Roxy Music were a British art rock group formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. Alongside Ferry, the other longtime members were Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe) and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion), and other former members include Brian Eno (synthesiser and "treatments"), Eddie Jobson (synthesiser and violin), and John Gustafson (bass). Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently between that time and their break-up in 2014. Ferry frequently enlisted many Roxy members as session musicians for his solo releases.
Roxy Music attained popular and critical success in Europe and Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, beginning with their debut album,
Roxy Music (1972). The band was highly influential, as leading proponents of the more experimental, musically sophisticated element of glam, as well as a significant influence on early English punk music. They also provided a model for many new wave acts and the experimental electronic groups of the early 1980s. The group is distinguished by their visual and musical sophistication and their preoccupation with style and glamour. Ferry and co-founding member Eno have also had influential solo careers, the latter becoming one of the most significant record producers and collaborators of the late 20th century.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Roxy Music No. 98 on its "The Immortals -- 100 The Greatest Artists of All Time" list.
Their music was influenced by other British artists, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Pretty Things, Pink Floyd, The Creation, The Move, Traffic, David Bowie, King Crimson, and Elton John, as well as American artists like Little Richard, Elvis Presley and The Velvet Underground.
The band's last studio album was 1982's
Avalon. In 2005 they began recording a new studio album, which would have been their ninth, and would have been their first record since 1973 with Brian Eno, who wrote two songs for it and also played keyboards. and that he doesn't think they'll ever record as Roxy Music again.