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“Quicker, cheaper, wilder”: the three words that defined the magic of Roxy Music’s 1973 masterpiece
Roxy Music’s second album, *For Your Pleasure*, pursued Bryan Ferry’s ambition to make the band’s sound “quicker, cheaper, wilder”. Released in 1973, the record pushed their glam rock towards stranger, more experimental territory and helped establish Ferry as a cultural icon, despite its challenging, sometimes disorienting sound.
Ferry drew on ideas from his former tutor, Pop Art pioneer Richard Hamilton, treating music like a collage of contrasting elements. Much of the album was written in a two-week burst, and producer John Porter stepped in after bassist Rik Kenton left shortly before recording at London’s AIR Studios. The album reached number four in the UK and stayed in the charts for 27 weeks, while peaking at number 193 in the US; it was also Brian Eno’s last Roxy Music album.
In short
- Ferry aimed to make Roxy Music’s second album “quicker, cheaper, wilder”.
- Its experimental sound included long, disorienting tracks.
- It reached number four in the UK and number 193 in the US.
Explained simply
Roxy Music were a British band who emerged in the early 1970s, combining glam rock with experimental sounds and imagery. Singer Bryan Ferry led the group and had studied under Richard Hamilton, an artist associated with Pop Art, whose collage-like approach influenced Ferry’s ideas about music.
For their second album, the band brought together contrasting styles and sounds, moving beyond the more familiar side of glam rock. The record was made at London’s AIR Studios, with producer John Porter joining after bassist Rik Kenton left; it was also keyboard player Brian Eno’s final album with the group.
The album’s reception showed how its reach differed between Britain and the United States: it became a top-five hit in the UK, while charting much lower in the US. Its mix of accessible pop and more unsettling experiments helped shape Roxy Music’s identity and Ferry’s public image.