Roxy Music • Street Life • Top of the Pops • 22 November 1973

Roxy Music • Street Life • Top of the Pops • 22 November 1973 • This is my restoration of the recently surfaced footage of Roxy’s November ‘73 “Street Life” Top of the Pops appearance. • “Wish everybody would leave me alone,” were the first words of Roxy Music’s electrifying third single, “Street Life”. It was November 1973, and for Bryan Ferry and his outlandishly attired colleagues, there was zero chance of peace and quiet. Their new album, Stranded, was their second in eight months, while Ferry had complicated matters by starting a solo career, reaching the Top 10 in October with his cover of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”. But there were problems behind the scenes. Roxy were used to having short-term bassists (five came and went during 1971–’73), but a much more controversial personnel change occurred in July ’73 when Brian Eno, their leopardskin-clad synth operator, quit the band after clashing with the increasingly autocratic Ferry. Eno was replaced by Edwin