocal style – a spectacular instrument in its own right – is very much in evidence throughout.  Judi Dench appears the album’s spectacularly loony broody title track and in the shape of In Every Dream Home A Heartache you’ve got a malevolent minor key squelchy guitared ode to a blow-up doll.

To this day Brian Eno is not one to retread old ground, and having recorded two albums with the band he decided he’d had enough and packed his reel-to-reel and his banks of racket and waved goodbye.  Very graciously, he believes that the first long player the band produced after he left – 1973’s Stranded – to be the band’s best work.  For what it’s worth, I agree with him.

Released a footling eight months after their previous album, Stranded features one of Bryan Ferry’s more striking album covers.  It’s a lass lying pouting on some rocks with a soaking wet dress on and no bra.  Staggeringly, the inside of the gatefold vinyl presentation proclaims that this was a “cover concept” thought up by our dashing frontman.  Come on, Bryan-  it’s not really much of a concept is it?  A fit bird in a skimpy wet outfit on a rock?  We’ve all had those thoughts, who knew you could pass it off as art?  For the record, 1974’s Country Life credits Ferry with “art direction” – the direction presumably being “put some bras on this time, but lose the dress” to a pair of alarmingly masculine-faced model – whilst Siren, released in 1975, features Ferry’s then-girlfriend Jerry Hall dressed up as a mermaid at Anglesey.  Ferry doesn’t take full credit for that one – instead it took about 15 different people to come up with Jerry Hall as a fish.  I must have missed that job somehow in the Situations Vacant last time I was in search of gainful employment.

As well as the exit of Eno, Stranded also features Ferry sharing songwriting duties for the first time – with Amazona being penned by Ferry with guitarist Phil Manzenera whilst the glorious A Song For Europe saw wor Bryan writing with sax/oboe player Andy Mackay.  The latter of those two also features Bryan Ferry singing in French, which is surely enough to make even the most homophobic Alpha male admit to going a bit weak at the knees and firm of the pelvis.  Take me, Bryan – I’m yours.

The aforementioned albums Country Life and Siren – both ruddy brilliant incidentally – continued to garner critical acclaim, with Jim Miller in Rolling Stone magazine describing the former of those as being “as if Ferry ran a cabaret for psychotics, featuring chanteurs [sic.] in a state of shock”.  Anyone who doesn’t want to hear a Bryan Ferry shock psychotic cabaret show doesn’t want to be my friend.

Following the tour in support of the Siren album (a live album, Viva! survives as a document of the tour), Roxy Music disbanded in 1976.  Although they would reform just two years later with a slightly different line-up, Ferry still had time to produce arguably his best solo album; 1977’s In Your Mind.  By this time, Ferry had already knocked out three solo efforts in addition to the six Roxy LPs – two albums of cover versions in the shape of These Foolish Things (1973) and Another Time, Another Place (1974) and a hotch potch compilation album called Let’s Stick Together, released shortly after the Roxy break up and featuring solo b-sides and Roxy tracks.  In Your Mind on the other hand was made up entirely of newly-penned Ferry songs and is therefore not to be missed.  You should also not miss the cover, which probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

When Roxy returned in 1978 with Manifesto, though the songwriting was still strong a little of the crackpot jiggery pokery had gone.  Ferry was now moving with gusto towards the image of the suave ladies man, albeit with a tinge of disco.  The eyeliner and pout had long since been replaced with the dinner jacket and (for a limited time) a spiv moustache.  The rich soundscapes of the Hello, Girls Let’s Make Lurrrve period Roxy Music reached it’s nadir with Roxy Music’s final album; 1982’s Avalon – the title track of which is a superior example of the early 80s atmospheric smooch song, but personally I prefer a screeching oboe and Bryan gurning with his larynx.

In 2001, 18 years after their second split, Ferry reunited with Manzenara, Mackay and drummer Paul Thompson for a 30 year anniversary World Tour.  Following this, rumours of new material were made confirmed, and with much surprise Brian Eno announced in 2006 that he had been working with the band and contributed two new songs.  The new record is still yet to surface however.

Roxy Music Discography:

• Roxy Music (1972), Island/Polydor.  Produced by Peter Sinfield
• For Your Pleasure (1973), Island/Polydor.  Produced by Chris Thomas, John Anthony and Roxy Music
• Stranded (1973), Island/Polydor.  Produced by Chris Thomas
• Country Life (1974), Island/Polydor.  Produced by Roxy Music and John Punter
• Siren (1975), Island.  Produced by Chris Thomas
• Viva! (1976), Island.  Produced by Chris Thomas
• Manifesto (1979), EG/Polydor/Atco.  Produced by Roxy Music
• Flesh & Blood (1980), Atco/Reprise/EG.  Produced by Rhett Davies & Roxy Music
• Avalon (1982), Waner Bros/Virgin/EG.  Produced by Rhett Davies & Roxy Music

Selected other listening:

• Brian Eno – Here Come The Warm Jets (1974), Island.  Produced by Brian Eno
• Bryan Ferry – In Your Mind (1977), EG.  Produced by Bryan Ferry, Steve Nye