In the winter of 1974, thousands of London fans of rock music gathered in the Albert Hall Concert Hall to watch Brian Ferry's first recital. The clothes of some resembled the stage vestments of their idol - a white tuxedo, a carnation in a buttonhole and trousers with a red belt.
Most of the people in this audience were teenagers - fans of the Roxy Music band. This team, performing Glam Rock, appeared 3 years before the described event. Each album of the group invariably received the Golden Disc Award.
David Bowie once said in one of the programs on American television: "Roxy Music is the only British band whose concert is worth a visit."
Solo career
Brian Ferry has greatly expanded the boundaries of his audience thanks to solo albums. The first two discs - These foolish things and Another time, another place - fell in love with the audience thanks to the brilliant alterations of compositions, which had become classics by that time, and new pop music.
Most of them the singer chose on his own, based on personal musical preferences.
These two albums can be called an anthology of English and American pop from 1930-1960. Discs include cover versions of songs by stars such as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.
Brian Ferry on the first album
When the hero of this article was somehow asked by what principle he chose songs for his first disc, he replied: “I wanted to make a highly Catholic, spiritual selection of compositions and discarded the desire to please people of all ages. Some will like this record one at a time a reason, some for another. Someone might not appreciate it. But the main idea will be clear to everyone. "
Musician style
Brian Ferry's albums, like Roxy Music's CDs, were never targeted solely to youth audiences. The intellectuality of these musical works was clearly visible through the external rebellion.
Brian Ferry's concerts have always been full of surprises for the public. For example, shows of the 70s were often decorated in the style of Salvador Dali.
As for music, the concert arrangements of songs were striking in their grace. For his performances, Brian Ferry often invites an orchestra consisting of more than 30 musicians. In the seventies, the arranger and conductor of this group was Martin Ford. Then the group of Brian Ferry included several members of the "Roxy Music", the bassist from the group "King Crimson" and other musicians. The composition of this team says a lot. Almost all of its members previously played in teams performing art rock, which means that they were brought up with complex and sophisticated music.
Stage image
Like David Bowie, who has repeatedly expressed his sympathy for the work of the group "Roxy Music" and Brian Ferry, the heroes of this article always liked to amaze the audience with a variety of images. Many call him a theater actor in the music scene. During the first concert tour of the Roxy Music group, he went on stage in a tuxedo, playing the role of a socialite, an irresistible macho. Then followed the image of a military man: in uniform and with a monocle in his eye. Brian Ferry appeared in front of the audience and in the outfit typical of American police motorcyclists.
The brightest role
The audience of the concerts Brian Ferry was remembered in the role of Woland.
As you know, the song Sympathy for the devil of the Rolling Stones group, which he quailed, was written based on the Bulgakov work. During her performance, Brian Ferry went on stage in a suit of blue mohair. A large pile of hair near the glistened glistened in the rays of the spotlights. The opening words of the song supplemented the first impression: "Let me introduce myself, I am a person with a great fortune and great taste."
Best songs
Many critics have noted that Brian Ferry's best songs are those that talk about loneliness, pain, and similar states of the human soul. He is an excellent psychologist and portrays a person well in the most dramatic moments of his life.
The Beatles and Bob Dylan compositions familiar to many music lovers sound in his performance in a completely new way. A beautiful, highly vibrating and deceptively soft voice that emphasizes unusual places captivates the listener. He seemed to say: “It's great that you came to listen to me” and begins to sing a long “funeral” version of Bob Dylan's Sunshine. This is the darkest performance of this work.
The music of Brian Ferry makes the listener look at familiar things in a new way, gives them a new sound.
The singer seemed to carry the old works into a new dimension.
Disks
Brian Ferry has recorded 15 solo studio albums.
His discography is striking in a variety of styles. In the 70 - 80s, he was one of the founders of a new direction of rock music, called "new wave".
In 2012, he recorded the album The Jazz Age with his own orchestra. The disc includes cover versions of jazz compositions of the 20s and ferry hits of Brian Ferry's hits in retro style. In 2014, the artist recorded the vocal part for the new version of the song "Johnny and Mary", the first performer of which was Robert Palmer. This single Brian Ferry recorded together with the Norwegian DJ and producer Todd Terrier.
It is noteworthy that the artist dedicated one of his albums to Bob Dylan, including only this author's compositions in it.
Brian Ferry's latest disc to date is Avonmore, which was released in 2014.
Almost all the songs for him were written by Brian Ferry himself, with the exception of two cover versions. One of them is the already mentioned composition Johnny and Mary. The clips of Brian Ferry are also popular among his fans. His most famous video is Don`t stop the dance.