Electric Light Orchestra
The original ELO line-up comprised of Roy Wood (b. 8 November 1946, Birmingham, England; vocals/cello/woodwind/guitars), Jeff Lynne (b. 30 December 1947, Birmingham, England; vocals/piano/guitar) and Bev Bevan (b. Beverley Bevan, 25 November 1945, Birmingham, England; drums). They had all been members of pop group the Move, but viewed this new venture as a means of greater self-expression. Vowing to ‘carry on where the Beatles’ "I Am The Walrus" left off’, they completed an experimental debut set with the aid of Bill Hunt (french horn) and Steve Woolam (violin). Despite their lofty ambitions, the group still showed traces of its earlier counterpart with Lynne's grasp of melody much in evidence, particularly on the startling 10538 Overture, a UK Top 10 single in 1972. Although Woolam departed, the remaining quartet added Hugh McDowell, Andy Craig (cellos), ex- Balls keyboardist Richard Tandy (b. 26 March 1948, Birmingham, England; bass/piano/guitar) and Wilf Gibson (b. 28 February 1945, Dilston, Northumberland, England; violin) for a series of indifferent live appearances, following which Wood took Hunt and McDowell to form Wizzard. With Craig absenting himself from either party, the remaining quartet maintained the ELO name with the addition of Mike D'Albuquerque (b. 24 June 1947, Wimbledon, London, England; bass/vocals) and cellists Mike Edwards (b. 31 May, Ealing, London, England) and Colin Walker (b. 8 July 1949, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England). The reshaped line-up completed the transitional ELO II and scored a Top 10 single with an indulgent version of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven which included quotes from Beethoven's 5th Symphony. ELO enjoyed a third hit with Showdown, but two ensuing singles, Ma Ma Ma Ma Belle and Can't Get It Out Of My Head, surprisingly failed to chart. However, the latter song reached the US Top 10 which in turn helped its attendant album, ELDORADO, achieve gold status. By this point the group's line-up had stabilized around Lynne, Bevan, Tandy and the prodigal McDowell, Kelly Grouchett (bass), Mik Kaminski (violin) and Melvyn Gale (cello). They became a star attraction on America's lucrative stadium circuit and scored considerable commercial success with A NEW WORLD RECORD, OUT OF THE BLUE and DISCOVERY. Lynne's compositions successfully steered the line between pop and rock, inspiring commentators to compare his group with the Beatles. Between 1976 and 1981 ELO scored an unbroken run of 15 UK Top 20 singles, including Livin Thing’ (1976), Telephone Line (1977), Mr. Blue Sky (1978) Don't Bring Me Down (1979) and Xanadu, a chart-topping collaboration with Olivia Newton-John, taken from the film of the same name. The line-up had now been slimmed to that of Lynne, Bevan, Tandy and Grouchett, but recurrent legal and distribution problems conspired to undermine ELO's momentum. TIME and SECRET MESSAGES lacked the verve of earlier work and the group's future was put in doubt by a paucity of releases and Lynne's growing disenchantment. The guitarist's subsequent pursuance of a solo career signalled a final split, but in 1991 Bevan emerged with ELO 2. It remains doubtful that he can regain the heights scaled in the '70s when Lynne's songwriting talent seemed untenable.