avalon

Roxy Music sailed confidently off into the sunset with the
smooth and seductive soundscapes of their swansong.  'Avalon' was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas with Rhett Davies co-producing with the band.  The result is a lush, synthesizer-driven pop music with Andy Mackay's saxophone and Phil Manzanera's guitar create sophisticated and cinematic moods that go down easy.  Bryan Ferry's lyrics evoke Arthurian romance and a sense of finality.    The album also included Neil Hubbard on guitar, Alan Spenner on bass, Andy Newmark on drums, and  Jimmy Maelen on percussion; with session work from Neil Jason on bass,  Paul Carrack on piano, Rick Marotta on drums, Kermit Moore on cello, Fonzi Thornton and Yanick Etienne on vocals.  

Shortly after its release, Ferry married Lucy Helmore, the model pictured on the cover of 'Avalon'.  Roxy Music broke up after an extensive tour for the album.  Ferry explains:  "Splitting up Roxy just seemed like the right thing, the creative thing to do.  I did a couple of weird things around that time. I think it comes under the heading 'artistic indulgence'.  Maybe I was wrong...I got fed up with it all.  And I got married, of course. I'd never wanted a family, I'd always seen myself as a career person, but I suppose it all made me feel very different. I didn't want to be part of a group any more, so I started my own group, a family group. And that happens all the time - look at the Beatles. Generally, groups split up because they start getting their own lives as individuals."  

'Avalon' went to number one in Australia and the UK, and even sold platinum in the US, although it only peaked at number fifty-three on the US album chart.







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"More Than This" hit number one hundred and three in the US, twenty-four in the Netherlands, twelve in New Zealand, and peaked at number six in Australia and the UK.  

"I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where they´re blowing
As free as the wind
And hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning"

"Avalon" went to number thirty-seven in New Zealand, twenty-two in Australia, thirteen in the UK, and peaked at number three in the Netherlands.

"When the samba takes you out of nowhere
And the background's fading out of focus
Yes the picture's changing every moment
And your destination, you don't know it"

The single of "Take a Chance With Me" with a remix of "The Main Thing" on the flipside hit number one hundred and four in the US, thirty-two in Canada, twenty-six in the UK, and peaked at number eighteen in the Netherlands.  

"Heaven knows, I believe
Won't you take a chance with me
Sometimes I get so blue
People say I'm just a fool
All the world, even you
Should learn to love the way I do"

'Avalon' 

 full album:

All tracks written by Bryan Ferry, except where noted.

Side one
1. "More than This" 4:30
2. "The Space Between" 4:30
3. "Avalon" 4:16
4. "India" 1:44
5. "While My Heart Is Still Beating" Ferry, Andy Mackay  3:26
Side two
6. "The Main Thing" 3:54
7. "Take a Chance with Me" Ferry, Phil Manzanera 4:42
8. "To Turn You On" 4:16
9. "True to Life" 4:25
10. "Tara"   Ferry, Andy Mackay   1:43