A stylish dandy with real style, Ferry. A pop gentleman who gracefully uses all areas of life and art on the red carpet-furnished road leading from the son of a worker with calloused hands to the style icon that cares about the right tie and pocket handkerchief as much as choosing the right musician.
Years later, when I learned that the Roxy Music ensemble would reunite and go on a worldwide tour, I immediately thought of the concert given by the soloist Bryan Ferry at the Open Air Theater in 2007, on a day when the African heat was licking in the shade even in the flames of a flamethrower. At that time, Ferry had released the “Dylanesque” album and made Bob Dylan’s songs into a completely different mood, the property of another class. The fan, consisting of the clap of the hands of 3,500 people, spread a bit of oasis coolness into the night.
The music world had seen strange types like Johnny Rotten and Nick Cave, who were first punk and then master, but no one could be like Ferry. Although much has been said about the origin of the image that Ferry created on Roxy Music’s 1972 debut album, which was released half a century ago, consider this as if it had no precedent. In this state, the man was suddenly finished like a hook; with his different wardrobe, he looked between the sad poet and the smug supermodel. Although at first, he seemed like a hopeless case among the cool long-haired swagger rockers of the time, his stubbornness and artistic foresight made him an example to many musicians in the future. But still, as a romantic and middle-class gentleman, with his calm, cool speech, modest stance and smooth creation, he was distinguished from those who tried to emulate him.
Singing his obscure songs with his lazy falsetto voice was so effective that he won over anyone who listened to him at the first note; He was able to sing all kinds of songs from tango to fandango with the same romance. It was his passion that marked the early days of Roxy Music (along with Phil Manzanera’s guitar and Eno’s synthesizer). This combination shaped the British art-rock scene of the seventies.
Ferry, who left New Castle’s R&B band Gas Board, and bassist Graham Simpson formed the band when they moved to London; taking with them guitarist Phil Manzanera, saxophonist Andy Mackay, drummer Paul Thompson, and electronic music genius Brian Eno.
The idea of juxtaposing the rock and roll of the fifties with innovative electronic sounds stemmed from Ferry’s fondness for pop-art. The contrast of the old and the new had turned into a richness. On the cover, model Kari-Ann Muller posed like a former Hollywood starlet. Recorded in 19 days, the album is still considered one of the most progressive works in music history.
In the year following the release of the album, they had worked so hard and given concerts that Ferry lost his voice and was hospitalized. NME filmed him at the hospital in silk pajamas with the words Roxy Music on it.
Ferry’s solo albums and Roxy Music’s activities have historically run parallel to each other; During his career, making a rock album for himself was both nostalgic and innovative. Nearly half of his recordings were faithful interpretations of Presley, Dylan, Bowie and Lennon, and the rest were adventurous arrangements.
Ferry had a sympathy for American culture and New York. He loved this city where he found creative inspirations. After a long insistence, he managed to get his manager to open an office in New York. Like all romantics, he was passionately attached to a period he did not live, to geography.
Good albums have arrived; but they were not as successful commercially as Roxy. Until they did “As Time Goes By.” Ferry climbed to the top of his development with this album; She had won a Grammy for her sensitive interpretations of classic Broadway hits from the thirties. The songs that adorned the youth dreams of our fathers gained a modern identity.
A stylish dandy with real style, Ferry. A pop gentleman who gracefully uses all areas of life and art on the red carpet-furnished road leading from the son of a worker with calloused hands to the style icon that cares about the right tie and pocket handkerchief as much as choosing the right musician. Humphrey Bogart of pop, who, despite its repulsive implications, turns snobbery into a matter of care.
If we go back to their tour… If our wishes come true, they will come to Turkey as well.
