On The Radio...

The Galaxy continues to look at the career of Bryan Ferry, who will be performing his first ever concert in Iceland late next month.

Roxy Music reunited during 1978 to record a new album, Manifesto. Following an almost four-year recording hiatus, Manifesto was Roxy Music's first album since 1975's Siren.

The album peaked at #7 in the UK. The cover design which featured a variety of mannequins (a concept also used for the covers of the singles from the album), was created by Bryan with fashion designer Antony Price.

The first single from the album was "Trash", which barely made the UK top 40 (it charted at #40).





However, the second single, "Dance Away", returned the band to the top 3, beaten to no.1 for two weeks from 26 May 1979 by Blondie's "Sunday Girl". It became one of the band's biggest hits and was also the 9th best-selling single in the UK in 1979. The song was originally written for Bryan's 1977 solo album In Your Mind but did not make the final track listing. It was then planned for inclusion on his 1978 album The Bride Stripped Bare, but again was not included.

The third single from the album was a re-recorded version of "Angel Eyes", which was far more electronic and "disco" in nature than the power-pop album version. It peaked at #4 in the UK, helped along with the first proper music video the band had made.

The next album was Flesh+Blood,  released in June 1980. The album reached #1 in the UK for one week in June and then returned to the summit in August for another three weeks; in total spending 60 weeks on the UK album chart. The album reached #35 in the US and #10 in Australia. However (as it so often is), despite the commercial success of the album a lot of critics disliked the album.

The album was preceded by the single "Over You", a #5 UK hit that also provided the band with a rare US chart entry at #80.

The next single was the classic "Oh Yeah (On The Radio)", which also charted at #5 in the UK. Speaking about the song, Bryan told the Mail On Sunday: “In this song I was trying to create a picture of Americana, and long hot summer evenings at drive-in movies. It is wistful and nostalgic, rather like a country record.”

The third single was "Same Old Scene" (UK #12, AUS #35).

And the final single from the album (although only released in a few markets) was "In The Midnight Hour".

In 1981, Roxy Music recorded the non-album single "Jealous Guy". A cover of a song written and originally recorded by John Lennon, Roxy Music decided to record the track as a tribute to Lennon after his 1980 death. The single  topped the UK charts for two weeks in March 1981, becoming the band's only #1 single.

In 1982, with more sombre and carefully sculpted soundscapes, the band's eighth—and final—studio album, Avalon, was a major commercial success and restored the group's critical reputation.

The album went to #1 in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. It only made it to #53 in the US, but it did become the bands only platinum record in the states. The cover features a photo of Bryan's girlfriend (soon to be wife) Lucy Helmore. She is waering a helmet and carrying a falcon, evoking King Arthur's last journey to the mysterious land of Avalon.

The first single from the album was "More Than This", which peaked at #6 in the UK. In the US it only made it to #103, although it would become one of their best know songs there.

The second single was the beautiful title track, which peaked at#13 in the UK.





The song is currently featured in the latest H&M campaign.

The final single (released only in a few markets) was "Take A Chance With Me".


After a tour to promote the album, Bryan Ferry dissolved the band in 1983  and band members devoted themselves full time to solo careers - including Ferry, who was about to have a very successful solo hits...

Part 3 coming soon.