Editing Roxy Music (section)

===First two studio albums (1972–1973)===
In early February 1972, guitarist O'List quit the group abruptly after an altercation with Paul Thompson, which took place at their audition for David Enthoven of [[E.G. Records|E.G. Management]]. When O'List did not show up for the next rehearsal, Manzanera was asked to come along, on the pretext of becoming the band's sound mixer. When he arrived he was invited to play guitar and quickly realised that it was an informal audition. Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Manzanera had learned their entire repertoire and as a result, he was immediately hired as O'List's permanent replacement, joining on 14 February 1972. Manzanera, the son of an [[English people|English]] father and a [[Columbians|Colombian]] mother, had spent a considerable amount of time in [[South America]] and [[Cuba]] as a child, and although he did not have the same art school background as Ferry, Mackay and Eno, he was perhaps the most proficient member of the band, with an interest in a wide variety of music. Manzanera also knew other well-known musicians, such as [[Pink Floyd]]'s [[David Gilmour]], who was a friend of his elder brother, and [[Soft Machine]]'s [[Robert Wyatt]]. Two weeks after Manzanera joined the band, Roxy Music signed with E.G. Management.<ref>Michael Bracewell, ''Roxy: The band that invented an era'' (Faber and Faber, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-571-22986-4}}) pp. 376–377</ref> 

E.G. Management financed the recording of the tracks for their debut album, ''[[Roxy Music (album)|Roxy Music]]'', recorded in March–April 1972 and produced by King Crimson lyricist [[Peter Sinfield]].<ref name="rob-chapman.com"/> Both the album and its famous cover artwork by photographer Karl Stoecker were apparently completed before the group signed with [[Island Records]]. A&R staffer Tim Clark later stated that although he argued strongly that Island should contract them, company boss [[Chris Blackwell]] at first seemed unimpressed and Clark assumed he was not interested. A few days later, however, Clark and Enthoven were standing in the hallway of the Island offices examining cover images for the album when Blackwell walked past, glanced at the artwork and said "Looks great! Have we got them signed yet?"<ref>Michael Bracewell, ''Roxy: The band that invented an era'' (Faber and Faber, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-571-22986-4}}) pp. 385–386</ref> The band signed with Island Records a few days later. The album was released in June to good reviews and became a major success, reaching No.&nbsp;10 on the [[UK Albums Chart]] in September 1972.<ref name="Prendergast">{{cite book |title=[[The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance – The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age]] |last=Prendergast |first=Mark |year=2001 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/ambientcenturyfr00pren_0/page/119 119] |isbn=1-58234-134-6 }}</ref> Manzanera said in an interview in 2024 that the band received five percent of the profits, to be divided between six musicians.<ref>{{cite news|title= Dylan, Dali and Bryan ferry: My Life in Roxy Music: author Ed Potton: The Times 2, 11 March 2024 }}</ref>

During the first half of 1972, bassist Graham Simpson became increasingly withdrawn and uncommunicative, which led to his leaving the band almost immediately after the recording of the debut album. He was replaced by Rik Kenton.<ref>Michael Bracewell, ''Roxy: The band that invented an era'' (Faber and Faber, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-571-22986-4}}) p. 376</ref>

To bring more attention to their studio album, Roxy Music decided to record and release a single. Their debut single was "[[Virginia Plain]]", which scored No.&nbsp;4 on the [[UK singles chart]]. The band's eclectic visual image, captured in their debut performance on the BBC's ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', became a cornerstone for the [[glam rock|glam]] trend in the [[UK]]. The success of the single caused a renewed interest in the album.

Rik Kenton left the band in January 1973.<!--Do not add note stating that Kenton was not officially replaced in the band unless the later references to Gustafson, Spenner, and Tibbs as official members of the band during their stints are changed to demonstrate that they were not.--> [[John Porter (musician, born 1947)|John Porter]], who had been a member of Ferry's pre-Roxy Music band the Gas Board, agreed to play bass with the band temporarily, though he turned down an offer to join permanently. Roxy Music's second album, ''[[For Your Pleasure]]'', was released in March 1973. It marked the beginning of the band's long, successful collaboration with producer [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]], who worked on all of the group's classic albums and singles in the 1970s. The album was promoted with the non-album single "[[Pyjamarama (song)|Pyjamarama]]"; no album track was released as a single. At the time Ferry was dating French model [[Amanda Lear]]; she was photographed with a black [[jaguar]] for the front cover of the album, while Ferry appears on the back cover as a dapper chauffeur standing behind a [[limousine]].