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 "Pretty isn't it, all these windows?" Bryan Ferry points to the geranium-filled windowsills in the paradisiacal courtyard of his posh Parisian hotel, before commenting on the hotel's bar, where "a lot of dodgy people" are hanging out. The Lounge Lizard, the Godfather of Style, the Coolest Living Englishman – Bryan Ferry makes James Bond seem drab by comparison. He sings about 007, Jackie O., Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo. Yet he is also part of the Glam Pack. Short of inventing it, he defined the word "glam" in the '70s with his band Roxy Music. Three decades later, he's still the same elegant smooth operator, performing for two nights at the famous Parisian concert hall, the Olympia, mixing old tracks and new pearls from his latest opus, Frantic. As we sit admiring the renovated hotel, he tells me about his admiration for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mary J. Blige. Oh, and he might have become a Lance Armstrong had he not become a singer.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
I believe you had a slight voice problem yesterday. How are you today? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Well, it's normal from being on the road, on tour, singing a lot. I don't do interviews at all when I'm on tour, so this time, on a day off, I'll do that kind of thing a little bit. I don't do big promotion schedules, not when I'm touring. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Why "frantic" for the album title? Is it a reflection of the mood during recording? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | It's at the end of the recording, when we were kind of finishing off. We were doing the mixing, and we were also mixing the Roxy DVD and editing it, and God knows all sorts of various things. It was a frantic moment for a few weeks. We were finishing off all these projects, and it just came at the time of the Roxy tour. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
How was the Roxy Tour? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | It was great. It was a big success and we all enjoyed it very much. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Do you have plans to do another Roxy tour? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | No, we haven't. We just did a one-off thing, really. Who knows? I can never predict what's going to happen. A year before that I wouldn't have thought we were going to do that. You can never tell what happens. I would be open to it obviously someday. It was exciting, and this tour is exciting too. It's nice to keep varying things. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Your new album is varied too. It's more guitar-based. You even said, "It was great for me, as a singer, not to have to compete with a hundred other instruments." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yes, the idea was to try and do something more direct and straightforward.... Although at the end of the album when I was putting the final touches to it, I brought in a couple of extra songs, which I'd recorded earlier. They made the album a bit more interesting, more diverse. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You cover a lot of Bob Dylan songs. What is it about his songs? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | The quality of the writing, really. Simple as that. Beautiful words. It's very nice as a singer to do great songs, which have wonderful lyrics and strong feelings underneath the song. It's very good. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You recently said that, one day, you were going to do a Dylan covers album. Any plans for that in the near future? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Not really. I mean, there are so many of his songs that I like that I could easily do that one day. The next album... When this tour finishes off, I'll start recording it, and it could be anything, really. I'm not sure which direction it's going. It's nice to know that there are several different avenues I could pursue. One of them is doing covers of different artists. I like doing that, but I've also got some songs of my own, which are lying around, which I might do as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Are you still planning to appear on Jools Holland's (former Squeeze turned jack-of-all-trades of music business) Duets album? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | I think I'm going to do that. He did one last year that I was asked to be on, but we couldn't find the right time because of the Roxy tour. And the same thing is happening on this one. I've got my tour. But there's one day later ... we might go over and do something. I'm hoping we can 'cause I like Jools. He's good. Good character. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Yeah, he is a character. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Have you ever met him? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
No, but he, along with Paula Yates, inspired me to pursue music journalism. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Oh really?! How funny... Yeah, yeah, "The Tube" (famous Brit music show hosted by the late Yates, ex Mrs. Bob Geldof, and Jools). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Have you ever met Bob Dylan? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Never have, no. Probably never shall. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What if you did a duet with him? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Wouldn't that be nice? That would be a very good idea. He's a friend of Dave Stewart's, who I know. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Dave played on your album.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, Dave and Jools work with lots of different people. Dave is quite a butterfly and he's terrific... very positive energy... funny, quite funny, so he gets on with a lot of people. Dylan, he likes, and I imagine Dylan likes him. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You also asked Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead to play on Frantic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | He's brilliant, really good guitar player and I sort of collect guitar players. He was a very good addition to the collection. On this tour, I've got two very good guitarists: Chris Spedding and Mick Green. Both of them are from the older generation of English guitarists. They're both pretty exciting to work with and both friendly. It's great to have two really powerful guitarists onstage. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You once said, "Secretly, I wanted to look like Jimi Hendrix, but I could never quite pull it off." You obviously love the guitar, so was it his expertise on that instrument that attracted you? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Everything, really. Well, he was the best guitar player and had a great look and a great attitude. The fact that he paid his dues playing in R&B bands, it's great. He had a soul thing going, but then he also was very spaced out. He had that whole kind of psychedelic, experimental thing as well. The fact that he wasn't just one or the other... He was a combination, very fresh and unique. I saw him play when I was a student. I was very impressed. Very influenced. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Wow, you saw the Jimi? (Wanting to show off) My mom saw the Beatles and touched John Lennon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Oh yeah? I met John Lennon and he was with his wife in Tokyo. I met him there. I covered one of his songs, "Jealous Guy," which was our biggest hit actually. It's a good song. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
He also did a covers album. You sort of paved the way with These Foolish Things. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, he did one. That's right. "Stand By Me" and things like that. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Getting back to Frantic, it's very ambient, often haunting. Did you want to create an atmosphere or tell a story like on the track "San Simeon" (name of the Hearst home)? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | "San Simeon" tells a story and... hopefully, it's very atmospheric as well. I thought it was good if somebody would go back to a place, a house that has a lot of memories as far as that goes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Did you actually visit the Hearst house? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | No, I've never been there, but I like the idea of it. Many tourists there, so I'm told. But I've seen lots of pictures of it and the film "Citizen Kane," which is based on Hearst and on San Simeon, which [Orson Wells] calls Xanadu in the movie. It's kind of interesting. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Besides the two Dylan covers, you also chose to cover a song written by King Richard ("Ja Nun Hons Pris")! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Exactly, yeah. Well, I had this song called "Fool For Love," which had a medieval flavor to it. I'm always trying to find a new angle on a love song. And this is the idea of a medieval kind of thought in love, like a troubadour telling a story. I liked the vibe of it and I said to the arranger, Colin Good who I wrote with, that I was looking for a piece – I was going to write a piece actually – in that style as an introduction to the song, just to lay it on a bit thicker, the mood of it and the period. But he said, "Oh, I know this great tune, a medieval song by Richard the Lion." I said, "Really?" I heard it. It was really good. We did this version of it. People really like it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
It's different.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | It is different. It's nice to have another voice halfway through an album. It's a lovely high soprano, a beautiful voice which I heard in this... I went to the ballet in London in Covent Garden and they were doing a piece which had a voice part in it, and this woman (Mary Nelson) was singing it. I guess I got her number or something and she came and sang on my album. It's nice to do things like that and it works. It's like getting Jonny Greenwood. When it works, it's great. And all the other people I work with... It's not a very high failure rate if you choose people that you really like the sound of. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Is there anyone in particular that you'd like to work with? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yes, Dr. Dre! I think he's very good. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
That's surprisingly interesting. So what do you listen to exactly nowadays? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Me? Nothing. I hate music (laughs). At the moment, probably MTV. When you're on tour, you kind of switch the TV on and usually it's just wars and horrible things. And then you end up at MTV. At least you see some amusing videos, either girl rappers and all the guys doing (imitates rap attitude). It's really funny. I like it. There was one on this morning – Puff Diddy, Daddy, Duddy.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
P. Diddy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | P. Diddy with... who was he singing with? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Usher. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Usher, yeah. Usher's good. Good voice. I like that one. I like Pink. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
She's got a great voice. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, really good and a great video – that one where she's got black hair, spiky sort of hair, jagged cut. She's good. Atomic Kitten – I like them. They're kind of kitsch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Well, they're manufactured, but do have talent. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, yeah. They're put together by that lad (Andy McCluskey) from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – OMD – who were kind of an '80s group that he was in. And he created this really good thing. I like the name Atomic Kitten. It's so great. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
On Frantic, you worked with Brian Eno again. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, you'd like him; he's a character. He's very nice. He's good to work with – lots of ideas, funny. He finds me hilarious, which I quite like (laughs). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You both have an artistic background. Do you still paint? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | I do not paint, no. I go to galleries. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Do you collect art? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | I collect the odd picture, yeah. But when I started writing songs, I stopped painting completely, and the only art things I do are connected to the career, like album sleeves and, to some extent, posters and things like that, and all the artifacts that deal with it – stage [design], a little bit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What do you think of Brian's art? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Don't know hardly anything about it. He has these video installations and things, I think. I saw one in San Francisco once when he was setting it up. But that was like ten years ago, so I'm not sure what he's doing now in that line. I don't really talk about it [with him]. He was so interested in songwriting, which was nice. We did this song together which I really like. We're doing it on the tour. I might get him up on stage to do it with me one day. That would be good, wouldn't it? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Bryan and Brian. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | Yeah, the two Brians. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What's the difference between the two Brians? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | The difference? Oh, [there's a] huge difference! I'm much more serious than him (laughs). No, I think he likes talking more than I do. He loves to talk! He has to talk the talk. And I tend to rather sit and watch more. That's where the main difference is. But we're both self-centered. There are a lot of similarities to us. I think we both think the world revolves around us (laughs). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
All artists do. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BRYAN: | (Laughs) I think they do, don't they? Yeah, it's a fact. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
What do you think of Brian's work with U2? Continued on Page Two... December 2002
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