|
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry was born 26 September 1945, Washington, Co. Durham, England. Son of farmer and coal worker Fred Ferry and Mary Ann Ferry.
Bryan began his musical career in local group the Banshees, following which he enrolled at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University where he formed R&B; group the Gas Board, whose ranks included Graham Simpson and John Porter. After studying Fine Art under Richard Hamilton, Ferry briefly worked as a teacher before forming Roxy Music. During their rise to fame, he plotted a parallel solo career, beginning in 1973 with These Foolish Things, an album of favourite cover versions. At the time, the notion of recording an album of rock standards was both innovative and nostalgic. Ferry recorded half an album of faithful imitations, leaving the other half to more adventurous arrangements. Some of the highlights included a revival of Ketty Lester's obscure "Rivers Of Salt", a jaunty reading of Elvis Presley's "Baby I Don't Care" and a remarkable hit version of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall". The album received mixed reviews but effectively paved the way for similar works including Bowie, David's Pin Ups and Lennon, John's Rock 'N' Roll. Ferry continued the cover game with Another Time Another Place, which was generally less impressive than its predecessor. Two stylish pre-rock numbers that worked well were "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "Funny How Time Slips Away". A gutsy revival of Gray, Dobie's "The In Crowd" brought another UK Top 20 hit. By 1976, Ferry had switched to R&B; covers on Let's Stick Together which, in addition to the hit Harrison, Wilbert title track, featured a rousing re-run of the Everly Brothers (The)' "The Price Of Love". It was not until 1977 that Ferry finally wrote an album's worth of songs for a solo work. In Your Mind spawned a couple of minor hits with "This Is Tomorrow" and "Tokyo Joe". That same spring, Ferry appeared on the soundtrack of All This And World War II singing the Beatles (The)' "She's Leaving Home". The following year, he retired to Montreux to complete the highly accomplished The Bride Stripped Bare. Introspective and revelatory, the album documented his sense of rejection following separation from his jet-setting girlfriend, model Jerry Hall. The splendid "Sign Of The Times" presented a Dadaist vision of life as total bleakness: "We live, we die . . . we know not why". The track "Can't Let Go", written at a time when he considered giving up music, maintained the dark mood. It was another seven years before Ferry recorded solo again. In the meantime, he married society heiress Lucy Helmore, abandoning his lounge lizard image in the process. The 1985 comeback Boys And Girls was stylistically similar to his work with Roxy Music and included the hits "Slave To Love" and "Don't Stop The Dance". After a further two-year break, Ferry collaborated with guitarist Johnny Marr on "The Right Stuff" (adapted from the Smiths (The)' instrumental, "Money Changes Everything"). The album Bête Noire was a notable hit indicating that Ferry's muse was still very much alive, even though his solo work continues to be eclipsed by the best of Roxy Music. The covers set Taxi was followed by an album of originals, Mamouna. The production is excellent, his singing is excellent too. Another five year break ensued before Ferry returned with As Time Goes By, on which he tackled the Thirties and Forties standard songbook.
Bryan released his 11th solo album 'Frantic' in April 2002. The album blended both sides of his career with the album having a split of original material as well as covering the work of some of Bryan's favourite artists like Bob Dylan & Leadbelly.
Despite many offers, Bryan has only ever guested on any other artists record twice. He produced a single for singer Ouida (with guitarist Chester Kamen) "Pick Up In A Nightclub" and also played Harmonica on Chris Spedding's 'Click Clack' released 2005.
Bryan Ferry is credited on the following Roxy Music & Solo albums:
Bryan Ferry is featured in the following Roxy Music & Solo songs:
|
|