‘Somebody’s up there saying: good karma!’ Phil Manzanera on Roxy Music, Cuban grooves and making a fortune off Jay-Z and Kanye West
Born into a line of pirates and possible spies, the guitarist went from Castro-era Cuba to art-pop’s greatest group. As his solo work is reissued, he explains why he was too adventurous for his old band
In the booklet that accompanies Phil Manzanera’s career-spanning, 11-CD box set, 50 Years of Music, there is a photocopied page of small ads from a 1971 edition of Melody Maker. In between the news that chart-topping comedy trio the Scaffold need a “sensitive musician” for a university tour, and an unnamed German rock drummer “seeks a good heavy group (no time-wasters)”, lurks an appeal from an “avant-rock group” in search of a guitarist. It says nothing about their sound or their influences, but offers an intriguing set of adjectives: the successful applicant will be “fast, slow, elegant, witty, scary, stable, tricky”.
As Manzanera explains, had he not been sufficiently intrigued to apply, “we wouldn’t be sitting here today” – on a video call, with him in his London studio. He didn’t initially get the job with the nascent Roxy Music, but stayed in the band’s orbit. When their first choice didn’t work out, he stepped in, joining something he wryly describes today as less a band than “an art collective experiment, by two different branches of the art world – Brian Eno’s art education, Bryan Ferry’s art education. And I was just a puppet in this sort of art project, which I’m very proud to have been”.
Continue reading...Topics
-
Adidas Reaches Out-Of-Court Settlement With Kanye West
Business - The Wall Street Journal - 2 days ago -
Adidas ends 'fight' with Kanye West over antisemitism
Top stories - BBC News - 2 days ago -
Adidas reaches out-of-court settlement with rapper Kanye West
Business - MarketWatch - 2 days ago -
Adidas receives €100mn boost from Kanye West settlement
Business - Financial Times - 2 days ago -
West Virginia's Neal Brown offers plea for fan support: 'What I would say is -- did they have a good time?'
Sports - CBS Sports - October 15 -
Just One Episode Will Make Up The Final Season Of Good Omens Amid Neil Gaiman Allegations
Tech - GameSpot - October 24 -
Longtime Final Fantasy Composer Says He's Done Making Video Game Music
Tech - GameSpot - October 15 -
The strange past of the real estate investor who bought Kanye West’s gutted Malibu mansion
Business - MarketWatch - October 14 -
Kanye West and Adidas end ‘fight’ over decision to drop rapper over antisemitism
World - The Guardian - 2 days ago
More from The Guardian
-
Trump tells Tucker Carlson that Musk and RFK Jr could be ‘influential figures’ if he wins
World - The Guardian - 3 hours ago -
About 8,000 North Korean soldiers at Ukraine border, says US
World - The Guardian - 15 hours ago -
Middle East crisis live: Israel’s expanded strikes suggest ‘rejection’ of ceasefire, says Lebanon’s prime minister
World - The Guardian - 26 minutes ago -
Spain floods death toll passes 150 as country begins three days of mourning
World - The Guardian - 17 hours ago -
Massive shootout ‘of several hundred people’ in France seriously wounds five
World - The Guardian - 46 minutes ago
Latest in World
-
Taiwanese driver recounts his narrow escape during Typhoon Kong-rey
World - ABC News - 11 minutes ago -
Some Maga men seem to think women don’t have rights – starting with their wives | Rebecca Solnit
World - The Guardian - 24 minutes ago -
If Trump is re-elected, a familiar face may lead the fight against wind: RFK Jr
World - The Guardian - 24 minutes ago -
I visited a deeply divided Pennsylvania – and found Republicans repeating an enormous lie
World - The Guardian - 24 minutes ago -
Kamala Harris will be a president for the labor movement – and for working women | Liz Shuler
World - The Guardian - 24 minutes ago