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 ...
Nothing on the front, nothing inside, either. The trash they sell as entertainment nowadays, artistic expression has nothing to do with it.
Unfortunately that's all too true in far too many cases.
Indeed.
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA music, discography, MP3, videos and reviews
Electric Light Orchestra biography
An incredible 35 years since their formation, the music of the Electric Light Orchestra is still as popular as ever. All over the world, people are tuning into the sound of ELO via radio, the internet, cinemas and TV. The seemingly ageless songs of ELO leader Jeff Lynne are even being heard again in the singles charts, thanks to the cream of today's young dance acts sampling the band's original music and turning on a whole new generation of fans.
ELO thrived under the guidance of Lynne, recording twelve original studio albums and releasing twenty-eight hit singles in the UK alone. At their peak between 1974 and 1981, ELO amassed a string of nine consecutive gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums. The band were one of the biggest arena and stadium draws during the seventies and early eighties, with spectacular shows including massive flying saucer stage sets and vibrant light and laser displays.
Originally a 1970 experimental offshoot of sixties English hitmakers The Move, ELO's initial concept of a rock band augmented by a string section struggled to find success. Though early singles such as 'Showdown' and 'Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle' were hits, ELO albums failed to make the charts in the UK and the group was virtually ignored as a live act.
It was the USA that first embraced ELO, thanks to lengthy coast-to-coast tours that helped propel singles 'Evil Woman' and 'Strange Magic' and albums 'On The Third Day', 'Eldorado' and 'Face The Music' into the American charts. UK acceptance finally came in 1976 with 'A New World Record' and Top 10 singles 'Livin' Thing', 'Rockaria!' and 'Telephone Line'.
A double album masterpiece, 1977's 'Out Of The Blue' was a worldwide smash on pre-orders alone and featured global hits 'Turn To Stone', 'Wild West Hero', 'Sweet Talkin' Woman' plus the song Lynne considers to be his greatest ELO achievement, 'Mr. Blue Sky'. Recently voted "Anthem Of The Midlands" by the public, the track continues to appear in film soundtracks and ads to this very day. The bands' legendary 1978 tour set audience attendance records wherever it played and established ELO as one of the most popular acts in the world.
'Discovery' in 1979 consolidated that success with the singles 'Shine A Little Love' (sampled back into the charts in 2005 by The LoveFreekz), 'Don't Bring Me Down' 'The Diary Of Horace Wimp' and 'Confusion'. While subsequent albums 'Xanadu', 'Time', 'Secret Messages', and 'Balance Of Power' were huge sellers, together with later hits 'Hold On Tight' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Is King', Lynne decided to disband ELO in 1986 for newer challenges.
During 2000, Lynne decided to reactivate the Electric Light Orchestra with 'Flashback', a retrospective 3-CD boxset, followed a year later by new album 'Zoom' and single 'Alright' plus a DVD of ELO's first live shows for over 15 years, filmed in Los Angeles.
Rob Caiger
Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
This band was one of the very first to incorporate symphonic elements like the strings (violins, cellos) into the main workings of their songs.
Discography:
No Answer (Electric Light Orchestra) (1971)
ELO 2 (1973)
On The Third Day (1973)
Eldorado (1974)
The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach) (1974)
Face The Music (1975)
OLE ELO (1976)
A New World Record (1976)
Out of the Blue (1977)
Discovery (1979)
Xanadu (1980)
Time (1981)
Secret Messages (1983)
Balance of Power (1986)
Zoom (2001)
"A little song, a little dance ..."
Sorry.
Ah man, weird. Well, they had some great music.
Doesn’t get better than Showdown - Raining all over the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYhqlOQ1vHY
Since I posted this thread, the Daily Mail has updated their posted article with a map of the accident location, and it appears that you’re exactly correct.
A new photo and an embedded YouTube video of one of their early songs “Ma Ma Ma Belle” has been added as well.
RIP Mike Edwards.
ELO has fantastic music. Great band.
Sad, the Guy was one of my favorite comedians.
Thanks for posting this. I grew up listening to ELO - my dad’s favorite band.
Yes. Very sad, particularly since his daughter was driving when the accident happened.
You're quite welcome and I'm delighted that you've found it to be worthwhile. I think that ELO brings back many fond memories for a lot of us, particularly those of us over thirty or so. ELO had a boatload of happy, hummable hits with great lyrical and instrumental hooks, the kind that are hard to find nowadays. They were popular in an era before it became fashionable to 'sample' other people's music, add a drum machine loop and angry, Left-wing lyrics and then call it an 'original musical composition'.
Very few artists write songs that I have trouble getting out of my head because they are so very catchy anymore.
I once played a Country/Western LP backwards. My dog came back, my wife loved me again, and my truck now runs.
Cringing in admiration, but puns do diminish mankind.
You nailed it!
Their music was really listener-friendly. I was 7 when I first started listening to them - after my mom died...Dad played them all the time on the 8-track and it was all pretty appropriate music for a kid to hear. Of course now, when I hear some of it, I get teary-eyed thinking about how sad and lost we were - but ELO made us feel a bit better. :)
Having grown up around ‘old school’ musicians (those who actually wrote original compositions and oftentimes spent much of their lives studying music in prestigious conservatories), some of whom enjoyed considerable success, I believe that I can go out on a limb and suggest that most likely all of the members of ELO would be absolutely thrilled and deeply touched to know that their music had touched the hearts of your family and had perhaps brought a bit of sunshine and happiness into the very darkest moments of your lives.
The musicians I have known who have been commercially successful enjoyed the money and fame to be sure, but after the thrill of their success became an everyday thing, what really made their eyes brighten up was to learn that their music had truly touched someone and brought some joy into the world.
RIP.
Well said. I agree.
Response: As does much of todays "music."
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