Roxy Music

With an intriguing mix of high fashion, electro experimentation and cracking choruses, Roxy Music established themselves as one of the most iconic, distinctively individual and influential bands to emerge in the 1970s. Bryan Ferry, an art school graduate, applied his creamy, relaxed vocal style to the slightly avant-garde synth flavours and techno experiments favoured by his university friend Brian Eno. The other members of the band were recruited from music press advertisements and Roxy Music were in business, swiftly championed by legendary Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and scoring a smash hit with their frenetic debut single Virginia Plain. Working with producer Chris Thomas they became one of the UK's top bands of the 1970s/80s, helping to trigger the glam rock era and influencing the likes of Queen, Talking Heads and Madness. Brian Eno departed the band early, but the albums Stranded, Country Life and Siren continued their run of successes until Ferry's celebrity as a front man began to overshadow the band and he embarked on a solo career. They reunited in 2006.