Saturday, March 6, 2010

The Electric Light Orchestra




Welcome to my blog dedicated to The Electric Light Orchestra and
Jeff Lynne. I have great videos, images and information on the great
music of ELO and Jeff. Please stroll through my pages and watch and
listen of what is new, old, borrowed and Birmingham.
New videos added all the time! Scroll down for whats new!




I have been a fan of the Electric Light Orchestra since 1978 and though the band of 78' has gone into the twilight we can all share the in the strange magic this amazing group brought to the world and beyond. This is my tribute to ELO and I hope you enjoy the memories, magic and music of what was 'One of the greatest bands in the world...'


My brother introduced me to ELO when he brought home New World Record and Out of the Blue, in my opinion two of ELO's most complete albums. At the time ELO were in the charts with Sweet Talkin Women, Mr Blue Sky, and Turn To Stone and in the midst of the largest ever world tour, complete with the legendary space ship. The First I saw of ELO was in their 1978 concert on TV at Wembley Arena and I was blown away. I still have a program from the tour and I later got it signed by Bev Bevan, Mik Kaminsky and Kelly Groucutt.
I should backtrack though for those of you not totally familiar with ELO from the start. The band has gone through many changes over the years and like some of websites and blogs I am not going to blast on about the origins of each member of the band but just about my memories of the group that I love.


So anyway back when the band started in 1970 they were:
Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Steve Woolam and Bill Hunt



But when ELO first took the stage on Tour the grew and in 1972 they were:
Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Bill Hunt, Richard Tandy, Hugh McDowell, Mike Edwards, Wilfred Gibson, Andy Craig and Trevor Smith.

Towards the end of 72 there was a huge change and ELO said goodbye to many original members, including Roy Wood and the line-up for the 72 to 73 Tour came out with the new line including:
Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Wilfred Gibson, Mike Edwards and Richard Tandy, but now added, Mike de Albuquerque and Colin Walker joined the group.


This line-up lasted until the end of 73 when Walker and Gibson left to be replaced by the wonderful Mik Kaminski and Hugh McDowell.

By the time we got to the New World Record and the fab Out of the Blue Tour we came to the best line up I think the band ever had with:
Jeff Lynne, Kelly Groucutt, Richard Tandy, Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell, Bev Bevan and Melvyn Gale.
This line-up were on Tour from 1975 to 1978 and played all over the world.



It was not until 1981, and the Time Tour, when ELO hit the road again and this time the band was less McDowell and Gale as the wonders of keyboard technology had been mastered and together the band now includes:
Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy, Kelly Groucutt, Mik Kaminski, Bev Bevan and added Louis Clark and Dave Morgan.

The last real ELO Tour took place in 1986, which was the last I saw of Jeff Lynne in ELO, but the band line up included: Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy, Mik Kaminski, Bev Bevan, Dave Morgan, Louis Clark and replacing Kelly Groucutt was Martin Smith.

Jeff Lynne, in 2001 brought out the Zoom album and to bring back his original audiance. The ELO album included Richard Tandy, a vetran of ELO since 1972, they were due to tour with the album but unfortunately this was soon cancelled.
The ELO music legacy was kept alive by some of the other former members of ELO with ELO part II and also The Orchestra.
 
 




Jeff marked the 40th anniversary of ELO bringing out up to date version of the classic ELO tracks on 'Mr Blue Sky (The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra)' and also his new solo album 'Long Wave'.

2013 brought another 3 releases, ELO Live, ELO Zoom and Jeff Lynne's re-released version of Armchair Theatre. All are due for release in April.

In 2014 Jeff Lynne came to play live in London's Hyde Park, for BBC Radio 2's Festival in a day. Jeff called the gathered talented artists, that included Richard Tandy, Jeff Lynne's ELO. This has sparked rumors that Jeff may Tour in the future the tour dates will be released in November 2015 for Jeff Lynne's ELO to tour in 2016 and with radio and television shows airing Jeff's latest work. The spaceship cometh ...

Click Here To Hear The Latest Music From Jeff

 
NOTE: Small intimate concerts in London, New York and California will be available in November. Dates will be announced via Jeff's Facebook and Twitter accounts. A very small amount of tickets will be pre-sold to fans of Jeff via his fan club. More European, US and World Tour Dates announced soon. Please follow Jeff's social media team for more information.
 
CHECK LOCAL AND NATIONAL RADIO CHANNELS FOR NEWS ON RADIO GIG'S, LIVE SHOWS AND MUCH MORE. BBC & PBS TO HAVE A GREAT MANY ELO THEMED PROGRAMMES WITH JEFF AND WILL ON AIR SOON.
 
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Images of ELO through the years... ENJOY!











KELLY R.I.P










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