Saw this on Bryan's Facebook page.

Bryan Ferry (Official)
The Olympia Campaign is now over, and having performed close to 200 shows this year we have no plans to tour in 2012. What should we record next?

No plans to tour in 2012,but any suggestions for new recordings,anyone ? Serious stuff please,not stupid stuff that won't sell !

How about getting together with Andy, Phil and TGPT and see what your combined efforts come up with. I'd buy it.

That won't happen.Any more suggestions ?

Where did the "close to 200 shows this year" number come from? All things considered BF did tour extensively last year, but 200 shows? I counted about 80 combined for the Roxy and BF solo gigs. How many "private gigs" does he do?????? More than 100? Hard to believe...

Ian won't like my saying it, but BF should finish what he started and complete the Roxy recordings he started in 2005-06. On Olympia he had no compunctions about resuscitating tracks and riffs from the 1990s so I don't see why the Roxy tracks aren't worthy of being finished. And make no mistake, PM, AM. TGPT, Eno and BF put a lot of energy and effort into those recordings.

Maybe a fan under the influence of Love Is The Drug
hacked into the site and posted the 200 number.

Why doesn't Bryan and the boys post some info here
and get involve with us? Some of us aren't into FaceCrook,
which seems to be dominating alot of peoples' lives. It ain't me babe.

Bryan! Andy Phil! Paul! et al. You there? Anybody out there?

You too big for us?

I understand why you say this IanS, and I am sure that this would be Bryan's instinctive reaction, but if he stops to think about it a little he will see that there is a lot of merit in Bob's suggestion.

There have been a number of comments / suggestions made in this forum over the past 12 months which, if woven together, produce the basis of a really good project for 2012; one that is achievable in terms of timescale (giving him plenty time at home with the new Mrs F) and which would maximise interest and therefore hopefully, profits (which is never too far down Bryan's priority list, I suspect).

I am talking about a Roxy Unplugged (or semi accoustic) album where a selection of the songs we all know and love are re-worked. The material is already there (so no potential writer's block), the stripped back arrangements suit Bryan's voice best nowadays, and anything released under the Roxy banner will naturally command a lot more attention than Bryan's solo output. I also think, if Bryan looks back at his legacy, the one thing that might irk him most will be the sparse uptake by other performers of his songs. We all know what a good song-writer he can be and this might give him an opportunity late in his career to underline that. I suspect too many of his songs are too stylised for others to try to interpret - but surely if anybody can put a new spin on Bryan's songs and showcase what can be done with them then it is Bryan himself !

I would also suggest that he gives Colin Good a wee rest in 2012 and works with the old team on this. I suspect that Andy in particular would be able to offer some sensitive ideas here, and Phil will be able to contribute his fair share as well if given a chance. What chance Eno getting involved at some level?

If Bryan just can't bring himself to work so closely with the guys again (or finds that he is unwilling to surrender too much artistic control) then maybe he should do this as a solo project. It would not have quite the same appeal but that way he would have a wider songbook to choose from. However, this is the 40th anniversary of the 1st album so if ever there was a right time to do this with the guys then it is now.

Avondale,

That's quite the manifesto.

You should send it to Bryan at this official website.

I'd wait a bit though. I'm sure he's....preoccupied at the moment.

It would be great if they just did it as a non-profit making project and not worry about the financial rewards or chart success. However, I don't think Bryan rates the rest of Roxy that highly,they're not the greatest of friends,,the recording expenses are shared out evenly,but the major songwriter gets most of the royalties. In addition,I heard that the 2001 tour paid Bryan £37,000 for each show and Phil, Andy and Paul picked up £23,000 each for each show. Not sure how much the session musicians got paid,but it was £1,000 for each show on the 1994/1995 Mamouna tour. So all in all, as Bryan can record and tour more cheaply without Roxy, it doesn't look likely. But I do like the idea of reworking the old songs. That could be interesting. Running Wild was a good example.

I'm sure Bryan & the boys have already something in mind.

We can speculate and wish and wonder and what's going
to happen.

After 40 years, I'm sure the kettle's on the stove, simmering.

The "Bryan Ferry Business Enterprise" is so not easy to comprehend from the outside and BF does everything he can to keep it that way. It would be interesting to learn where Ian got the info re how much various people got paid for various tours because this is the kind of data that BF works hard to keep out of the public record via non-disclosure clauses in tour employment contracts.

I wonder how much revenue BF actually drew from the recent Olympia tour. Yes he didn't have to share it with partners PM and AM as he would in a Roxy tour. But keeping his high quality band (11 members!) happy and intact could not have been done on the cheap. It would also be interesting to get a handle on the financial status of the cd/album Olympia as a business venture. It clearly didn't sell a lot of units; and just as certainly it engendered major art and promotion expenses (Kate Moss certainly drew a healthy check for her services and the video shoot for U Can Dance incurred no small expense).

One thing that appears clear is that - if he wants to maintain his current life style - BF cannot simply sit back and collect royalty checks. A little while back JOB commented that BF's present business model depends upon his doing no small number of "private gigs" and I think that will have to continue for the foreseeable future unless he develops a sizable new revenue stream. Clearly, fashion and product endorsements are important and this will also continue for years to come. But music lies at the heart of the BF Brand and I think he has to maintain some type of presence as a music icon to keep the brand from losing luster.

I was amazed/surprised that his Olympia tour stretched out for 50+ gigs. I don't know what he'll do next. All I know is that I don't have enough $$$ to engage him for a private gig where I might ask hm: What does the future hold?