Writer: Bryan Ferry
Producers: Rhett Davies and Roxy Music
Recorded: Fall and winter 1981 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, the Bahamas
Released: Spring 1982
| Players: | Bryan Ferry — vocals, keyboards Phil Manzanera — guitar Andy Mackay — saxophone Neil Hubbard — guitar Alan Spenner — bass Andy Newmark — drums Jimmy Maelen — percussion Fonzi Thornton — backing vocals |
| Album: | Avalon (Warner Bros., 1982) |
The title track from Roxy Music's eighth and final studio album, the moody and lush “Avalon” was a top 20 hit in the U.K.–peaking at Number 13–and has been a popular radio track in the U.S.
Roxy Music had taken a hiatus from 1976 to 1979, when principle members Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera, and Andy Mackay regrouped for three new albums and an EP.
Avalon is the group's most successful album, which frontman Bryan Ferry attributes to the mood of the record's songs: “Well, it's kind of a romantic record. It's got a sort of dreamy quality about it, I think. It has a very good mood to it, I think.” Ferry adds, “It's quite laid back compared with the early Roxy albums and had some great players on it.”
Avalon reached Number One on the U.K. chart and Number 53 on the Billboard 200.
The group supported the highly acclaimed Avalon album with its final spate of touring in 1982 and 1983, with the core trio augmented by Avalon musicians Neil Hubbard, Alan Spenner, Andy Newmark, and Jimmy Maelen, as well as future Dire Straits member Guy Fletcher.