Roxy Music “Avalon”

“Avalon” is a 1982 song by the English rock band Roxy Music. It was released as the second single from their eighth and final studio album Avalon (1982).

“Avalon is the isle of enchantment,” Bryan Ferry told LA Weekly‘s Don Waller in November 1982. “A fantasy place, a very romantic place… I thought this was the most romantic, dreamlike album I’d ever done. I started working on the songs for Avalon on the west coast of Ireland, on the very lake that’s used in the photograph on the album cover.”

The song’s distinctive backing vocals were performed by Haitian singer Yanick Étienne, whom Bryan Ferry encountered during the recording of the album. He heard her in the adjacent studio and invited her to contribute backing vocals to the recording.

The song’s music video was directed by Ridley Scott and features the English actress Sophie Ward, daughter of actor Simon Ward. It was filmed in Mentmore Towers country house.