Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945 in Washington, Tyne and Wear) is a British singer, musician and songwriter, famed for his suave visual and vocal style, who came to public prominence in the 1970s as lead vocalist with Roxy Music. He is also noted for his alternative highly successful solo career.
Born into a working-class family, Ferry studied fine art at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne before becoming a pottery teacher in London, all the while aiming for a career in music. He formed Roxy Music with a group of friends and acquaintances, initially just Graham Simpson who, like Ferry, had been part of a band called The Gas Board. The Roxy Music line-up expanded to include Andy Mackay and his acquaintance Brian Eno, who owned tape recorders and played Andy Mackay's synthesiser. Other early members included a timpanist and ex-Nice guitarist David O'List, who were replaced respectively by Paul Thompson and Phil Manzanera before the band recorded its first album. (Early Peel sessions for UK radio station Radio 1 feature O'List's playing.)
Roxy Music's first hit, "Virginia Plain", just missed topping the charts, and they followed up with several hit singles and albums, with Ferry as vocalist and occasional instrumentalist (he taught himself piano in his mid-twenties) and Eno contributing synthesiser backing.
On a personal level, Bryan Ferry was known to date very beautiful women, who often appeared as cover models on the Roxy Music albums. Ferry dated Amanda Lear, who was photographed with a black jaguar on the cover of the "For Your Pleasure" album. She later went on to date and create music with David Bowie.