Bryan Ferry is one of the most influential rock musicians in Britain, having sold over 30 million records as a solo artist and with the iconic band Roxy Music. As a pioneer of art rock, Ferry helped revolutionise the way people perceive and experience music.
As a singer, Ferry is known for his adventurous interpretations of songs from both the pop and rock canon. Combining a studied, wry, lounge-singer persona with a passion for classic American songwriting from the 1920s and ’30s, he has created music that is uniquely his own.
About the Author
Bryan Ferry is one of the most influential artists and songwriters in pop music. With his smooth singing style and sophisticated persona, he first rose to fame with the influential band Roxy Music and later as a solo artist.
He has sold over 30 million records and inspired a number of artists, including David Bowie and Depeche Mode. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has won numerous awards for his work.
For more than six decades, Bryan Ferry has created evocative lyrics of aspiration and romantic longing. Celebrated as the defining voice of the British art-rock movement, his work established a new aesthetic in popular music and influenced a generation of musicians.
The Roxy Music singer’s distinctive vocal style and elegant persona put a wry, sophisticated spin on traditional crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. His lyrics and vocal arrangements laid the foundation for a trend towards slick sophistication in popular music that would go on to inspire bands such as King Crimson and Flock of Seagulls.
Born in Washington, County Durham, and raised by a factory worker mother and a ploughman father, Ferry was initially uninterested in music, but he began to explore jazz and early American blues as an art student at Newcastle University. He also studied under Richard Hamilton, a key figure in British pop art.
After studying at Newcastle, Ferry moved to London to teach art. During this time, he began writing the songs that would become the group’s first album.
When the band finally released their eponymous debut album in 1972, Ferry teamed up with producer Brian Eno to create an innovative sound that became known as “art-rock”. With this, Roxy Music pioneered a trend that would continue to influence artists such as King Crimson and Flock Of Seagulls.
He was also the band’s chief songwriter and frontman, and he remains the lead singer today. He has received a number of awards, including the Ivor Novello Award and the Q Lifetime Achievement Award.
In between his work with Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry has recorded albums devoted to songwriters he admires. The latest, Dylanesque, combines songs from some of his favorite songwriters with newly recorded material. This collection of evocative lyrics is introduced by the author, James Truman, and features a previously unseen portrait of Ferry by Antony Price on the cover.
About the Book
Bryan Ferry’s slick, classy overview of his work is the perfect book for fans of Roxy Music and his solo albums. It eschews ephemera and focuses on the lyrics as standalone poetry, with an insightful essay by James Truman and a short introduction by Ferry himself.
A celebrated singer and songwriter, Ferry has been credited with changing popular music forever. Born in Washington, County Durham at the end of World War 2, he showed promise as a writer and actor while still at school, but it was his love for music that ultimately shaped his musical career.
His first band, Roxy Music, was a decadent glam rock act, but Ferry’s first solo LP, These Foolish Things (1973), introduced the sleek synth pop style that would become his signature sound. Featuring elegant interpretations of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” and The Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me,” These Foolish Things established a unique musical path for Ferry, which would be continued throughout his career.
As well as reinterpreting classic songs, Ferry also covered a variety of other songs for his albums and his live performances. A number of his cover songs have been featured in film scores and feature prominently on many of his albums.
Ferry’s lyrical style is often considered a key element of his musical success, and he has been praised for his use of metaphor and imagery. He is known for his use of rhyme and meter, and for writing songs that are both powerful and uplifting.
Despite Ferry’s early reputation as a social striver, Buckley argues that his later work suggests a more mature personality. This may have been driven by the fact that he is married with two children and has a son with fox hunting activist Otis, who was arrested for plastering pro-hunting stickers over the windows of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s house in 2002.
Although Buckley is not able to explain the exact reason for Ferry’s reluctance to speak out in public, it is clear that he has always been reticent and awkward around the press. Whether or not it’s his shyness, it has led to a degree of misunderstanding and mistrust on both sides.
About the Publisher
A publisher is a person who oversees the printing, editing and selling of books, magazines, newspapers, music and other media. They also work for publishing companies that produce publications for commercial and educational purposes.
A book publisher aims to sell as many copies of a book as possible through bookstores and other retail outlets, such as libraries, schools and book clubs. They also seek to increase revenue through advertising and subscription sales.
In addition to promoting their products, publishers set editorial policies that guide writers and contributors to ensure a consistent tone and style of content for each publication. They supervise and guide teams of editors, designers and writers who work on the production of all published materials.
As a publisher, you may specialize in a particular genre, such as romance or sports, or you can handle all types of publications. Your responsibilities include scouting for new writers, handling the line editing and copy editing of manuscripts, and negotiating with authors as to what content is included in each volume.
For a large publishing house, your duties will involve directing a team of specialists, such as editors, graphic artists, photographers and marketing personnel. You will also have a lot of administrative responsibilities, such as keeping track of royalties and the distribution of books.
You can find information on how to become a publisher through professional associations and online career forums. You should also consider your education and training to ensure that you have the necessary skills for the job.
A good publishing company will offer on-the-job training for new employees as well as off-site seminars that provide hands-on learning. Some employers require that publishers have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or a related field.
Besides being knowledgeable in the field, it is also helpful to have a good understanding of how people buy books. This is important because it can make the difference between a good book and a great one.
Having the right software is another key to success in this career. Microsoft Publisher, for example, is a popular desktop application that allows you to create visually rich, professional-looking publications without having to invest in a costly, complex graphics program. It is available as part of some editions of Microsoft Office, or you can buy it separately.
About the Series
Whether you’re a fan or an observer, it’s hard not to appreciate Bryan Ferry. He’s the man who revolutionized the pop song, the guy who bulldozed the rickety fence between sincerity and irony for a generation of acolytes. His hair was fabulous, and he commanded his space.
In the last five years, he’s released two highly-acclaimed albums and toured the world. He has even created period music for the popular German TV show Babylon Berlin, which depicts Weimar-era Berlin in a thrilling series of sweeping set pieces and breathless action.
As well as writing the songs for Roxy Music, Ferry also wrote a number of albums as a solo artist, most notably his self-penned Boys & Girls and Bete Noire and covers including These Foolish Things, Taxi and Avonmore. In 2015 he published a collection of his lyrics, Lyrics, which has now been reissued with eight extra tracks.
The ‘Lyrics’ album has an attractive 308 page hardbound format and includes a generous selection of the lyrics from the group’s four studio albums plus nine Ferry-penned solo albums. In addition to the lyrics, this publication includes liner notes by Ferry and long-time collaborator Brian Eno.
While the songs on this collection are not uniformly captivating, there’s plenty of classic Ferry to enjoy here. His guitar playing is still tight and his voice is in top form.
But a big part of Ferry’s appeal remains his sense of style. He’s often described as “very fussy” and his preference for high-end fashion, with his wardrobe consisting largely of designer suits and leather boots, has become a bit of a hallmark of his brand.
In the last few years, Ferry’s personal life has seen a few low points. He was involved in a hijacked flight in 2000 and was married for less than an year to Amanda Sheppard who, although she was thirty-five years his junior and wanted children, ended the relationship because of her own desire.
Despite these occasional bumps, Ferry has remained a force to be reckoned with, delivering evocative live performances that are as rich and diverse as his music. He’s a devoted husband and father, a discerning collector of Bloomsbury art and a fastidious lover of country pursuits like tennis, shooting and reading.
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