The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne, Bevan, and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and leader of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and as a songwriter has written most of the band's hits, including "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Hold On Tight".
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
ELO 2 is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as Electric Light Orchestra II. It was the band's last album to be released by the Harvest label, the last on which the band used the definite article The in their name, and the one that introduced their abbreviated name 'ELO'.
Zoom is the twelfth studio album by British symphonic rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 12 June 2001 on Epic Records. It was the first official ELO album since 1986's Balance of Power.
Balance of Power is the eleventh studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in 1986. It is the final album by the band to feature co-founder Bev Bevan on drums, as well as the last album to feature a significant contribution from keyboardist Richard Tandy.
Kelly Groucutt was an English musician, best known as the bassist and second vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982.
Xanadu is the soundtrack to the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in June 1980 on MCA Records in the United States and July 1980 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom. The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO. In 2008 the soundtrack album was digitally remastered as a bonus CD as part of the film's DVD release titled Xanadu: Magical Musical Edition.
Richard Tandy is an English musician. He was the keyboardist in the band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards was an important ingredient in the group's sound, especially on the albums A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, and Time.
John Clifford Farrar is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Strangers (1964–70), Marvin, Welch & Farrar (1970–73), and The Shadows (1973–76). In 1980, he released a solo eponymous album. As a songwriter and producer, he worked with Olivia Newton-John from 1971 to 1989. He wrote her U.S. number-one hit singles: "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "You're the One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1978), and "Magic" (1980). He also produced the majority of her recorded material during that time, including her number-one albums, If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974), Have You Never Been Mellow (1975), and Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982). He was a co-producer of the soundtrack for the film Grease (1978).
"I'm Alive" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released as a single in May 1980. It is featured in a sequence near the beginning of the feature film Xanadu. The song also appears on the soundtrack album Xanadu.
"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. Released as a single in June 1980, it reached number one in several European countries and was the band's only UK number-one single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Don't Walk Away" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is an album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1992 as a follow-up to their more successful ELO's Greatest Hits, though it was not issued in the U.S.
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) Part II was a British-American rock band formed by Electric Light Orchestra drummer and co-founder Bev Bevan. The band also included former ELO bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt, and violinist Mik Kaminski for most of its career, along with conductor Louis Clark who toured as a guest with ELO in its later years.
"Beatles Forever" is an unreleased song by Electric Light Orchestra in 1983, written by Jeff Lynne and intended for the album Secret Messages. Initially, it was to be the seventh track of the double album configuration, featured on side two of the LP. When the album was shortened to a single LP by CBS Records, eight of the eighteen total tracks were removed, including "Beatles Forever." The other seven tracks have since had official releases on various albums and remasters in some form prior to the 2018 double album release. Though this reissue of the parent album was meant to follow the original 1983 intended configuration, "Beatles Forever" was again excluded, making it the only track from the original album not to appear later as an official bonus track or part of a compilation.
"Magic" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for the soundtrack to the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu. Written and produced by John Farrar, the song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1980 and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2. On August 30, it was displaced from the top by Christopher Cross's "Sailing".
Definitive Collection is a compilation album recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and produced by Jeff Lynne. It was released on 13 April 1999 with two discs. Some of the songs include their album versions like "Strange Magic" and "Shine a Little Love", and some tracks include edits seen below.
"Kiss Me Red" is a song written by the songwriting duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and first released in 1984 for the soundtrack of the short-lived TV series Dreams, where it was performed on the show by the fictional title band. The song was notably covered by Cheap Trick in 1986 on their ninth album The Doctor, and by ELO Part II in 1990 for their album Electric Light Orchestra Part Two.
Wembley or Bust is a live album and concert film by Jeff Lynne's ELO. It was recorded during the Alone in the Universe Tour at Wembley Stadium. The album peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 12 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums. The album was also certified silver in the United Kingdom.