Electric Light Orchestra

"The Electric Light Orchestra" and "ELO" redirect here. For their eponymous debut album, see The Electric Light Orchestra (album). For other uses, see ELO (disambiguation).

Electric Light Orchestra
Background information
Also known as
  • ELO
  • Jeff Lynne's ELO (2014–present)
Origin
Genres
Years active
  • 1970–1986
  • 2000–2001
  • 2014–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Spinoff of
Members
Past members
Websitejefflynneselo.com

The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography.[3] After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. During their first run from 1970 to 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.

The group's name is a pun that references both electric light and "light orchestral music", a popular style featured in places such as the BBC Light Programme between the 1940s and 1960s. ELO was formed out of Lynne's and Wood's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical influences. It derived as an offshoot of Wood's previous band, the Move, of which Lynne and Bevan were also members. During the 1970s and 1980s, ELO released a string of top 10 albums and singles, including the band's most commercially successful album, the double album Out of the Blue (1977). Two ELO albums reached the top of the British charts: the disco-inspired Discovery (1979) and the science-fiction-themed concept album Time (1981). In 1986, Lynne lost interest in the band and disbanded the group. Bevan responded by forming his own band, ELO Part II, which later became The Orchestra. Following a brief reunion from 2000 to 2001, ELO once again went inactive until 2014, when Lynne re-formed the band with Richard Tandy as Jeff Lynne's ELO. Tandy died in May 2024,[6] leaving Lynne as the sole living member. In 2024 ELO embarked on their final tour, which had been announced 4 years prior to Tandy's death, but was delayed by the COVID pandemic.[7]

During ELO's original 13-year period of active recording and touring, they sold over 50 million records worldwide.[8] They collected 19 CRIA, 21 RIAA, and 38 BPI awards.[9][10] From 1972 to 1986 ELO accumulated 27 Top 40 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100.[11][12] The band also holds the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits (20) without a number one.[13][nb 1] In 2017, four key members of ELO (Wood, Lynne, Bevan, and Tandy) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[16]

  1. ^ a b Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (2000), Night Moves: Pop Music in the Late '70s, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Electric Light Orchestra, Part II". AllMusic.
  3. ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Electric Light Orchestra". AllMusic.
  4. ^ The following references cite the band as either orchestral pop or symphonic pop:
  5. ^ Ray, Michael, ed. (2012). "Classical Influences: Art Rock and Progressive Rock". Disco, Punk, New Wave, Heavy Metal, and More: Music in the 1970s and 1980s. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-61530-912-2.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Center, Event Tickets (22 October 2018). "Jeff Lynne's ELO Announces 2019 Headlining Tour". Medium.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Band History". Elo.biz. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  9. ^ "RIAA". RIAA. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Home". Bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ^ "E.L.O. | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ Robert Porter. "Electric Light Orchestra – The USA Singles". Jeff Lynne Song Database. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  14. ^ "ELO". Wweb.uta.edu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Charts". Wweb.uta.edu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. ^ Sisario, Ben (20 December 2016). "Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur and Joan Baez Will Join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 December 2016.


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