They talked about innovation and originality, as though these qualities were determinants of listenability

People who remembered them from before seemed more enthused about the old stuff than their current run of singles. They talked about innovation and originality, as though these qualities were determinants of listenability. About a year later, I’d finally get to see and hear what it was about early Roxy Music that got people excited. As the closing credits of Mike Read’s Pop Quiz rolled, Roxy Music’s Top of the Pops performance of ‘Virginia Plain’ revealed a confusion of androgynous aliens marauding into uncharted territory on their sequinned sonic steamroller. Bryan Ferry’s hair was longer and his eyelids were brushed with something shiny. He wore the collar of his black top up and his pointy shoulders gave him a camp, vampiric air – a hypercaffeinated younger brother to the casually coutured ghost who fronted Roxy Mk 2: Heathcliff dressed by Antony Price.

P. Paphides, Broken Greek (2020), kindle loc. 3,849

Short on custard pies, high on Genet references

The Bowie/Roxy glam axis - short on custard pies, high on Genet references - fitted the seventies rock critic's post-Sgt Pepper world more comfortably than Sweet or Mud, whose It's better than working album title didn't suggest much familiarity with Lorca.

B. Stanley, Yeah yeah yeah: the story of modern pop (2013), 341

Looked just like a coke fiend from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novella

[Bryan Ferry] looked just like a coke fiend from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novella, which was entirely the idea.
Eno's full name was Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno*

*This it should be noted, is a name he gave himself, not the one he was given at birth. His dad worked for the Post Office.

B. Stanley, Yeah yeah yeah: the story of modern pop (2013), 337 and footnote