Wembley or Bust

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Wembley or Bust
Wembley or Bust cover.jpg
Live album and concert film by
Jeff Lynne's ELO
Released17 November 2017
Recorded24 June 2017
Venue Wembley Stadium
Genre Rock
Length98:25 (album), 118:00 (DVD)
Label
Director Paul Dugdale
Producer Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne's ELO chronology
Alone in the Universe
(2015)		Wembley or Bust
(2017)		 From Out of Nowhere
(2019)

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.

Contents

Background and recording

Jeff Lynne decided to reform the Electric Light Orchestra after BBC DJ Chris Evans and the listeners of his show expressed their desire to see ELO play live again. [1] Lynne recruited former ELO member Richard Tandy along with a new band and played a single concert in Hyde Park, London to a crowd of 50,000 in September 2014. After the success of the show, Lynne decided to produce another ELO album. [1] The album Alone in the Universe was released in November 2015, [2] and the band undertook the Alone in the Universe Tour to promote the record with a similar band from the Hyde Park Concert.

The album and film were both recorded during the Alone in the Universe Tour at Wembley Stadium, in London. The concert was performed in front of a sellout crowd of 60,000 on 24 June 2017. [3] The experience from the concert would later be described in the song "Time of Our Life" from the next ELO album From Out of Nowhere .

Release and promotion

Prior to the album and DVD's release, in addition to a trailer, [4] 3 videos were taken from the film and were released on ELO's YouTube channel, the songs featured in the videos were: "Turn to Stone", "Telephone Line", and "Evil Woman". [5] [6] [7]

Wembley or Bust was released via record labels Big Trilby, Columbia, and Sony Music. It was made available on CD, LP, and digital download. [3]

In 2018 a book entitled Wembley or Bust was released, limited to only 1,500 copies. [8] The book is about Lynne's music career and the planning that went into the Wembley or Bust concert. [9] Included with the book was a 7" vinyl picture disc with the live recordings of "Xanadu" and "Don't Bring Me Down". [8] [10]

Songs

All of the songs played at the concert were included on the album and film. Almost all of the songs were previous ELO songs, with the exception of the Traveling Wilburys' song "Handle with Care", a band of which Jeff Lynne was formerly a member.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]
The Spill MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]

The album received favorable reviews, with most of the discussion about how the complex sound of ELO was performed. The Decider said that "It sounds perfect. Pitch perfect. Every note. So perfect, it's just like listening to the record." [14] Audiophile Review similarly said, "it sure is swell to hear these dense, complex arrangements performed live as Jeff intended them to be heard!" [15] The Spill Magazine called it "A legendary performance from a world-class band". [13] In his review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic said that Wembley or Bust "could sometimes be mistaken for an ELO greatest-hits album", but he also mentioned that Lynne "is a little rougher and lower than he was at his peak". [11]

Track listing

Audio CD

All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne, except where noted.

Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Standin' in the Rain" 4:11
2."Evil Woman" 4:36
3."All Over the World" 4:00
4."Showdown" 4:15
5."Livin' Thing" 4:09
6."Do Ya" 4:12
7."When I Was a Boy" 3:28
8."Handle with Care" Traveling Wilburys 3:45
9."Last Train to London" 4:24
10."Xanadu" 3:23
11."Rockaria!" 3:20
12."Can't Get It Out of My Head" 4:45
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."10538 Overture" 4:48
2."Twilight" (includes "Prologue") 4:45
3."Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" 4:07
4."Shine a Little Love" 3:54
5."Wild West Hero" 4:09
6."Sweet Talkin' Woman" 3:44
7."Telephone Line" 4:55
8."Turn to Stone" 4:00
9."Don't Bring Me Down" 4:14
10."Mr. Blue Sky" 5:11
11."Roll Over Beethoven" Chuck Berry 6:10
Total length:1:38:25

Vinyl LP

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Standin' in the Rain"4:11
2."Evil Woman"4:36
3."All Over the World"4:00
4."Showdown"4:15
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Livin' Thing" 4:09
6."Do Ya" 4:12
7."When I Was a Boy" 3:28
8."Handle with Care" Traveling Wilburys 3:45
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Last Train to London"4:24
2."Xanadu"3:23
3."Rockaria!"3:20
4."Can't Get It Out of My Head"4:45
Side D
No.TitleLength
5."10538 Overture"4:48
6."Twilight" (includes "Prologue")4:45
7."Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"4:07
8."Shine a Little Love"3:54
Side E
No.TitleLength
1."Wild West Hero"4:09
2."Sweet Talkin' Woman"3:44
3."Telephone Line"4:55
4."Turn to Stone"4:00
Side F
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Don't Bring Me Down" 4:14
6."Mr. Blue Sky" 5:11
7."Roll Over Beethoven" Chuck Berry 6:10
Total length:1:38:25

Personnel

Personnel for the live album and film. [16]

Most of the band had performed with Jeff Lynne on previous occasions at Children In Need rocks in 2013, Festival In a Day at Hyde Park and Glastonbury 2016 though the celloists Amy Langley, Jessica Cox and the violinist Rosie Langley (who replaced Chereene Allen on violin solos) [17] had appeared at Glastonbury as part of the Orchestra. The keyboardist, Marcus Byrne, replaced Richard Tandy on piano and vocoder, [18] causing his former role to be replaced by Jo Webb on keyboards, backing vocals and acoustic guitar (on "Handle with Care" (replacing Mick Wilson from Hyde Park)) [19] . The percussionist, Mick Wilson, was removed from the band before Glastonbury causing most of his role to be replaced by the backing vocalist Iain Hormal and Melanie Lewis-McDonald.

Jeff Lynne's ELO

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [20] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [21] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [22] 64
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [23] 12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [25] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC) [26] 8
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [27] 58
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [28] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] 54
UK Albums (OCC) [30] 9
US Billboard 200 [31] 90
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [32] 32
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [33] 12
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [34] 8

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [35] Silver60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 Greene, Andy (22 October 2015). "Jeff Lynne Explains How Electric Light Orchestra Came Back to Life". Rolling Stone .
  2. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (24 September 2015). "Jeff Lynne's ELO announce new album Alone in the Universe, share When I Was a Boy". Pitchfork .
  3. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (6 October 2017). "Jeff Lynne's ELO Readies Concert Film 'Wembley or Bust'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ↑ ELO (6 October 2017). Jeff Lynne's ELO – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley or Bust Trailer. Big Trilby. Retrieved 11 September 2021– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ ELO (16 October 2017). Jeff Lynne's ELO – Turn to Stone (Live at Wembley Stadium). Big Trilby. Retrieved 11 September 2021– via YouTube.
  6. ↑ ELO (3 November 2021). Jeff Lynne's ELO – Telephone Line (Live at Wembley Stadium). Big Trilby. Retrieved 11 September 2021– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ ELO (10 November 2017). Jeff Lynne's ELO – Evil Woman (Live at Wembley Stadium). Big Trilby. Retrieved 11 September 2021– via YouTube.
  8. 1 2 "Wembley Or Bust". Genesis Publications . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Ewing, Jerry (22 June 2021). "Jeff Lynne's ELO book Wembley Or Bust on general sale in September". Loudersound. Future . Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Xanadu" / "Don't Bring Me Down" (7" picture disc). Jeff Lynne's ELO. United Kingdom: Big Trilby. 2018. USSM11708573.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Wembley or Bust at AllMusic
  12. ↑ "Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust – Record Collector Magazine". recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  13. 1 2 "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JEFF LYNNE'S ELO – WEMBLEY OR BUST". The Spill Magazine. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "'Jeff Lynne's ELO: Wembley Or Bust' on Showtime: Review". 14 September 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  15. ↑ Smotroff, Mark (11 December 2017). "Jeff Lynne's ELO: Wembley Or Bust Reviewed". Audiophile Review. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  16. ↑ Wembley Or Bust (Liner notes). United Kingdom: Columbia. 2017. 88985 48742 1.
  17. ↑ "Livin' Thing Jeff Lynne's ELO Live with Rosie Langley and Amy Langley, Glastonbury 2016". YouTube. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  18. ↑ Sinclair, Keith J. "Caught Live (4): Jeff Lynne's ELO @ Wembley 24/06/17". YouTube. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Handle With Care Jeff Lynne's ELO Wembley 2017 *LIVE* FRONT ROW *4K HD*". YouTube. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  20. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  24. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  27. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  28. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jeff Lynne's ELO – Wembley Or Bust". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  30. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  32. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  33. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  34. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  35. ↑ "British album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Wembley Or Bust". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 1 January 2021.
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