‘Same Old Scene’ is a 1980 song recorded by English rock band Roxy Music and written by lead singer Bryan Ferry. The song was taken from the group's number one album Flesh and Blood, and was released as a single in late 1980. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Charts and No. 35 in Australia.
This song finds Roxy Music experimenting with more electronic instrumentation. In an interview with Classic Pop on November 8, 2022, Ferry credited Flesh + Blood producer Rhett Davies and the London recording studio where they made ‘Same Old Scene’ for providing the inspiration: "We'd become interested in drum machines and sampling etc. and our producer Rhett Davies played a big part in the sound of this record with the triggered strings. Basing Street Studios in Notting Hill was a good change of scene for us. The great bassist Alan Spenner is on this track as well as most of the Flesh + Blood album." The song contains a Roland CR-78 drum machine rhythm backing and intricate bass guitar work that would become ubiquitous in many Roxy Music songs that followed.
‘Same Old Scene’ plays during both the opening and end credits of the 1980 film Times Square and is included on the film soundtrack. It also plays over the end scene and closing credits of the 2008 pilot episode for the television series Ashes to Ashes, and is featured in a party scene in the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me?. David Mallet, the British filmmaker behind some of rock music's most celebrated videos, including David Bowie's ‘Ashes to Ashes’ (1980), Billy Idol's ‘White Wedding’ (1982), and Queen's ‘Radio Ga Ga’ (1984), directed the visual for ‘Same Old Scene.’ It takes the form of a simple performance video, with black-and-white footage of Roxy Music in a recording studio interspersed with clips of Ferry dancing in a suit.
Flesh + Blood was a commercial success in the UK, charting at #1 on June 28, 1980, before returning eight weeks later. It was also the sixth best-selling album in the UK that year. Conceptualized by British art director Peter Saville, the front cover shows three women holding javelins, although the third woman is only visible on the back of the gatefold. While Roxy Music had no input in the design, Flesh + Blood continued their tradition of using female models as muses, in this case, Shelley Mann, Roslyn Bolton, and Aimee Stephenson.
Labels – Reprise, E.G.
Songwriter – Bryan Ferry
Producers – Rhett Davies, Roxy Music
SONG LYRICS
Nothing lasts foreverOf that I'm sure
Now you've made an offer
I'll take some more
Young loving may be
Oh so mean
Will I still survive
The same old scene?
In our lighter moments
Precious few
It's all that heavy weather
We're going through
When I turn the corner
I can't believe
It's still the same old movie
That's haunting me
Young loving may be
Oh so mean
Trying to revive
The same old scene
Young loving may be
So extreme
Maybe we should try
The same old scene
Nothing lasts forever
Of that I'm sure
Now you've made an offer
I'll take some more
Nothing lasts forever
Of that I'm sure
Now you've made an offer
I'll take some more
Nothing lasts forever