Electric Light Orchestra

ELO: Live in Philadelphia

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, January 1974

WE ARE gathered together, ladies and gentlemen, for a recital by that promising septet of young British musicians who call themselves the Electric Light Orchestra. ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Light Years

Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, February 1998

Mid-priced, 2-CD, 38-track collection of all their singles. ...

The Move/E.L.O.: Move Again

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, December 1970

ON ONE OF HIS rare visits to the Metropolis, Move's Roy Wood consented to have a quick chat with B.I. ...

Move Over For The ELO

Report and Interview by Keith Altham, NME, June 1972

THE FIRST love in Roy Wood's life is obviously his new 10-piece mini-orchestra, the ELO, but meanwhile the Move are apparently still alive and very ...

The Electric Light Orchestra: In The Hall Of The Mountain Lynne

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, August 1973

"WHEN I LISTENED to Greig's 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King', I thought our version was much heavier." Jeff Lynn wasn't boasting. He was ...

The Electric Light Orchestra at St Louis

Live Review by Ken Barnes, Phonograph Record, September 1973

The mere fact of their actual appearance was probably sufficient for most diehard Move-ELO fans, but the Electric Light Orchestra turned in an adventurous, hard-rocking ...

Brum Beat

Overview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, January 1974

"Liverpool today – Birmingham tomorrow. That's the forecast for the beat business in rock music. Yes, the Brum Beat is all set to take over ...

Electric Light Orchestra: On the Third Day

Review by Greg Shaw, Rolling Stone, January 1974

IF YOU LIKED ELO II for its weavings of familiar classical motifs through lengthy songs, On the Third Day will both please and disappoint you. ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Light And Bitter

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, February 1974

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY, FRIDAY: The film man wants to know the running order of the show tonight. ...

Electric Light Orchestra: On The Third Day (United Artists)

Review by Jon Tiven, Zoo World, February 1974

AM I EVER proud of Jeff Lynne, a Birmingham Boy who has lived down a past that he's not particularly proud of and put out ...

Don Arden: The Hit Man

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, March 1974

He's been called the Al Capone of pop, and the reputation's, shall we say, a little heavy. A nervous Robert Partridge talks to Don Arden... ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Roll Over Chuck Berry and Tell Beethoven the News

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Rolling Stone, December 1974

SAN FRANCISCO – Jeff Lynne nods toward the sliding glass door, through which can be seen an in-progress high-rise which looms uncomfortably close to his ...

The Electric Light Orchestra: Eldorado

Review by Ken Barnes, Rolling Stone, January 1975

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT Orchestra has sometimes swamped itself in grandiose conceptions, and Eldorado (A Symphony) sounds like a prime opportunity to do it again. But ...

Displaying His Favors Once More: Roy Wood's Mustard

Review by Alan Betrock, Phonograph Record, December 1975

WHEN OLIVER Ulyses Adrian ('Roy') Wood joined the ranks of Birmingham's professional musicians back in 1964, few observers could have guessed that he would evolve ...

Facing Up To ELO: Electric Shocks, Leapin' Lasers, Light Opera & Dueling Cellos

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Crawdaddy!, November 1976

LOS ANGELES – "Hughie [McDowall] just smashed one cello absolutely to pieces," Bev Bevan recalls with a laugh. "He throws it in the air and ...

Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record

Review by Richard Cromelin, Phonograph Record, November 1976

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT Orchestra was conceived and dedicated toward the fulfillment of a specific musical blueprint, but it's become clear – mainly from the live ...

The Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record (Jet)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, November 1976

Jeff Lynne (lead vocals, lead, rhythm and slide guitars), Bev Bevan (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Richard Tandy (keyboards, backing vocals), Kelly Groucutt (bass, vocals), Mik ...

10cc, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, ELO et al: Split Ends

Overview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, December 1976

SOME come, others go, but the name lives on for ever...10cc set no precedent by splitting in half last week, but the decision by Graham ...

Electric Light Orchestra/Steve Hillage: Madison Square Garden, New York City

Live Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, February 1977

THIRTEEN YEARS after the Beatles played their first American concert at Carnegie Hall, the Electric Light Orchestra pads a headlining set at Madison Square Garden ...

Look At Me Now: The Electric Light Orchestra

Report and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, April 1977

ELO: MORE than a classical gas. "It’s not classical rock. It never has been, but when it started, it needed a name. It had to ...

Themes and Variations on ELO

Profile and Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, May 1978

THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's forthcoming British tour, which includes a run of eight nights at Wembley Empire Pool, will be the band's last appearances here ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, June 1978

HONESTLY, when you find yourself actually applauding the stage at the end of a gig, then you suddenly realise that you've just witnessed a very ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Anaheim Stadium, Los Angeles

Live Review by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, September 1978

I KNOW those were pretty strange-looking cigarettes the people from Jet Records were handing out on the coach down from LA to Anaheim stadium, but ...

The Electric Light Orchestra Tunes Up - Bev Bevan’s Early History Of ELO

Interview by John Mendelsohn, Creem, 1981

After a two year absence, the Electric Light Orchestra have returned with Time, one of their best albums in years, now resting comfortably atop the ...

Electric Light Orchestra

Sleevenotes by Ira Robbins, Afterglow, 1994

The Electric Light Orchestra, for most people, exists as a memorable collection of hit singles, carefully crafted production numbers that defined an entire rock genre ...

I Love That ELO! A Jeff Lynne interview

Interview by Erik Himmelsbach, Rock's Backpages, 2001

IT IS JEFF LYNNE'S DIVINE RIGHT to wear women's clothing. British rockers d'un certain âge are afforded no-questions-asked lifetime passes for ambiguous sartorial choices simply ...

The Bullring Variations: ELO

Retrospective and Interview by Jim Irvin, MOJO, August 2001

APRIL 20, 2001. The fat drops of rain falling on New York cannot dampen the anticipation that’s crackling along this usually quiet side-street. Here stand ...

ELO: Shine On

Sleevenotes by Jim Irvin, unpublished, 2005

IN THE LATE 60s, Jeff Lynne, leader of distinctive psychedelic pop group, The Idle Race, constructed a surprisingly sophisticated demo studio in the front room ...