Bryan Ferry

As Roxy Music’s frontman, Bryan Ferry was an icon of the glam-rock era, bringing bold new visions to UK rock in the first half of the ’70s. On his own, he doubled down on his debonair image, becoming a genre-border-crossing pop-rock crooner. Born in Sunderland, England, in 1945, Ferry sang for local bands in the ’60s before co-founding Roxy in 1970. Combining pop art, electronic experimentation, ’50s rock ’n’ roll, and art rock with an outrageous onstage look that was simultaneously retro and futuristic, the band created something singular, revolutionary, and uniquely European. Roxy was a key inspiration to punk and New Wave, but when Ferry started his solo career in the ’70s while still with the band, he pursued a more refined approach, bringing stylishly studied decadence to redefinitions of ’50s rock hits, ’60s R&B classics, pre-boomer balladry, and more. After Roxy went out on a high note with 1982’s Avalon, Ferry found fame anew with high-sheen ’80s solo hits like “Slave to Love” and “Don’t Stop the Dance.”