Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and musician. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career.

Born to a working-class family, Ferry studied fine art and taught at a secondary school before pursuing a career in music. In 1970, he began to assemble Roxy Music with a group of friends and acquaintances in London, and took the role of lead singer and main songwriter. The band achieved immediate international success with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1972, containing a rich variety of sounds, which reflected Ferry's interest in exploring different genres of music. Their second album, For Your Pleasure (1973), further cultivated the band's unique sound and visual image that would establish Ferry as a leading cultural icon over the next decade.

Ferry began a parallel solo career by releasing These Foolish Things (1973), which popularized the concept of a contemporary musician releasing an album covering standard songs and was a drastic departure from his ongoing work with Roxy Music. This was followed by a second solo album, Another Time, Another Place (1974). Roxy Music's albums Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974) and Siren (1975) broadened the band's appeal internationally and saw Ferry take greater interest in the role of a live performer, reinventing himself in stage costumes ranging from that of a gaucho to military uniforms. His third solo album, Let's Stick Together (1976), produced two UK Top 10 hits with "Let's Stick Together" and "The Price of Love". In 1983, following the release of the group's best-selling album Avalon the previous year, Ferry disbanded Roxy Music to concentrate on his solo career; his next album, 1985's Boys and Girls, reached No. 1 in the UK and featured the hit singles "Slave to Love" and "Don't Stop the Dance", while the next two albums, Bête Noire (1987) and Taxi (1993), both went Top 10 in the UK.

As well as being a prolific songwriter, Ferry has recorded many cover versions, including standards from the Great American Songbook, and Dylanesque (2007), an album of Bob Dylan covers. In 2019, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Roxy Music.

Bryan Ferry was born on 26 September 1945 in Washington, County Durham, son of Mary Ann and Frederick Charles Ferry. His parents were working-class: his father was a farm labourer who also looked after pit ponies.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.