Yeah, this was the question from the editor of the deleted “msn/groups/roxymusic” site. I think he was called David, and lived in the US. Some posters don`t come around here no more. I`m thinking of Elshiva, Ann Lehnen, Quicksilver Baby and St. Lerainne (through silky water my gondola glides), and not to forget the ever present Paddy and Paul`s “Paula”.

- And the other sites; Phils forum; ha-ha, a joke! Pauls; - gone stale. Chris`; - ditto.

I think the short answer to this question is that, at a general interest level amongst the public at large, the number of people who care is slowly diminishing over time.
On the more specific question about posters going missing from this and other forums, I think that is inevitable. If there is not anything new happening then there is not much to talk about. There is only so much picking over old bones that any of us can do before we start repeating ourselves - and that is the start of the end. It won't be coincidental that the level of genuine new members on this forum (myself included) picked up significantly on the back of last year's RM tour and, I assume, to a lesser extent on the release of Olympia - but now that this is a distant memory and there is nothing much happening to generate interest then this seems to have slowed down significantly.
Sure, there have been some valiant attempts on this forum to keep things going through discussion on what Bryan should do next and things like fantasy albums, Oreo adverts/commercials and the like. Some of these have caught the imagination of enough of us to generate activity for a while - but these self generated topics won't fill the void forever.
If that is a somewhat depressing long term prognosis then there are at least some positives i.e. this forum is still a lot livelier than other RM related forums out there plus I think that we can take steps to counter things. If we look at some of the lost members that you mention above then there is maybe a clue about what we can do. First of all, though, I want to say that it is a real pity that they have dropped out, as some of them made really insightful contributions. Unfortunately, however, some of the responses that they provoked were far from encouraging. In fact, a few were just rude and dismissive. I am not saying that we shouldn't have differences of opinion but I don't think us members can afford to treat each other that way as it will just alienate and drive people away. Instead, everybody has to make an effort to contribute their thoughts at a reasonably regular rate - and to create a vibe that encourages each other to do likewise. Nobody should feel reluctant to contribute in case they say something that attracts derision - and that does happen from time to time. If a genuine new member (i.e. not a thinly disguised retailer) comes on board then we should be making sure that he / she feels welcome and valued. I don't think there is enough of this going on in VRM i.e. we stand off a bit until the new member proves his or her credentials and, if they don't have the stamina to tough this phase out, then we lose out on new blood that could/should be getting bedded in to the forum.
I also think that some of us need to make more effort to keep the dialogue going. Again this is just observational, but it seems to me that at any point in time there is an active group of no more than 5 -10 members from a pool of approximately 20 committed and regular contributors posting stuff on this forum, with the odd contribution trickling in from others from time to time. This isn't enough to sustain things in the long term so I would encourage everybody who still cares to make the effort a bit more often to post something on the forum. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering stuff, but I am sure it will help others to feel that they are not alone - and it can be surprising what a seemingly inoccuous comment can sometimes trigger. It might also encourage others who have not made the plunge to sign up to the forum - which all helps to keep things alive and kicking.

Brilliant observations Avondale! Excellent insights!

Indeed, it would be nice if more people got involved as you said.

It's great for me be among fans that keep this forum going, as there
are so many other distractions in the world, musically as well.

Plus having John as the owner of this site is a bonus for us because of his vast knowledge & connection to Bryan & the band. Thanks John!

I feel at home here. No heartache.

Hi -
For my part I can only answer with a wholehearted 'yes'! I am a very regular visitor to this site (thanks John), but far less so to the Forums. When I do have a wee look around here and am tempted to post, a 'senior moment' usually grips me and I can't recall my log-in details, but the grey matter hasn't let me down today. I think the earlier points are well made about engaging with people and encouraging newcomers and, for what it's worth, I will attempt to become a more regular contributor myself. That shouldn't be difficult because, for me, the only way is up!
Regards,
Richard Swift

The history of ”cool” is indeed a varied one. As soon as the wind changes, people move on to other arenas. A young man growing up in the 70s would probably choose music as his point of directon, while someone in the 00s would go for extreme sports. I take it that the very people who populated Yosgur`s farm at the famous Woodstock festival in August 1969, ten years later would be disco dancing at Studio 54. There`s a harshness in this. People indeed are unfaithful. When I mentioned “Bryan Ferry” to someone my age back in the 90s, the reaction was “Oh, is he still around?” People aren`t that committed. Just think of how people behave at his concerts. In countries that only casually get a visit from Bryan/Roxy, the die-hards are almost absent. Followingly, rare and new stuff gets a luke-warm reception. The Oreo cookies do nothing for me. Finally Island gets their share. The ability to create a buzz while nothing`s happening seems to be quite limited among the most “faithful” among us. The silence in the sites comes mainly from a silence by themselves. What is Phil doing? Well, we know that he does something, but what is Andy doing? What is Paul doing? Could they be mourning? Well, time runs even if you do nothing. 2012 looks as if it`s gonna be a silent one. Remember that presently, as having said in interview, Bryan is enjoying the luxury of having no plans at all.

I'm actually amazed that the VRM forum is is lively and active as it is, given that the principal Roxy members (other than BF) have an extremely low public profile. I guess PM is doing stuff other than a "cigar/promo" gig in Cuba and a one-off guest showing at a King Mob gig. Remember his stint at Ronnie Scott's about three years ago? There was supposed be be a live album/cd as a result. What ever happened to that? AM's Metaphors ensemble has pretty much died as far as I can tell. TGPT is at the moment apparently in BF's "real" (as opposed to Corporate) band, but non-disclosure agreements keep him quiet re what he's up to professionally.

So that gets us back to BF, who maintains his public brand, but Olympia is old news at this point (and for the vast public it was never news at all). I guess it's good that he's playing some real gigs in Iceland (not "Corporate" gigs where The Playback sets the pace and Ollie T gets to play along) but I can't say that this is all that exciting.

What is really needed is new recorded material that we as fans can embrace/love/hate/or whatever, but at least we can have something to react to! On that note, Olympia was OK and certainly better than nothing. But the whole "remix" hoopla that BF tried to get people excited about pretty much fell flat IMHO.

Even if BF doesn't want to revisit the Roxy recordings of 2005/06, there is bunch of stuff he did with TGPT back after the 2001 Roxy Reunion Tour that awaits release. The re-released "Complete" recordings and the anniversary deluxe editions of individual albums is certainly not something devoid of interest, but it is not something that will spark that much attention on this forum or in the Roxy World in general.

What is needed is something new. For a start, what about the 2011 Tour Live cd - that would be nice! I found much of the 2001 Tour cd to be very very good and worthy of repeated listening (check out PM's solo on Heart Still Beating for a thrill!)

We just need something new...

I agree with the sentiments of the others, you can only generate so much discussion about nothing because that's all we have to go on except for what John get's to find out for us. We have the big press release about the studio recordings coming out on the 2nd April but nothing official to say it has been delayed, yes we do sort of know what Phil is doing and we assume that Paul will be touring with BF (if he is indeed touring).There was talk of Andy having "retired" from music, is that the case or are the metaphors still a going concern? What did happen to the live cd/dvd of the 2011 dates or the Roxy album that never was? we only really got half cocked "non disclosure" explanations from Phil and Andy on that so I think interest in BF and Roxy is just ebbing away naturally through people moving on and maybe also finding something that returns their interest

I still visit, but life has been pretty busy of late. You know how it is. I still love you all.

Hello to Helen. Hope you're enjoying the end of the season

I think that nowadays people care less because they have so much to do, they are so busy and full with their personal lives that they miss out on other things that they used to care about.

I think this is a common problem nowadays because everything is so fast-paced, so advanced and almost everything runs on technology. I do hope that we can slow down a bit and learn to appreciate the thing around us more. after all we only live once.