Bryan Ferry will tour Australia in 2019 and perform his first Australian shows in his 70s. Bryan turned 73 a few weeks ago and celebrated with a time on the town in London.
“I celebrated with my boys at one of my favourite restaurants in London. It’s beautiful weather we’ve been getting,” Bryan Ferry tells Noise11.com ahead of the tour.
Bryan Ferry is a legend. His band Roxy Music is iconic. Roxy Music made its name very quickly in the 70s. In 1972 and 1973, Roxy Music released three albums and Bryan additionally released his first solo album. “It seemed like we were forever working,” Bryan tells Noise11. “We were just so full of music and nothing else to do. We made a lot of records in those early years. Having the band was one thing and then I started the solo career as anything made it interesting. I was just jumping from one project to another and touring in-between. It was full-on, very heady, very exciting”.
Going solo within a year of Roxy Music forming gave Bryan two full-time jobs. “It was two great jobs to have,” he said. “I had written the second Roxy album and after I finished that one I felt drained as a writer. I didn’t want to be responsible for the writing of another album. The first solo album was made up of songs I had listened to over the years which would illustrate my versatility and the range of music I liked. It was good experience as a producer and record maker to get stuck into something else, a different project. It was totally different and had a cathartic effect that allowed me to write more stuff that became ‘Stranded’”.
As well as creating the UK sound of the 70s, Ferry, along with David Bowie, was also carving men’s fashion. “It was a bit of fun given the fact you had to go on stage and play to people so I always made an effort to make it a bit of a show,” Bryan tells Noise11.com. “In Roxy we always dressed up initially in flamboyant costume but that was only for about a year. By the time we got to ‘Stranded’ I was wearing a black tie and white dinner jacket. It was a bit more classic looks, from movies. It was classic men’s clothing. I had some good friends who were designers like Antony Price who was my main designer and one of my best friends. He was a hot, young fashion designer from the Royal College of Art. He was designing really unusual clothes based on classic outfits with a modern twist. We just tried to make the shows interesting and then after a while we saw kids in the audience dressing exactly the same. It was good fun”.
The 2019 Bryan Ferry tour will include shows for A Day On The Green. He said, “It’s great to get a mixture of venues. Some are outdoors in the open air where people always seem to enjoy it. We are mixing it up and I’m looking forward to it very much”.
Bryan Ferry Australia and New Zealand dates
21 February, Perth, Kings Park & Botanic Garden (A Day On The Green)
23 February, Yarra Valley, Rochford Wines (A Day On The Green)
26 February, Melbourne, Margaret Court Arena
1 March, Sydney, ICC Theatre
3 March, Mount Cotton, Sirromet (A Day On The Green)
5 March, Wellington, TSB Arena
7 March, Auckland, Spark Arena
All event information www.adayonthegreen.com.au
All event information www.frontiertouring.com
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