Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

6. Roxy MusicRoxy Music

Magic. Weird, wilful. They obviously didn’t know quite what they were doing. It’s splendid. I saw them twice in ’72, once when they first came on tour and it was dark, the audience didn’t even applaud until the DJ put ‘Virginia Plain’ on at the end, it was astonishing. The second time with the whole outfits, the choreography and a celebration of success. Fantastic record, great lyrics. All of these things have great lyrics, of course… apart from ‘Hallogallo’. When Wire supported Roxy Music later it wasn’t quite what we thought we’d signed up to. I loved what they did with Eno, it was the combination, the clash… the power of Paul Thompson, all of it, the imagination. It’s understanding, and putting it into practice. It’s so wilful, it’s quite sexy really.

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