Posted on 09/05/2010 11:29:07 AM PDT by Stoat
A founding member of ELO has been killed following a freak accident involving a giant bale of hay.
Mike Edwards, 62, who played cello for the band for three years, died when the giant bale weighing 50 stone crashed down on top of his van.
Mr Edwards died instantly in the accident after the bale careered down the hill, and flipped over a hedge.
Eccentric: Mike Edwards's bizarre costumes and ability to play his cello with fruit were a major part of ELO's appeal
Bowing out: Mike Edwards, on the far right, played cello in ELO from 1972 to 1975
Performing: Edwards plays his cello during a gig in 1974. 
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
YouTube - Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing (Remastered Audio)
YouTube - Electric Light Orchestra- Evil Woman
YouTube - Electric Light Orchestra - Roll Over Beethoven
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Mike was a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra and played cello with the group from their first live gig in 1972 until he left in January 1975.
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Every time we get behind the wheel could be our last.
Jeesh, you never know what is going to happen when you leave home in the morning. Every day is a valuable gift.
ping
Wow! How freakish.
RIP Mr. Edwards
Rotten writing - hay bale careered down the hill!
Had not considered how dangerous those new fangled bales might be. They are enormous and cylindrical which means they roll rather than stop dead like those old fashioned oblong bales.
Liked their music but seem to recall certain of their records when played in reverse (don’t know how you’d do this to begin with) sang praise for Satan in clear English.
Well at least the hay bale missed the Oh.... Telephone Line...
“Fire on High” had a reversible message but it didn’t praise Satan or anything like that.
Sad.
May he REST IN PEACE.
What? I doubt Jeff Lynne (leader & songwriter for ELO) would do something so stupid. It would have been a career ender.
David Crosby might do that.
It may have been “the music is reversible, but time is not ... turn back, turn back...”?
What a freakish accident. RIP.
Almost impossible to avoid something like that even if you drive carefully and keep situational awareness. Sometimes stuff just happens.
Reminds me of an accident several years ago downtown LA on the 101 freeway just north of downtown, between the 110 and the 5 there’s a section where the freeway sort of turns and jogs for about a mile between freeway interchanges.
A semi lost a wheel in that stretch, and the wheel bounced across the median right through someone’s windshield on the other side of the freeway.
Same result.
I think we need to consider a total ban of hay bales.
Don’t bring me down...
Someone else just died, too. A comedian.
There is a reason hay wagons have round wheels and a reason hay bales should be cuboid.
Correct. Jeff Lynne has had a long and successful career with ELO. He was pretty good in the Traveling Wilburys too. The less said about Crosby the better.
ELO’s version of Roll Over Beethoven is hands down the best.
“What a terrible thing to lose”...
A respectful RIP to Mr Edwards, who gave us some wonderful music, but I just couldn't help but think of "Spinal Tap" upon reading this. Please forgive me.
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