>>It seems unlikely to say the least that BF would embark on a solo tour in the UK so soon after the Roxy shows in the UK in February<<

Bryan's mentioned an April/May European tour of Olympia in 1 or 2 interviews very recently. So you can bet that one is in the process of being arranged. For a man who is so guarded about publicity, he wouldn't say such a thing without it being true.

The good news is...I agree with the comments that Bryan's solo work can have an extra edge when played live - the performance of You can Dance (a nondescript, stodgy confection on the album, to be frank) on Jools was reasonably pacy and effective.

The bad news is...I've just listened to Olympia (yes, again) back-to-back with Frantic....Olympia is inferior in every respect...sorry, but it's true. The person who observed that I thought and Hiroshima were up there with Roxy top-drawer stuff never spoke a truer word. A Fool for Love and Cruel are superb pieces of work too...match them against Olympia....it's no contest. There are moments in Olympia that I like, don't get me wrong, but it's alreading heading into the abyss...I'm geuinely sorry about that, but it just can't cut it.

Kipper, we all have different tastes and therefore different opinions, and what seems 'best' for you, doesn't necessairly means that's best for everyone. I think I prefer Olympia over Frantic. I really do love the new album, and the more I play it, the more I like it. I don't mind his voice has weakened over the years, it's like good old wine to me, it fits perfectly with the melancholic songs, and I'm quite sure that it will do great live on stage. 'The only face' of Mamouna is also very 'produced' on cd, and it was absolutely marvelllous live.

i think that the Stewart Alphaville sessions were the last great phase. By the time the material came out on Frantic it was Colin Gooded to death (despite being added to, by the sublime I Thought)...and on Olympia it was Rhetted to oblivion.

With Freddie Mercury dead and David Bowie not touring anymore, of the three voices I love best only Bryan Ferry’s can still be heard live, and I’m grateful for that. Some may describe his voice as weakening or deteriorating, to me it’s as beautiful and moving as ever. So I would say bring it on! Can’t wait for his live performance on France Inter this Thursday, I’m looking forward to the 2011 Roxy tour and keep my fingers crossed for an Olympia tour as well.

Can’t wait for his live performance on France Inter this Thursday

Can anyone confirm that this Thursday's show will be freely available to listen to and record, i.e. no need for any sort of subscription to France Inter? Thanks.

I have listened to several France Inter programmes by way of ‘test’ and all were readily and freely available outside of France.
The concert will be broadcasted from 20:05 to 21:20 local time (GMT+1), no specific requirements mentioned, according to http://sites.radiofrance.fr/franceinter ... 1291244400
It’s most likely we will be able to enjoy it by just clicking the écoutez le direct button on the site (or directly through http://players.tv-radio.com/radiofrance ... einter.php)

Is someone planning on recording the stream of this performance? I won't be at home during the broadcast, and I'd hate to miss this...

I think the performance will be available in podcast. If it's the case, I will put the link here.
If you are at home, you can click on "Direct" to listen to the concert live:
http://sites.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/accueil/

I see the song "I Thought" being mentioned in glowing terms again here, what is it about this song that eveyrone thinks is so good? It is exactly what it appears to be...a throwaway album closer, plus, as has been mentioned umpteen times before, the music is taken from the superior Eno/Cale song "The River" from their excellent "Wrong Way Up" album.
I also played "Olympia" and "Frantic" back to back recently...the former wins, no problem, and I didn't realise how poor the latter was in fact.