Roxy Music: AO Arena, Manchester – live review

Roxy Music – 50 Years Tour
AO Arena, Manchester
12th October 2022

Roxy Music delighted fans by returning to perform live after a long break following their critically acclaimed For Your Pleasure tour in 2011. Manchester Arena was packed to the brim, as 20,000 fans of all ages gathered together to celebrate 50 years of the incredible and influential Roxy Music.

The band formed in 1972 and 50 years on, longtime members Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe), and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion) are still together on stage with the legendary Mr Brian Ferry, lead singer and main songwriter.

They opened with the classic Re-Make/Re-Model. They were certainly back with a vengeance. At least 10 outstanding musicians and three backing singers made their mark too as part of this incredible experience. They are so musically tight yet exciting, this number has such a jazz-style feel to it and Mackay proves he’s still playing his sax as masterfully as ever. Ferry sat at the keyboard looking cool, calm and sophisticated, his distinctive voice as smooth, sexy and velvety as ever. He’s certainly still got it at the ripe age of 77.

Ferry emerged from behind the keys, laid back but oozing charisma, beaming across his (still) handsome face with pure delight. No doubt smiling at the thousands of adoring fans staring back at him and joining together to celebrate 50 years of the world-renowned Roxy Music. The fantastic lighting and huge, brilliant LED backdrop displayed multiple colourful images that included some taking the crowd on a trip back over the years. Stunning stills of the band and live gig footage added texture to the faultless sounds coming from the stage.

Vinyl records and drive-in movie images flashed up as they played the popular Oh Yeah, after which Ferry addressed the crowd and stated how good it was to be back to celebrate their career spanning 50 amazing years. Then he retreated to the wings as Mackay took centre stage for Tara, playing a spine-tingling instrumental on the oboe. It’s apparent how between them, they’ve influenced and inspired many musicians over the years, from glam rock to punk and beyond.

The crowd were up on their feet, clapping and singing along to their timeless old classics. They danced away to Dance Away, More Than This, and the beautiful strains of Avalon. They lifted the roof singing along to the 1975 classic hit Love Is the Drug, (best intro of a song ever), then came the dynamic 1973 Editions of You and their debut single of 1972 Virginia Plain – “the crazy music will drive you insane”. It was apparent the band were thoroughly enjoying this as much as the crowd. Ferry takes a moment during these numbers to simply stop and wave to the crowd, which was no doubt a very personal, moving gesture, as if to say “Wow, thanks and can’t believe this after 50 years”. The crowd responded by waving back, of course.

The combination of a suave and slick Ferry with a stage full of phenomenal musicians and breathtaking backing vocalists made for an indelible performance. Roxy Music finished with a haunting cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy where Ferry still provided the swirling, whistling section. He once confessed in an interview that he did a lot of whistling on his paper round as a young lad. Imagine going from whistling while delivering papers to whistling as such a memorable part of one of the most beautiful love songs of the century.

The band finished on Do The Strand and then took a bow to the joyous shouting, clapping and cheering of the crowd. A crowd who clearly wasn’t ready to go home, but as the lights went up they resigned themselves to leaving as they were herded to the exits. However the atmosphere was still buzzing from the wonderful experience, people still singing along in the corridors of the arena and no doubt all the way home too. Roxy Music left their mark and what a fantastic way to celebrate 50 years of their talent and timeless musical flair.

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All words by Claire Glover. More writing by Claire on Louder Than War can be found at her author profile here. | Twitter

All photos by Melanie Smith – Louder Than War | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Portfolio

Source: louderthanwar.com