Imagine the Beatles in the early 60s, taking the stage while looking almost identical with their matched haircuts and neatly worn suits. At the time, a well-pressed suit was a band’s go-to to look proper and in order for the envying and admiring audiences. Things did change into the decade, as at the end of the 60s, none of the once-picture-perfect Beatles looked alike.
This wasn’t all that changed into the early 70s, however, as the dress code for a musician slowly vanished away. Rockers started to get bolder when deciding what to wear on stage, and it would be fair to say that Roxy Music was one of the pioneers of making bold choices.
The band didn’t shy away when it came to combining feminine clothing while maintaining your usual masculine attitude, and they were one of the early icons who introduced glam rock to the mainstream rock scene and to new, anticipating audiences. By the early 70s, their presence became so prominent that Roxy’s sound and eccentric stage shows would only be shadowed by the Beatles and a few other peers.
However, things didn’t go the way many would have wished for the act, as feuds and conflicts between bandmates, creative differences, and endless arguments slowly but surely deteriorated the once-era-defining band. Soon enough, numerous departures and lineup changes followed all the chaos Roxy had, leading to their dissolution.
Frontman Bryan Ferry wasn’t pleased with the fall of the act, so he took on a mission to make sure Roxy Music reunited, returned to the scenes, and resurrected from its ashes. However, it wouldn’t be as easy.
A Look Into Roxy Music’s Dissolution: And There Were None.
On one faithful day in the early 70s, Roxy fans woke up to face some disappointing news. The band’s keyboardist, Brian Eno, had called it quits and left the band. The departure was quite a shock for some, while it wasn’t much surprise to others who knew all about the rivalry between Eno and Ferry.
The pair had been in a friendly competition to outdo one another, always wishing to be one step ahead of the other one. This meant they competed in everything from who got the most spotlight to who impressed the most girls. Eno and Ferry’s rivalry was also evident on stage, as the frontman tried to steal the attention of the keyboardist with his stage shows while Brian did his best to outstand him with his clothing and sonic riffs.
There also had been reports that managers caused some disputes in the band as well, and while Ferry was in control of the creative leadership of the act, fans and critics seemingly adored Eno as he always had the right amount of charm and confidence to excel in interviews.
So, Eno’s departure was a significant setback for Roxy, and after that, most of the remaining band members started to go down like a bunch of dominoes until, in the end, there were only three members left from the band that started off its journey as a six-piece group. The final lineup of Roxy Music only consisted of the trio led by Ferry, Andy Mackay, and guitarist Phil Manzanera.
Ferry’s Goal To Reunite: Was It A Success?
Roxy disbanded in 1983, a decade later Eno’s departure, despite Bryan never letting go of his mission to bring back the cult act for once and all. However, those plans wouldn’t surface until the early 2000s, when the act, minus the keyboardist, reunited for a series of tours and new musical projects. Their time together lasted for a decade, and they dissolved in 2011.
The classic lineup was expected to reunite a few years back while they were inducted into the Rock Hall, but Eno couldn’t make it to the ceremony. Around the same time, however, Ferry started to discuss how he wanted to work with the keyboardist again, although things didn’t go the way the frontman wished, as Brian wouldn’t be there when the act got together a year ago.
It seemed that Bryan managed to resurrect Foxy Music, as they’re currently an active band touring and making new music together. So, it wasn’t an easy mission to restore it, and maybe not in the way Ferry imagined it would be, but in the end, it’s evident that Ferry got a hold of his dream.
Originally published at www.theshocknews.com