Discovery (Electric Light Orchestra album)

Discovery
Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra
Released	1 June 1979 [1]
Recorded	March–April 1979
Studio	Musicland (Munich, Germany)
Genre	Pop rock progressive pop disco
Length	38:53
Label	Jet Columbia
Producer	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
The Light Shines On Vol 2 (1979) Discovery (1979) ELO's Greatest Hits (1979)
Electric Light Orchestra studio album chronology
Out of the Blue (1977) Discovery (1979) Xanadu (1980)

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Shine a Little Love"	4:43
2.	"Confusion"	3:42
3.	"Need Her Love"	5:11
4.	"The Diary of Horace Wimp"	4:17

Side two

No.	Title	Length
5.	"Last Train to London"	4:32
6.	"Midnight Blue"	4:19
7.	"On the Run"	3:55
8.	"Wishing"	4:13
9.	"Don't Bring Me Down"	4:02
Total length:		38:53

2001 edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
10.	"On the Run" (home demo)	1:01
11.	"Second Time Around" (home demo)	0:43
12.	"Little Town Flirt"	2:53

Notes

• Bonus tracks were previously unreleased. Track 12 was started 1979, finished 2001. Engineered by Mack and Ryan Ulyate.
• Vinyl mastered by Stan "The Man" Ricker.

Personnel

• Jeff Lynne – lead vocals, guitars (electric, acoustic 12-string), vocoder, backing vocals, orchestral & choral arrangements, producer
• Bev Bevan – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Richard Tandy – acoustic and Wurlitzer electric piano, synthesizer, clavinet, lead guitar (track 6), backing vocals, orchestral & choral arrangements
• Kelly Groucutt – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 4)
• Mik Kaminski – violin (uncredited) ^[15]
• Hugh McDowell, Melvyn Gale – cello (uncredited) ^[16]

Additional personnel

• Louis Clark - orchestral & choral arrangements, orchestra conductor
• Mack - engineer

Additional music video personnel

• Mik Kaminski – violin
• Hugh McDowell – cello
• Melvyn Gale – cello

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1979–1980) Peak position Argentinian Albums Chart [17] 1 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [18] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [19] 3 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [20] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [21] 6 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [22] 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23] 7 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [24] 31 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [25] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [26] 1 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [27] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [28] 2 UK Albums (OCC) [29] 1 US Billboard 200 [30] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1979) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [18] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [31] 6 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [32] 5 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [33] 7 UK Albums (OCC) [34] 2 US Billboard Year-End [35] 74 Chart (1980) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [18] 48 UK Albums (OCC) [34] 89

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF) [36]	2× Platinum	120,000^
Australia (ARIA) [37]	4× Platinum	200,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [38]	3× Platinum	300,000^
France (SNEP) [39]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [40]	Gold	250,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [41]	Gold	10,000*
Netherlands (NVPI) [42]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [43]	Platinum	15,000^
Sweden	—	100,000 [44]
United Kingdom (BPI) [45]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA) [46]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Bibliography

• The Electric Light Orchestra Story (1980) ISBN   0-907394-00-0

References

1. "BPI certifications for ELO".
2. "BPI certifications for ELO".
3. "Electric Light Orchestra - the Diary of Horace Wimp". Discogs . 21 July 1979.
4. "BPI certifications for ELO".
5. Chrispell, James. "Electric Light Orchestra Discovery". AllMusic . Retrieved 12 October 2017.
6. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 915. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
7. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p.  383. ISBN   1-57859-061-2.
8. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p.  274. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
9. Starr, Red (14–27 June 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits . p. 25.
10. "Electric Light Orchestra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
11. Wild, David. "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band and the Pop Genius Who Dared to Go Baroque." Flashback .
12. The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn , February 2000
13. The Bob & Tom Show , January 2000
14. Paulson, Ken (25 August 1979). "Electric Light has touch of class". Gannett News Service . Retrieved 29 April 2025.
15. "Melvyn Gale Interview by Martin Kinch".
16. "Melvyn Gale Interview by Martin Kinch".
17. "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 15 December 1979. p. 38.
18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 101. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4723a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
22. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
24. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   978-4-87131-077-2.
25. "Charts.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
27. Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
30. "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
31. "Austriancharts.st – Jahreshitparade 1979" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
32. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6920". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
33. "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
34. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
35. "Top Pop Albums of 1979". billboard.biz. 31 December 1979. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
36. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
37. "International Dateline - Australia" (PDF). Cash Box . 29 December 1979. p. 96. Retrieved 1 December 2021– via World Radio History.
38. "Canadian album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". Music Canada . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
39. "French album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 24 February 2012.Select ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA and click OK. 
40. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Electric Light Orchestra; 'Discovery')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
41. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1980". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
42. "Dutch album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved 24 February 2012.Enter Discovery in the "Artiest of titel" box.
43. "New Zealand album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
44. "CBS's Klintebergoptimistic" (PDF). Music Week : Supplement 8. 19 April 1980. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
45. "British album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
46. "American album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Discovery". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 24 February 2012.

External links

• Jeff Lynne Song Database