Avalon

Today's Retro Friday edition features Roxy Music and the song/album Avalon.

One of my dear High School friends turned me on to a lot of music that I listened to in the late 80's, and Roxy Music was one of them.

Roxy Music are an English art rock group formed in November 1970 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson.

Roxy Music attained popularity in the UK, Europe and Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, beginning with their debut album, Roxy Music, recorded in 1972. The band was very influential to other UK and European bands as a leading proponents of the more experimental, musically sophisticated element of glam, along with 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 known for their sophisticated visual and musical style and their preoccupation with glamour.

By far, my favorite Roxy Music song/album is Avalon.

The album Avalon was released in 1982 and was Roxy Music's eighth (and as of now, final) studio album. The album was the best example of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of the band's later work. It was a huge commercial success. It hit in the UK for 3 weeks, and then stayed on the album charts for over a year. Bryan Ferry's girlfriend, soon-to-be wife, Lucy Helmore appeared on the cover wearing a medieval helmet and carrying a falcon, as a symbolic image of King Arthur's last journey to the mysterious land of Avalon.

Plus one of my happy places on earth is "Avalon" on Catalina Island ... so maybe the song kind of reminds me of that as well!

Anyways ... here's a little Avalon for your listening pleasure!



Cheers!