Electric Light Orchestra
Formed
Members
Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, bass, cello, keyboards, drums), Bev Bevan (drums, 1970-86), Roy Wood (guitar, bass, cello, keyboards, drums, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, recorder, 1970-72), Bill Hunt (keyboards, French horn, hunting horn, 1971-72), Steve Woolam (violin, 1971), Richard Tandy (keyboards, bass, guitar, 1972-present), Andy Craig (cello, 1972), Hugh McDowell (cello, 1972, 1973-79), Mike Edwards (cello, 1972-75), Wilf Gibson (violin, 1972-73), Michael de Albuquerque (bass, backing vocals, 1972-74), Colin Walker (cello, 1972-73), Mik Kaminski (violin, 1973-79), Kelly Groucutt (bass, vocals, 1974-83), Melvyn Gale (cello, piano, 1975-79)
Related Artists
Also Known As
The Move, ELO, Jeff Lynne's ELO
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grendel71
"ELO were the musical equivalent of candyfloss and, lyrically, they were as deep as a puddle - but maybe that was the point! Who could possibly want to waste time finding fault in music as joyous and carefree as this? Irresistible hooks; lusciously over-the-top arrangements; and harmonies so warm they could burn your ears - this is feel-good music of the highest order! ELO are not a guilty pleasure...they're just a great, great band!"
RYM Rough Guide for Electric Light Orchestra
Biography
As Wizzard, Wood's new band, scaled the UK charts, Lynne steered ELO in a progressively more commercial direction, initially finding success in the U.S. only. A run of albums, starting with 1974's Eldorado, found the signature ELO sound being molded with huge sweeping strings, sugar-sweet harmonies, and catchy pop hooks. With U.S. success secured, the rest of the world caught up with 1976's multimillion-selling A New World Record. From there on, ELO and Lynne's star were assured, with the follow-up, Out of the Blue, being hailed as their Sgt. Pepper. However, 1979's Discovery, despite being their biggest selling album, alienated many fans with its then-contemporary disco stylings.
They remained popular enough to attain their first and only UK number one single with "Xanadu," a collaboration with Olivia Newton-John from the film Xanadu (1980). Thereafter, their popularity waned. Album sales dwindled as the public's (and Lynne's) appetite for the band dissipated. They released three more albums before Lynne called it quits in 1986 following a final charity gig in their hometown of Birmingham.
Drummer Bev Bevan resurrected the brand in 1990, when he formed Electric Light Orchestra Part Two. But as one commentator at the time said, "ELO without Lynne is like a tea-bag without the tea!" After Bevan left ELO Part II in the late 90s, the uneasy truce ended and Lynne reclaimed the name.
In 2001, Zoom was released under the ELO banner, but it sold poorly, as did tickets for a projected world tour. For the next decade, ELO as a brand laid in stasis while Lynne pursued other projects.
For a concert at Hyde Park in September 2014, Lynne reunited with Tandy under the moniker "Jeff Lynne's ELO." The next year, the new album, Alone in the Universe, was released. In 2017, ELO were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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