Presumably the point of this tour is to belatedly promote the Olympia album - Bryan has referred to it as "touring Olympia". This being so, what do people make of the song choices? I can't recall any 'current' album featuring so insignificantly in any BF / Roxy tour - two songs! And yet BF is still wheeling out 'My Only Love' and 'Avalon' that have been done to death live. As a consequence, there is very little to distinguish this tour from much that has gone before, apart from the choice of venues.

What do others make of the set list?

And at the Hop Farm festival a grand total of 0 songs from the recent album. Does BF not want his album to sell??

I spotted Olympia on offer today for a cringe-worthy £2.99 in local HMV. The policy of not promoting the album on the tour is clearly not working!

Perhaps he will get better sales/revenue of his (& Roxy's) back catalogue by promoting them. Olympia is a bit of a flop one thinks?

I think you might be right about promoting the wider catalogue. There can't be many people who will spend £40 or £50 on a ticket plus the same again on travel, parking, drinks, food etc but desist from forking out a few quid on the album until they hear it "sampled" at the gig. So, at this stage in his career, maybe it is more about the buzz that the tour creates around "BF/RM - the brand" when it hits town rather than promoting a specific album.

Anyway, isn't it accepted wisdom that most bands make money from their tours nowadays rather than from album sales?

Richard,
Last night, I saw the show at Vienna's Opera House and I think it's amongst his best ever.
The set list knits together superbly and plays to the band line up (no strings) and is supported by phenomenal visuals that transport you completely to 'Ferryland'.
With his huge back catalogue,the choice of songs is always going to be subjective but frankly, I'm quite happy to leave it to Geordie's favourite son - he certainly got it right last night. He was brilliant.
Don't miss it.
Regards,
Windswept

I don't doubt Bryan was great, I will see him in a few days here in Belgium (yippiee!!!) but despite that, I do find it a missed opportunity for Olympia. So much beautiful songs (Reason or Rhyme!!!), it would be lovely to hear them performed live... I don't need to hear every song on stage, but at least 3 of them would be the absolute minimum...

Olympia the Album is for the people subscribed to this list. Its one of the best he's ever done, though its not shifted the sales volumes I'm sure he'd hoped for.

Olympia the Tour is to showcase his new band and push the Ferry/Roxy canon in a more populist way . ..for example in different venues.....to an audience that sees Ferry and Roxy Music as one and the same thing.

I'll go on Saturday to Kew Gardens and I'll enjoy it for what it is, a greatest hits package.

PS have there been any comments on the tour guides?

Personally, I think most of Olympia is fantastic and the slow songs are superb. Unfortunately, because of his age, he doesn't appeal to the younger music buyers any more and I don't think he will ever have a huge seller again, no matter how good his output is in the future. The same goes for Rod Stewart, The Who, The Stones, McCartney, Elton, etc, etc. Legends in their time, but any new stuff will never sell too well. For some reason, Dave Gilmour/Pink Floyd seem to sell well. Dunno why.

I was at the Vienna show too in the 2nd row. Thought the venue was amazing but the crowd poor. They only really got energised towards the end from "Love Is The Drug"and seemed to know very few of the songs. I'm personally disappointed at the choice of songs and the lack of change ups. What did Stockholm do right to get Reason Or Rhyme?

The concert in Vienna was over by 21.05 and my only real bonus was to grab a copy of the setlist from the stage.

For sheer enjoyment, Roxy in Glasgow in January beat Vienna hands down.

It's also been mostly cloudy and raining here in Vienna since my wife and I arrived Hopefully our next date with BF in Edinburgh at the Castle will be better.

One from Vienna.