"2HB" is a song written by

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

and first recorded by

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

for their 1972 debut album, ''

''. Ferry also recorded a version for his 1976 solo album, '' Let's Stick Together''. The title is a dedication to the film star Humphrey Bogart ("2HB" = "To Humphrey Bogart"). In particular, the song references the Bogart classic '' Casablanca''. The instrumentation on the Roxy Music recording is dominated by Ferry's Hohner Pianet N electric piano and features an Andy Mackay sax solo—based on the melody of " As Time Goes By", a song featured prominently in ''Casablanca''—that is treated with tape echo effects by Brian Eno.

Covers and references

This song was covered for the 1998 film ''

Velvet Goldmine ''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...

'' by the supergroup The Venus in Furs, made up of

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of hi ...

, Clune, Jonny Greenwood, Paul Kimble, Andy Mackay, and

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

. Ferry covered his own song on his 1976 solo album '' Let's Stick Together''. The English band Madness recorded a tribute song, "4BF" ("for

"), on their 1988 album '' The Madness''. The early

Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

song " 4JG" ("for

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

") was also inspired by "2HB".

Julia Holter Julia Shammas Holter (born December 18, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released ''Tragedy'' as her first official ...

a Los Angeles-based composer/multi-instrumentalist released a stripped-down version of "2HB" on her album "Maria" released in 2014.

Personnel

* Andy MacKay —

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

—

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, Hohner Pianet N * Brian Eno — tape echo effects *

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

— guitar * Graham Simpson —

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Paul Thompson — Drums

References

Roxy Music songs 1972 songs Songs written by Bryan Ferry Cultural depictions of Humphrey Bogart {{1970s-rock-song-stub