The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters-multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical arrangements and 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. For their initial tenure, Lynne, Bevan and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
"Welcome to the Pleasuredome" is the title track to the 1984 debut album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The lyrics of the song were inspired by the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
A-side and B-side are terms frequently used to refer to the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes, often directly on the labels of two-sided music recording themselves. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to receive the initial promotional effort and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been equally or more successful than their A-sides.
Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and real stringed instruments, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release.
Balance of Power is the eleventh studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) 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 keyboardist Richard Tandy in an official capacity, until 2019's From Out Of Nowhere.
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
Afterglow is the first box set compilation by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in 1990 with liner notes by music critic and editor Ira Robbins of Trouser Press. A different two-CD compilation with identical artwork was issued simultaneously under the title The Very Best of The Electric Light Orchestra.
"Strange Little Girl" is a song by the Stranglers, originally written in 1974 and re-recorded and released in the UK in 1982 as their last single while signed to Liberty Records. By the time of release, the band had already decided to leave the label for Epic Records, and this last single was part of the severance deal, along with the compilation album, The Collection 1977-1982.
"Partyman" is a song by Prince from his 1989 Batman album, and the follow-up to his number one hit, "Batdance". The song is one of the few on the album to be prominently featured in the film, accompanying the scene in which the Joker and his minions deface exhibits in the Gotham City Art Museum before meeting Vicki Vale. The bassline shares great similarities to "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing" by James Brown. The song's chant "young and old, gather round; everybody hail the new king in town" follows the same rhythm from the 1986 outtake "Rebirth of the Flesh".
"Get the Balance Right!" is the seventh single by Depeche Mode, released on 31 January 1983. Recorded at Blackwing Studios, it is the first Depeche Mode single with Alan Wilder as an official band member.
"A Question of Lust" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their fifth studio album, Black Celebration (1986). It was released on 14 April 1986 as the album's second single.
"Could It Be Magic" is a song with lyrics by Adrienne Anderson and music by Barry Manilow, based on Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20. Initially released in 1971 by Featherbed, produced and co-written by Tony Orlando, it was later re-recorded as a Barry Manilow solo track, given a first album and single release in 1973 on Bell Records and - after being remixed - an album and single re-release in 1975 on Arista Records. The 1975 re-release became one of Manilow's first hits. The song has been recorded by a number of other artists over the years, most successfully by Donna Summer in 1976 and by Take That in 1992.
"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album Heart. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100.
"Rockaria!" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), written by Jeff Lynne. It was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album, A New World Record and was the second single from the album. On some CD pressings of A New World Record, it appears without the exclamation mark.
"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
"Showdown" is a 1973 song written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest label. It was released as a single and reached No 12 in the UK Singles Chart and No 9 on the Norwegian chart VG-lista.
"Calling America" is a song by the rock music group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) released as a single from their 1986 album Balance of Power. The single reached number 28 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard singles chart, making it their 20th and final Top 40 hit single in the United States.
"So Serious" is a song by the rock music group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from their 1986 album Balance of Power released in the UK as the second single from the album in 1986.
"California Man" is a song by British rock and roll band The Move.
"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.
