I had the joy of interviewing Bryan Ferry a few years ago in London. It was about his impending new album and so I did my homework on all things Roxy Music, albums, the story, you know the sort of thing.
It was a dimly lit studio and so I sat there for a moment before the door opened and in came the man himself. Gulp. Much taller than I thought and of course devastatingly attractive. A nervous giggle escaped as he introduced himself and I offered him my suddenly very sweaty palm. He was a charmer as you might expect but two things stay with me to this day.
His eyes. They’re blue but not a blue I have ever seen anywhere else. Ever. They are sort of denim blue, sparklers and impossible to look into at close range in case of fainting episodes. This picture is of a blue orb, clearly not Bryans eye but I wanted to underline the gibbering blueness of being faced with such gorgeousness. Done. Now move on….
The second thing was his accent. When we started the interview it was neutral England but as we talked about Scotland – yeh yeh I was talking about me again – and Durham where he hailed from originally – his Geordie twang came back which made him much easier to banter with – a Geordie and a Scot – the only thing missing was a pint and a fag. Twas a joy. At the end of the interview I told him my long suffering husband had thought he was Bryan Ferry when was about 18 and still carried a pair of leather trousers round with him in the vain hope he would once again dance round the room singing Pyjamara. (As they were so small they didn’t go over his knees by this stage it seemed unlikely). Bryan laughed and signed a silly autograph for Dave as I took a long last stare and most likely freaked him out. After all who needs an Aberdonian stalker in their lives?
So we saw each other again – that sounds so intimate and special but it is a lie – he was on stage at Crathes Castle performing in front of a field of hysterical Aberdonians of which I was one. It was Dave’s 40th birthday and we had borrowed a ridiculous car (Honda S2000 which was the most uncomfortable car on the planet) to drive up from Edinburgh for the night. Bryan played all the Roxy Music classics, the place went wild, it was outside, the weather was fabulous it was a night to remember. Brilliant. So guess what?
I have two tickets to let you see what I am on about. Yes thanks to those decent geezers at Castle Concerts I have 2 tickets give away to see Bryan at Edinburgh Castle this 3rd September, 2011. For you ! I do! It is in my humble opinion the best venue in the country, the backdrop of the castle sitting on top of an extinct volcano – come on it doesn’t get any better than that. So anyway when Bryan realised he was heading to my home town he said ‘hey give Alison some tickets to give away’ – OK it was my pal Fraser the promoter even I in my deranged state realise only too well Bryan will have forgotten me all those years ago . But I genuinely do have tickets for you . I do! And there will be more for some amazing artists in the coming months so remember to register with Alison’s Diary on the right hand side so you don’t miss out.
Now to win these ticket it’s this easy all you need to do is answer this question:
What was Roxy Music’s one and only British No. 1 ?
Send your answer to: alison@wordpress-729356-2435400.cloudwaysapps.com
I will announce the winner – picked at random – on Alisons Diary on 30th May.
Good luck!
Oh and watch this space for Brian Wilson & Don MacLean giveaways too!
