Group "Electric Light Orchestra" (ELO). Biography Musical group ate

"Electric Light Orchestra" - (ELO) Year of creation 1970, UK.

The founders of the group are Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood. This group released 11 studio albums between 1971 and 1986. She was especially popular during these years. "Electric Light Orchestra" was formed to perform "classic" pop music. But the group worked in different musical directions. She tried herself in both progressive rock and pop music.

All of the group's original compositions were written by J. Lynn. He was the producer of every album. The group's first success came in the United States. By the mid-70s, ELO became the best-selling music group. From 1972 to 1986, the ELO group worked in the States and Great Britain. How was the group "Electric Light Orchestra" created?

In the late 60s, Roy Wood, guitarist and vocalist, wanted to create new group. It was assumed that the group would use a violin and a bugle to give the music a classical style. Jeff Lynne was interested in the idea, and in January 1970, he accepted Wood's offer and joined the group. It was decided that they would devote themselves entirely to the new project.

The band's debut album came out in 1971 with the song "Overture", which immediately became a hit, topping the TOP 10 in the UK. History of the title of this album - When the album was ready for release in the US, it turned out that the album did not have a title. The recording director instructed the secretary to call the musicians and find out the name of their debut album. The secretary couldn't get through and left a note on the boss's desk " “No Answer.” Deciding that this was the title of the album, the order was put into circulation. The group released their second album, "ELO II", in 1973. It produced the first chart hit "Roll Over Beethoven".

The group still had no success in the UK. After the release of "A New World Record", their sixth album, recognition came to them. It included such hits as “Livin' Thing” and others. In the next album, “Out of the Blue”, “Turn to Stone” and others immediately became hits in England. The group went on a world tour for nine months. In the States, the tour was held under the name "The Big Night". 80,000 people gathered at the concert at Cleveland Stadium. The multi-platinum album "Discovery" appeared in 1979. "Don't Bring Me Down" is the most famous hit of this album. This album includes such famous tracks as “Shine A Little Love” and others.

» - British rock band from Birmingham, created by Geoff Lynn and Roy Wood in 1970. The group was especially popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

Electric Light Orchestra created their own style, unlike others, experimenting in various musical directions: from progressive rock to pop music. The group lasted until 1986, after which Jeff Lynne disbanded it.

ELO released 11 studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and one album in 2001. The group was formed to satisfy a burning desire to write classic pop music. All organizational issues were resolved by Jeff Lynne, who, after the group began its activities, wrote all of the group's original compositions and produced each album.

The group's first success came in the United States, where they were introduced as "English guys with big violins." By the mid-1970s, they had become one of the best-selling bands in music. From 1972 to 1986, ELO combined work in the UK and the States.

In the late 1960s, Roy Wood, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter of "", had the idea to create a new group that would play violins and bugles to give the music a classical style. Jeff Lynne, frontman of the band "", became interested in this idea. In January 1970, when Carl Wayne left The Move, Lynn accepted Wood's second offer to join the group on the condition that they focus entirely on the new project. "" became the first composition of the Electric Light Orchestra. To finance the group, The Move released two more albums while recording the Electric Light Orchestra album. The resulting debut album, The Electric Light Orchestra, was released in 1971, and 10538 Overture became a Top 10 hit in England.

However, tensions soon arose between Wood and Lynn as a result of problems with management. During the recording of the second album, Wood left the band, taking violinist Hugh McDowell and bugler Bill Hunt to form "". There were opinions in the music press that the group would break up, since it was Wood who was behind the creation of the group. Lynn prevented the group from breaking up. Bev Bevan played drums, joined by Richard Tandy on synthesizers, Mike de Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards and Colin Walker on guitar, and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolum on violin. New line-up was presented in 1972 at the Reading Festival. The band released their second album, ELO 2, in 1973, which had their first US chart hit, "Roll Over Beethoven".

During the recording of the third album, Gibson and Walker left the group. Mick Kaminski joined as cellist, and at the same time Edwards ended his time with the group before McDowell returned to ELO from Wizzard. The resulting album, On The Third Day, was released at the end of 1973.

The band's fourth album was called "Eldorado". The album's first single, "Can't Get It Out Of My Head", became their first US Billboard Top 10 hit, and "Eldorado" became Electric Light Orchestra's first gold album. Following the release of this album, bassist/vocalist Kelly Groucutt and guitarist Melvin Gale joined the band, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards.

"Face the Music" was released in 1975, which featured the singles "" and "". ELO found success in the United States, they sold out stadiums and auditoriums. But they still weren't as successful in the UK before releasing their sixth album, A New World Record, which reached the Top 10 in 1976. It included hits such as “Livin’ Thing,” “Rockaria!” and " ", rewrite The songs Move. A New World Record became their second platinum album.

The next album, Out Of The Blue, included singles such as "", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "" and "", which became hits in England. The band then embarked on a nine-month world tour. They took with them dear spaceship and laser display. In the United States, their concerts were called "The Big Night" and were the largest in the group's history. 80,000 people attended the concert at Cleveland Stadium. During this "space" tour, many criticized this group. But despite these criticisms, The Big Night became the highest-attended live concert tour in the world up to that point. The band also played Wembley Arena for eight nights. The first of these performances was recorded and later released on CD and DVD.

Multiplati was released in 1979 new album"Discovery". The most famous hit on this album is the song “Don’t Bring Me Down”. The album was criticized for its disco motifs. This album had such hits as “”, “”, “” and “”. The video for Discovery was the last time the band was in their classic lineup.

In 1980, Lynn was invited to write the soundtrack for musical film"Xanadu", the rest of the songs were written by John Farrar, and they were performed by the famous Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. The film was not a commercial success, while the soundtrack went double platinum. The musical Xanadu was staged on Broadway and opened on July 10, 2007. The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra, Bev Bevan's memoir of those early days and his career with The Move and ELO, was published in 1980.

In 1981, the Electric Light Orchestra's sound changed with the time travel concept album Time. Synthesizers began to play a dominant role in the sound. The album's singles included "", "", "The Way Life's Meant To Be", "" and "". The group went on a world tour.

Jeff Lynne wanted to release his next album, Secret Messages, as a double album, but CBS rejected the idea, arguing that the costs would be too high. The album was released as a single in 1983. The album's release was followed by bad news: there would be no tour in support of the album, drummer Bev Bevan was now playing for Black Sabbath, and bassist Kelly Groucutt had left the band. There were rumors that the group was breaking up. Moreover, Secret Messages only reached fourth place in the UK charts, and soon left it completely. The last one was released in 1986 original album group “Balance Of Power”, which the three musicians recorded (Lynn, Bevan and Tendi), with Jeff also playing bass guitar. The success of the album was even more modest than that of Secret Messages; only the composition “” remained in the charts for some time. After the album's release, Jeff Lynne decided to disband the group.

A little later, the band's drummer Bevan recreated the band, adding the number 2 to the abbreviation ELO. ELO-2, consisting of 4 ex-members of ELO (Bevan, Graukat, Kaminski and Clark), was mainly involved in touring activities, and the vast majority songs performed- songs written by Lynn. The frontman of the group was Kelly Groucutt. There have been numerous litigation between Lynn and ELO-2, which resulted in ELO-2 being declared ineligible and changing its name to "Orchestra". Several times the ELO-2 group came on tour to Russia. Meanwhile, Jeff Lynne released the album “Zoom” under the ELO label in 2001; from the old lineup, the group includes an excellent keyboard player and Lynn’s longtime friend, Richard Tandy, which again attracts the attention of lovers of good music from all over the world.

1971 - The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer);
1973 - The Electric Light Orchestra II;
1973 - On The Third Day;
1974 - Eldorado;
1975 - Face The Music;
1976 - A New World Record;
1977 - Out Of The Blue;
1979 - Discovery;
1980 - Xanadu;
1981 - Time;
1983 - Secret Messages;
1986 - Balance Of Power;
2001 - Zoom.

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) (read: electric light orchestra) is a British rock band from Birmingham, formed by Geoff Lynn and Roy Wood in 1970. The group was especially popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

The group's first success came in the United States, where they were introduced as "English guys with big fiddles." By the mid-1970s, they had become one of the best-selling bands in music. From 1972 to 1986, ELO combined work in the UK and the States.

Story
In the late 1960s, Roy Wood, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter of The Move, had the idea of creating a new band that would play fiddles and bugles to give the music a classical style. Jeff Lynne, frontman of The Idle Race, was interested in the idea. In January 1970, when Carl Wayne left The Move, Lynn accepted Wood's second offer to join the group on the condition that they focus entirely on the new project. "10538 Overture" was the first song from Electric Light Orchestra. To finance the group, The Move released two more albums while recording Electric Light Orchestra. As a result, The Electric Light Orchestra's debut album was released in 1971 and 10538 Overture became a top 10 hit in England.

However, tensions soon arose between Wood and Lynn as a result of problems with management. During the recording of the second album, Wood left the band, taking violinist Hugh McDowell and bugler Bill Hunt to form Wizzard. There were opinions in the music press that the group would break up, since it was Wood who was behind the creation of the group. Lynn prevented the group from breaking up. Bev Bevan played drums, joined by Richard Tandy on synthesizers, Mike de Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards and Colin Walker on guitar and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolum on violin. The new line-up was introduced in 1972 at the Reading Festival. The band released their second album, ELO 2, in 1973, which had their first US chart hit, "Roll Over Beethoven".

During the recording of the third album, Gibson and Walker left the group. Mick Kaminski joined as cellist, and at the same time Edwards ended his time with the group before McDowell returned to ELO from Wizzard. As a result, the album On the Third Day was released at the end of 1973.

World recognition
The band's fourth album was called "Eldorado". The first single from the album, “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head,” became their first hit to reach the American Billboard Chat Top 10 Hit and “Eldorado” became Electric Light Orchestra’s first gold album. Following the release of this album, bassist/vocalist Kelly Groucutt and guitarist Melvin Gale joined the band, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards.

"Face the Music" was released in 1975, which featured the singles "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic." ELO became a success in the United States, filling stadiums and auditoriums. But they still weren't as successful in the UK until their sixth album, A New World Record, reached the Top 10 in 1976. It included such hits as “Livin' Thing”, “Telephone Line”, “Rockaria!” and "Do Ya", a re-recording of The Move's A New World Record album, became their second platinum album.

The next album, Out of the Blue, included singles such as "Turn To Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Mr. Blue Sky", and "Wild West Hero", which became hits in England. The group then went on a nine-month world tour. They brought with them an expensive spaceship and a laser display. In the United States, their concerts were called “The Big Night” and were the largest in the history of the group. 80,000 people came to the concert at Cleveland Stadium. Space" tour, many criticized the band. But despite this criticism, The Big Night became the highest-attended live concert tour in the world up to that point (1978). The band also played Wembley Arena for eight nights. The first of these performances was recorded , and later published on CD and DVD.

In 1979, the multi-platinum album “Discovery” was released. The biggest hit on this album (and ELO's biggest hit overall) was the hard rock song "Don't Bring Me Down". The album was criticized for its disco motifs. This album had hits such as "Shine A Little Love", "Last Train To London", "Confusion" and "The Diary Of Horace Wimp". The video for Discovery was the last time the band was in their classic lineup.

In 1980, J. Lynn was invited to write the soundtrack for the musical film "Xanadu", the remaining songs were written by John Farrar, and they were performed by the famous Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. The film was not a commercial success, while the soundtrack went double platinum. The musical Xanadu was staged on Broadway and opened on July 10, 2007. The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra, Bev Bevan's memoir of those early days and his career with The Move and ELO, was published in 1980.

In 1981, the Electric Light Orchestra's sound changed with the time travel concept album Time. Synthesizers began to play a dominant role in the sound. The album's singles included "Hold On Tight", "Twilight", "The Way Life's Meant To Be", "Here Is the News" and "Ticket to the Moon". The group went on a world tour.

Jeff Lynne wanted to release his next album, Secret Messages, as a double album, but CBS rejected the idea, arguing that the costs would be too high. The album was released as a single in 1983. The album's release was followed by bad news: there would be no tour in support of the album, drummer Bev Bevan was now playing for Black Sabbath, and bassist Kelly Groucutt had left the band. There were rumors that the group was breaking up. Moreover, Secret Messages only reached fourth place in the UK charts, and soon left it completely. In 1986, the last original album of the group, “Balance of Power,” was released, which the three musicians recorded (Lynn, Bevan and Tendi), with Jeff also playing bass guitar. The album's success was even more modest than that of "Secret Messages", only the song "Calling America" stayed on the charts for some time. After the album's release, Jeff Lynne decided to disband the group.

A little later, the band's drummer Bevan recreated the band, adding the number 2 to the abbreviation ELO. ELO-2, consisting of 4 ex-members of ELO (Bevan, Graukat, Kaminski and Clark) was mainly involved in touring activities, with the vast majority of songs performed being songs , written by J. Lynn. The frontman of the group was Kelly Groucutt. There were numerous legal battles between Lynn and ELO-2, which resulted in ELO-2 being declared ineligible and changing its name to "Orchestra". Several times the ELO-2 group came on tour to Russia ( last concerts April 28, October 6, 2006 (Moscow), November 9, 2007, December 4, 2008 (St. Petersburg)). Meanwhile, Jeff Lynne released his latest album “Zoom” under the ELO label in 2001; from the old lineup, the group includes an excellent keyboard player and Lynn’s longtime friend Richard Tandy, which again attracts the attention of lovers of good music from all over the world.

Discography

* 1971 The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer)
* 1973 The Electric Light Orchestra II
* 1973 On The Third Day
* 1974 Eldorado
* 1975 Face The Music
* 1976 A New World Record
* 1977 Out Of The Blue
* 1979 Discovery
* 1980 Xanadu
* 1981 Time
* 1983 Secret Messages
* 1986 Balance Of Power
* 2001 Zoom

Jeff Lynne - born December 30, 1947 - vocals, guitar, keyboards Biv Beavan - born November 24, 1946 - drums Richard Tandy - born March 26, 1948 - keyboards Mick Kaminsky - born September 2, 1951 - violin Kelly Growcutt - born September 8, 1945 - bass Melvin Gale - born January 15, 1952 - violin Roy Wood - born November 8, 1946 - bass, guitar The history of this group seems to consist almost entirely of mysticism , miracles and paradoxes. Come on, can you really call this JUST a group? ELO is already a Phenomenon, an Epoch, a geological period in the history of rock music, a galaxy that you can’t pass by or pass by: They are one of the few who managed to walk a road dangerously close to the path of their colleagues and idols The Beatles, and not be counted among the vast cohort of their imitators. And they themselves will remain in history not with one or two songs, but with the whole musical style they created. But at the same time ELO has never been cult group. Her songs were not sung by stoned youth accompanied by guitars, their quotes were not painted on the walls, their posters were not hung above the bed, and some still successfully confuse her with YELLO and Eloy. It becomes a shame that very few people really know a completely worthy group that sufficiently influenced the development of world rock music. I don’t argue that the song “Ticket To The Moon”, abundantly promoted by all radio stations, has been heard by everyone, but this still does not mean anything. ELO have never been a “one hit band”, and their famous leader, the omnipresent Mr. Lynn, is invisibly present in the most famous albums throughout the rock world. But enough sentiment and praise - all ELO have already managed to reap a bountiful harvest of laurel wreaths without us, and nothing can be added to their glory. So let’s just take an eagle’s eye look at the long and winding path along which this team solemnly marched into eternity: ... the 60s. Nineteen-year-old Birmingham resident Jeff Lynne, like most other psychos like him without a roof, lightning rod, weather vane or central heating in his head, creates the group IDLE RACE (Background - BEATLES "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - despite the fact that IDLE RACE released 2 albums, the Beatles will more accurately indicate what kind of music they created - Lynn then, apart from these Liverpudlians, perceived little at all). At the same time and in the same city in the promising art-mod group MOVE, famous for its creaky gothic string harmonies and several the most unusual albums late 60s, played by the brilliant Roy Wood and drummer Biv Bevan (Background - THE MOVE "Your Beautiful Daughter", eerily similar to PINK FLOYD, who quit smoking weed, but did not stop looking for gnomes in the grass, luring them this time with sounds violins). In 1970, Lynn moved to MOVE and began singing there, as Wood became increasingly bogged down in the instrumental-experimental side of the project. With Lynn, the wonderful MOVEs lose a lot, but also find a lot. For these reasons, Wood and Lynn decide to start new project with the name ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA and over the course of three albums in the early 70s they tried to find their identity and not lose it in the mud (the most interesting thing is that THE MOVE continued to exist until 71 with the same lineup, even releasing several hit singles. Of course , two different groups existing at the same time with the same musicians are absurd, so MOVE was closed down in ’71 so as not to embarrass itself. But already here a seditious thought arose that perhaps the main thing in a group is not a certain one. composition of musicians, but a unique style). Having finally found it, the group released its first, but not bad LP “The Electric Light Orchestra”, although the continuous experimentation made it not very easy to understand, and the endless and virtuosic passages of string instruments that abundantly filled the album made it rather -something gothic than rock and roll. One of the most interesting songs on this album is "Look At Me Now". True, in some ways it is very reminiscent of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", but comparison with the BEATLES themselves can even be encouraged a little if it brings some novelty to the music in general and does not contain obvious plagiarism (if you don't get caught, you're not a thief). Almost simultaneously with the album, 2 singles were released: “10538 Overture”, which for some reason became popular only in England, and “Roll Over Beethoven”, which immediately determined the future world fame of the young group. In general, Chuck Berry's songs have been covered by dozens (if not hundreds) of groups; this, obviously, was a good and good rock and roll tradition, every self-respecting team considered it an honor to record at least one of his songs, albeit not as great as the author, but still... ELO, how crazy no matter how it sounded, they performed it, if not better than the legendary Berry, then at the same level. Although it’s simply stupid to compare this, since as a result of string processing of the famous rock and roll and “implanting” fragments of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony into it, ELO created a completely new composition bordering on a masterpiece (may the indignant fans of Chuck Berry and Ludwig forgive me Van Beethoven). The difficulty was that the group, as usual, had two leaders. A typical case, to be sure. Therefore, according to the already established tradition, one had to leave. The “father” of the group, Roy Wood, did this, believing that he would achieve greater success with his new group WIZZARD. Now we see that he still underestimated something. It is still strange that the recordings of such an extravagant and talented person remained practically unknown to the general public. So, ELO was led by Lynn, who turned out to be an equally “prolific” writer and musician, but the group’s style gradually lost its Woodian origin, moving away from art to symphonic rock. But they achieved a sound that is, if not unique, then at least easily recognizable. In fact, the confrontation between Wood and Lynn was not only the problem of the two leaders - there were Lennon-McCartney, after all! - Wood was simply very pessimistic musically and emotionally, therefore he led the group along some secret mystical witchcraft path; he certainly needed dark shamanic tones, incomprehensible rustles and shimmering mystery. The life-loving Jeff, on the contrary, radiated bright, understandable and kind energy and tried hard to make the music optimistic and not creeping into the otherworldly (by the way, MOVE sounded much stranger and more avant-garde than ELO). It is clear that this could not continue, and Wood left, apparently simply because the group’s name contained the word “light” - if they had been the “Orchestra of Electric Darkness”, the dreamer Jeffy would have left one hundred percent. Against the backdrop of the struggle between the two titans, the rest of the group inevitably faded into the shadows. But let’s still say a few words about them. So, the concept of ELO united the following crowd: Roy Wood, Bill Hunt, Hugh McDowell, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, Wilf Gibson, Andy Craig, Mike Edwards. And by the time the LP "ELO II" was released, three of the ten members of the group were ex-musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra. Lynn's constant companions were only Bev Bevan - drums (although he also played a little with BLACK SABBATH in the 80s), Kelly Groucutt - bass and Richard Tandy - keyboards. And the violinist with the beautiful name Mick Kaminski, who played with ELO until 1977, also could not overcome the temptation to create his own group, which he did, later releasing the single “Clog Dance” (1979). 70s. The group releases wonderful, melodic and sweet albums, where symphonic bursts are intertwined with guitars so naturally that all sorts of modern SCORPIONS with various orchestras unanimously go under the table on foot, despite their venerable age (the soundtrack is one of the most defining and revolutionary ELO songs, “Roll Over Beethoven” "). This “golden” period of the group’s creativity is familiar to everyone, like one’s own pupils in the mirror in the morning. Talented violinist Mick Kaminsky, keyboardist Richard Tandy, all sorts of other familiar faces, the masterpiece album "Eldorado", which goes "gold" - the first rock symphony in the world (recorded with the help of forty people from the London Symphony Orchestra), the sweet and ecstatic "New World Record" (after which the group became world famous), operatic arias, Lynn's sweet honeyed melodies - and John Lennon honestly admits that if the Beatles had not broken up, they would have sounded like ELO. The third LP, “On The Third Day,” was able to break even into the American charts, although it was in a more than modest position there, and the single “Showdown” took 53rd place overseas. But the group's creation under the promising name "Face The Music", which was released in 1975, was luckier. America gave in and accepted the album highest degree kindly. Songs from it “Evil Woman” and “Strange Magic” have already entered the top twenty. But still, the pinnacle of creativity of true classic ELO is the 1976 album “New World Record”. It was in his nine songs (in total!) that all the recognizable features of the “Electric Light Orchestra” were reflected with maximum strength and energy, everything new that they were able to give to rock music. The album begins with a characteristic “overture” (that’s how it’s written), played in the best symphonic traditions, then nine completely different melodically and identically sounding songs, all potential hits, three, four, five... (and so on almost up to ten)...-voice vocals, unthinkable for rock orchestral instruments(how can I say it? Ian Anderson from JETHRO TULL played both the flute and the balalaika), and at the same time this is excellent, classic, native and the only eternal rock and roll - all this is mixed into a surprisingly seamless the wildest variety of “cocktail” components and monumentally ends with fading bursts of energy of almost operatic proportions and the dissolving melodic screams of Jeff Lynne, exhorting us that..."I will return...". Indeed, in 1977, Lynn dealt a new blow to the emotions and wallets of fans - in just three weeks he composed a bunch of songs for the double album "Out Of The Blue". The group records these songs in just two months. The result is complete... triumph, deity, joy, happiness and high places in the charts - this team didn’t know how to do a job, they just physically couldn’t. A good half of the songs from all the legal and pirated “bests” of the ELO group contained works only from these two albums. It is enough, for example, to recall “Telephone Line” (though at certain moments it resembles “Hello Goodbye” by the same Beatles), “Rockaria”, “Livin’ Thing”, “Turn To Stone”, “Mr. Bluesky", "Sweet Talkin' Woman". Almost everyone has heard these songs. In general, “electricians,” as they are familiarly called by lyrically minded fans, are better off listening to albums, without limiting your horizons to stupid collections best songs , which, although better, are not the only ones... The group becomes the only one in history whose double album had more than four songs that hit the top ten hits. The "Out Of The Blue" tour became a sensation largely thanks to the gigantic spaceship as a stage decoration - at the beginning of the show it supposedly flew in, and at the end it rumbled up to the higher spheres. Sometimes, at the end of the show, Lynn would even quietly run out into the crowd - just to watch this colossus fly away. “It was terribly spectacular,” he recalled. “Smoke was pouring out of it, everything was illuminated by lasers. To be honest, this was not my idea. To be completely honest, it seemed even excessive to me. But it was still so much fun!” Late 70s. Lynn is interested in disco and releases a strange but beautiful album "Discovery", (the soundtrack is the delicious "Don"t Bring Me Down"). The sound of ELO has either changed, or has been enriched in some way, or has become more modern, but "Discovery ", although it contained a fair amount of music called "disco" (maybe that's where the name comes from?), was no less popular both in conservative England and in the innovative USA. The lyrics became clearer, the music simpler and harsher, but the symphonic beginning became much less noticeable. But ELO fans were able to truly realize Lynn’s relatively unsurpassed talent as a melodist and composer - almost never repeating himself (and this is difficult!), he produced such different and colorful melodies that one could only envy his endless imagination and imagination. ability to work. The single "Don"t Bring Me Down" comfortably and rightfully placed in 4th place in the charts in America, and in 3rd place in its native England. "Shine A Little Love" and "Diary Of Horace Wimp" bounced back and forth across the top ten charts, clearly enjoying their popularity. Some decided that after such a creative flourishing, the group was bound to fizzle out, break up and remain in history. Indeed, Hugh McDowell, Melvin Gale and Mick Kaminski left ELO: Clearly upset, Lynn recklessly agreed to collaborate with Olivia Newton-John on the soundtrack to the film "Xanadu". The result annoys him and he decides not to think about the album anymore, although a couple of hits leaked here too. 80s. In 1981, Lynn, with the remaining Bevan, Tandy and Groucutt, produced the simply monumental album "Time", which is still a success that any music lover has and which firmly established Jeff Lynne as one of the most influential figures in the history of rock music ("Ticket To The Moon" sounds, everyone is crying, someone is begging to turn off the light). The album contains all the styles that ELO tried to play in: symphonic rock, art rock, disco, synthesizer music. "Ticket To The Moon" is the greatest ballad, which still appears in collections like "Super Rock Ballads" (a trifle, but nice) and is used by all sorts of "Greatest Hits", although it is far from banal and not "hackneyed", just very melodic and expressive, but the strings are no longer “live”, but synthesizer... it’s clear that the time is different, but it’s still sad. “Hold On Tight” is the same fiery rock and roll as always from ELO... although the drums are electric for some reason, but the video for this song is truly unusual. The lyrics are all, as usual, quite original, with the already familiar Lynn jokes (in general, it must be said, Jeff is a great joker, although his wit is sometimes not entirely understandable - see, for example, the lyrics to "Don"t Bring Me Doun", where the English stable expression"To bring doun" is taken literally... and interpret it as you wish). Then the nonsense begins. The band members constantly quarrel over who gets more money. Bassist Kelly Groucutt decides to go his own way and disappears from view. Biv decides that there are few horrors in his life, and fills this gap by working in the band BLACK SABBATH (the soundtrack of "Paranoid" - I know that it was not Ozzy who sang in "Saturday" of the 80s, but since there is a reason...). However, in 1983, ELO released a beautiful and quite pop album “Secret Messages”, after which it became clear that Lynn and his comrades would not return to their previous symphonic subtleties, therefore the distinctive qualities of ELO remained the most original high-frequency sound engineering, a sharp ringing sound and divinely flawless melodies. 85th year. The group consists of three people - Jeff, Biv and Richard. It turns out last album ELO "Balance of Power" (sounds like "So Serious", recorded completely in the style of PET SHOP BOYS, but very beautiful) and reality, unfortunately, becomes a legend (as a rule, this process is irreversible, but here it turned out unconventionally). In one of the interviews, Lynn says: “ELO is the past. It’s over, that’s all” (phonogram - “It’s Over”, children are crying, Santa Claus does not exist, hematogen is made from blood, life loses its meaning). The songs remain. just as melodic, the single “Calling America” reached number 28 in the English charts, and old and new fans alike had a blast at their concerts, but these were no longer the same ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA. All that should have remained from the name was the word “Electric.” ", "Light" was no longer shining so brightly, and "Orchestra"... still four people, even with the most sophisticated imagination, cannot be called an orchestra. This is where the history of the group ends, as it were. One can also say that they produced a kind of quiet revolution in music, that Lynn remained in our hearts as one of the greatest living composers, which is still a joy and consolation for many ELOs. Well, as is customary in articles about all sorts of old people. But, no matter how unusual it may be, it all begins. again - albeit largely symbolically, and therefore it is worth thinking about the 15-year period of absence of a group that, by and large, has exhausted itself. ... First solo album Lynn's The Armchair Theater (1990) was very personal, very fresh, full of healthy nostalgia. After listening, you can (and should, by the way) be convinced that ELO owed their popularity and uniqueness to Lynn. On this album, his old friend George Harrison helped him express himself a little, and the song “Blown Away” was co-written with Tom Petty. I would also like to note the stunning and tear-inducing lyrical composition “Now... You Gone”, where Lynn makes such heartbreaking passages with her piercing voice that sometimes, listening to it, you want to consist of only ears. “Armchair Theater” was reminiscent of ELO’s early songs in its melodic softness and at the same time was distinguished by some sophisticated emotionality, light and joy simply splashed out of it. However, Mr. Lynn got bored with baking hits under his own brand quite quickly. Therefore, he decided to retrain as a producer, out of habit making natural ELOs out of everyone who allowed him to produce them. He especially fell in love with Tom Petty, although he also did not disdain Roy Orbison as a childhood idol. As well as other aging rockers of a smaller caliber - Dave Edmunds, Del Shannon and so on. After this, Petty was offended by him, saying that he was tired of sounding like ELO, and Roy Orbison died, which is why the rest of the members of the advanced project TRAVELLING WILLBURYS (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff himself, who released two and a half great album) it somehow became completely indifferent that they also sounded like ELO before, and they decided not to sound like anything. After producing the Beatles' resuscitation experiments "Real Love", "Free As A Bird" and Paul McCartney's latest studio album (not the covers one, but the creativity one), Lynn realized that everything he did sounded hopelessly like ELO , so he decided to do nothing and during the 90s no one heard anything from him. But a group called ELO PART II, which included all sorts of different former “electricians,” shamelessly sang Lynn’s songs and composed good, but uninteresting ones of their own. This band was formed in 1991 by Biv Bevan along with Louis Clark and Kelly Grouchat (although Biv came up with the idea back in 1988). They invited new musicians to the group, resulting in the following lineup: Bev Bevan - drums, back vocals Kelly Groucutt - vocals, bass guitar Mik Kaminski - violin Louis Clark - string arranger, conductor, orchestral keyboards Eric Troyer - lead and backing vocals, keyboards, guitar Phil Bates - vocals, guitar It's no secret that in the ELO group the main creative and organizational figure was Lynn - and it is unlikely that keyboardist Eric Trauer, who courageously stood up to the microphone, could serve as a suitable replacement. His creative potential, however, was enough to construct three very good songs for the first album of the “new” ELO, written in the signature “Lynn” style in defiance of the fallen leader. But even the clearly successful Honest Man clearly could not pull the group back up - the spaceship, which had lost control, quietly and steadily fell into a steep dive. But the end was still far away. During the 90s, the group toured extensively, even managing to reach Soviet Union and become the first foreign group to perform with our symphony orchestra(V in this case- Moscow). By the way, few people know that ELO Part 2 appeared in Russia twice - however, the second time (in the summer of 1998) they delighted the ears only of the American Embassy staff and their guests during the Independence Day celebrations. The capital's public was once again left with nothing. However, without too much regret about the missed opportunity. The two albums that were released were quite warmly received by those who wanted at least some kind of surrogate for the now defunct legend. In addition, the guys just liked to hang out together and give concerts - as you know, this helps to stay in shape. Once they performed with another “orchestra” - Mick Kaminsky’s group ORKESTRA (as we see, the name ELO was prohibited from use and was owned by Lynn). At the beginning of 2000, a completely incomprehensible thing happened. A message from Biv Bevan appeared on the group's official website, which is easier to quote than to interpret and understand. "Taking into account many factors, I have decided to disband ELO PART II... The group no longer exists and becomes just another page in rock history." Then there were colorful paintings on the tree about how good they were together and how inconvenient it must be to disband a good group that had regularly made everyone happy for 10 years. To prevent his colleagues from immediately noticing the good news, Biv placed it on the website in white font over a white background. "I'm tired of playing the same songs. this moment I don’t even know what I’m going to do, but I’m sure that the time has come for me to do something completely different,” wrote Biv, almost shedding tears. When the rest of the group members found out about their own breakup, they got pretty angry and wiped the outpourings from the site drummer and added their own message: “To all our fans. The ELO PART II group has been performing for the tenth year. As everyone knows, Biv Bevan is one of the founders of the group. Therefore, we wish him the very best in his future musical and personal plans. As you all have probably already read, Biv believes that his departure means the disbandment of ELO PART II. We all disagree with this and continue to work... But this is not the only problem - Jeff Lynne, a wonderful composer, has always made a profit from our tours. Like, along with our own compositions, we perform compositions written by Lynn... You, the fans, are literally the only ones who can resolve this debate. Have the members of ELO PART II ever behaved in such a way that one would mistakenly think that Jeff Lynne plays in this band? Answer: no. So we ask for your support... We hope to resolve the dispute with Jeff Lynne so that Jeff knows that all ELO fans appreciate his contribution to music - and we will quietly continue to perform songs by different composers, while remaining in service of one of the greatest things in life - good music!!!". As we see, the people did not stop quarreling intensely. However, Lynn could guess that if through the group will pass such a crowd of people, you will have to share fame, money, and even fans with everyone. However, after Bevan left, the group changed its name again and became ORCHESTRA. This did not affect the success of her tours in Europe and the States last year. They are even planning to release an album by the end of this year. The current lineup of the band is as follows: Kelly Groucutt - bass and vocals, (ex-ELO) Mik Kaminski - violin and keyboards, (ex-ELO) Louis Clark - strings on keyboards, (ex-ELO) Eric Troyer - keys and vocals Parthenon Huxley (real name - Rick Miller) - guitar and vocals Gordon Townsend - drums The long-suffering and missing Lynn himself finally realized that he had the right to the name ELO, that the band members were creating different music without him, which would never was similar to the classic ELO. Consequently, the “signature” sound of this legendary group lay entirely on Lynn's shoulders. Jeff thought a little more and decided... to record a new album ELECTRIC groups LIGHT ORCHESTRA. Of course, he could have recorded a “solo album”, but everyone would inevitably say that he was similar to ELO, as was already the case once. It was all in his head, the whole band was essentially one person, so he decided to become this band-orchestra again, remember his youth and try to create an original ELO album. And no matter who he invites to record it, if the sound of the album is the same, no one can accuse him of faking the beautiful and incredible. And for the recording, by the way, he invited just about anyone. On many songs old Ringo drums, the same one. In the songs "Melting In The Sun" and "All She Wanted" the missing George Harrison plays slide guitar (before that it seemed that the only way to hear something about Harrison was to send another maniac to him, not to throw a knife, but just a parrot). At first they decided to release the disc at the end of March, but since work on the booklet and design was not yet completed, they decided to postpone the release date to June 11. So that fans would not suffer, it was decided to release new single"Alright". Those who are completely impatient can rejoice at the release of a new box set (a particularly beautifully packaged box of discs) - “Flashback”, where previously unreleased versions of the group’s compositions, as well as completely unknown songs, will be presented on three discs. In general, something in the spirit of the Beatles' "Anthology". The new album, called "Zoom", was recorded with a great desire to sincerely recreate the atmosphere of early ELO - with repeatedly creeping harmonies, clean transparent codes, piercing string arrangements and mouth-watering rock 'n' roll riffs. And with the very same production excellence of Jeff, who now has nothing to blame. (As Harrison said: "I'm not against Lynn, of course... But you're asking why I won't let him produce my new album? It's very simple - because I don't want him to make an ELO album out of it too!" ) There are not as many strings in the album as before - only two modest string quartet(there wasn’t enough money for an orchestra, apparently) - the music is mostly guitar-based. Jeff himself appears on the album not only as a producer and vocalist - he plays percussion, piano, cello, guitars, bass and keyboards. The album was recorded over almost two years at Jeff’s house (he lives not in England, as you might think, but in Los Angeles. He says that because of the weather, “it’s so wonderful when the sun is in the window every day,” although, I think, also due to the fact that taxes are lower in America) in different rooms to achieve acoustics that suit the mood. For example, to acoustic guitar sounded natural and beautiful, it had to be recorded in the bathroom. It was quite difficult to achieve a slightly old-fashioned sound (probably things like the last album of his own namesake, Beck, scare Lynn in this sense - you know, such electrified bells and whistles, flying into the void, acid rain...), I had to fill the hole in time and think about what ELO might sound like today if those 15 years of silence had not happened. As you can see, it wasn’t even talent that played a big role, but imagination. "George is my favorite guitar player. He's very precise and melodic... And Ringo is a fantastic drummer. I've always loved the way he plays, so when he said, I'd be interested in playing on some of your songs, I immediately said, " How about tomorrow?" He played in my living room, and it was a lot of fun because we recorded the songs live." The songs on the new album, Lynn says, "are about the ups and downs of life. Some of them are simply about how you need to try to feel as good as possible when everything in life is not working out the way you would like... Problems in people's relationships... But it is also about how it is useful to trust your instincts and do what you think is right... And the lyrics are more autobiographical to me than the lyrics of early ELO." ...Jeff believes that over the past 15 years he has learned a lot creatively from working with various musicians, therefore, the album must turn out impeccable. When asked whether ELO's music will fit into the modern landscape, he proudly answers: “My music has never fit into anything!” It seems that the story will not end there. There will certainly be new ones. discoveries and surprises, until no one ceases to be interested in it. For example, it recently became known (as rumors, of course, but still...) that Jeff and Freddie Mercury once jammed together, and the resulting recordings. as a result of this epoch-making meeting, are stored somewhere under Lynn's pillow. What if he decides to make them public? Moreover, in connection with the renewed work with the former Beatles, Lynn is often asked whether the members of TRAVELLING WILLBURYS are thinking about a new album. Lynn honestly says that every time he sees George, any conversation invariably slides into this direction and they almost vow to meet in the studio... "and then we go our separate ways again... But who knows, maybe that's all -it will happen." In the meantime, Jeff plans to go on tour as ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, at the same time competing with former bandmates and delighting fans who have clearly forgotten what this same Jeff Lynne looks like (and still - curly-haired and wearing dark glasses). The return took place. Based on materials from Tatyana Zamirovskaya (Belarusian Musical Newspaper)

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Electric Light Orchestra is a British rock band from Birmingham, formed by Geoff Lynn and Roy Wood in 1970. The group was especially popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

However, tensions soon arose between Wood and Lynn as a result of problems with management. During the recording of the second album, Wood left the band, taking violinist Hugh McDowell and bugler Bill Hunt to form Wizzard. There were opinions in the music press that the group would break up, since it was Wood who was behind the creation of the group. Lynn prevented the group from breaking up. Bev Bevan played drums, joined by Richard Tandy on synthesizers, Mike de Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards and Colin Walker on guitar, and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolum on violin. The new line-up was presented in 1972 at the Reading Festival. The band released their second album, ELO 2, in 1973, which had their first US chart hit, "Roll Over Beethoven".

"Face the Music" was released in 1975, which featured the singles "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic." ELO found success in the United States, filling stadiums and auditoriums. But they still weren't as successful in the UK until their sixth album, A New World Record, reached the Top 10 in 1976. It included hits such as “Livin’ Thing,” “Telephone Line,” “Rockaria!” and “Do Ya,” re-recordings of The Move songs. A New World Record became their second platinum album.

The next album, Out Of The Blue, included singles such as “Turn To Stone”, “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”, “Mr. Blue Sky" and "Wild West Hero", which became hits in England. The band then embarked on a nine-month world tour. They carried with them an expensive spacecraft and a laser display. In the United States, their concerts were called "The Big Night" and were the largest in the group's history. 80,000 people attended the concert at Cleveland Stadium. During this "space" tour, many criticized this group. But despite these criticisms, The Big Night became the highest-attended live concert tour in the world up to that point. The band also played Wembley Arena for eight nights. The first of these performances was recorded and later released on CD and DVD.

In 1979, the multi-platinum album “Discovery” was released. The most famous hit on this album is the song “Don’t Bring Me Down”. The album was criticized for its disco motifs. This album contained hits such as "Shine a Little Love", "Last Train to London", "Confusion" and "The Diary of Horace Wimp". The video for Discovery was the last time the band was in their classic lineup.

In 1980, Lynn was invited to write the soundtrack for the musical film "Xanadu", the remaining songs were written by John Farrar, and they were performed by the famous Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. The film was not a commercial success, while the soundtrack went double platinum. The musical Xanadu was staged on Broadway and opened on July 10, 2007. The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra, Bev Bevan's memoir of those early days and his career with The Move and ELO, was published in 1980.

In 1981, the Electric Light Orchestra's sound changed with the time travel concept album Time. Synthesizers began to play a dominant role in the sound. The album's singles included "Hold On Tight", "Twilight", "The Way Life's Meant To Be", "Here is the News" and "Ticket to the Moon". The group went on a world tour.

Jeff Lynne wanted to release his next album, Secret Messages, as a double album, but CBS rejected the idea, arguing that the costs would be too high. The album was released as a single in 1983. The album's release was followed by bad news: there would be no tour in support of the album, drummer Bev Bevan was now playing for Black Sabbath, and bassist Kelly Groucutt had left the band. There were rumors that the group was breaking up. Moreover, Secret Messages only reached fourth place in the UK charts, and soon left it completely. In 1986, the last original album of the group, “Balance Of Power,” was released, which the three musicians recorded (Lynn, Bevan and Tendi), with Jeff also playing bass guitar. The success of the album was even more modest than that of Secret Messages; only the song “Calling America” stayed on the charts for some time. After the album's release, Jeff Lynne decided to disband the group.

A little later, the band's drummer Bevan recreated the band, adding the number 2 to the abbreviation ELO. ELO-2, consisting of 4 ex-members of ELO (Bevan, Graukat, Kaminski and Clark), was mainly involved in touring activities, and the vast majority of the songs performed were songs written by Lynn. The frontman of the group was Kelly Groucutt. There were numerous legal battles between Lynn and ELO-2, which resulted in ELO-2 being declared ineligible and changing its name to "Orchestra". Several times the ELO-2 group came on tour to Russia. Meanwhile, Jeff Lynne released the album “Zoom” under the ELO label in 2001; from the old lineup, the group includes an excellent keyboard player and Lynn’s longtime friend, Richard Tandy, which again attracts the attention of lovers of good music from all over the world.