You must be young. Electric Light Orchestra was a hard one to miss.
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)