Jeff Lynne started the Electric Light Orchestra alongside Roy Wood and Bev Bevan in 1970. They had all been active in the Birmingham music scene for several years, but wanted to do something completely different together. They adopted a full-bodied orchestral pop sound for their new project, separating them from their peers and sending them to stardom.
For the next 13 years, Electric Light Orchestra barely rested, which led them to exhaustion. Throughout their first stint as a band they were either on the road or in the studio and released 11 albums prolifically, with two of their LPs topping the UK charts.
Although Lynne’s heart was no longer in the band, he was legally bound to release one more album with the band, and after a hiatus the musician was forced to return home to make the 1986 albums. Balance of power. Shortly after, he accepted George Harrison’s invitation to work on his album. Cloudwhich led him to co-found The Traveling Wilbury’s with the former Beatle.
It took over a decade until Electric Light Orchestra reunited, but only with Lynne and Richard Tandy, for the album, Zoom. However, a planned world tour was canceled due to poor ticket sales and ELO’s hiatus resumed.
The duo resurrected ELO again in 2014, and they willfully reminisce about their glory days over the past decade. Now that a significant proportion of time has passed since their original tenure, Lynne is happy to reflect on those golden years, and in 2016 he said rolling stone on his favorite band tracks.
The first track Lynne mentioned as a favorite is her track, “Showdown”, which was the lead single from Electric Light Orchestra’s third album, The third day. The singer said: “I wrote ‘Showdown’ in my mum and dad’s living room in Birmingham. I invented the riff, and I was delighted. I knew it was going to be a hit even after making a few notes of it.
He added: “When we cut it, the engineer said, ‘It’s a classic.’ I was thrilled with bits. It’s one of my favorites, even though the lyrics really don’t mean anything. It’s just a story, a made up script. A lot of people ask me what my songs mean, and I have no idea. It means something different to me every time I sing it.
Other early ELO tracks included by Lynne were “Evil Woman”, “Telephone Line”, “Turn To Stone”, “Don’t Bring Me Down”, “All Over The World”, and of course , their signature track, ‘Mr. Blue sky’. Addressing the latter, Lynne said: “I guess it’s my best known song. Everyone tells me something different about it. It’s even a crazy attraction for children since it’s like a nursery rhyme.
Lynne continued, “I remember writing the words. I was in a chalet in the Swiss mountains, and everything was foggy and cloudy all around. I didn’t see any countryside for the first four days or so, then it all cleared up, and there was this huge view forever, and the sky was blue.
Listen to a playlist of his favorite Electric Light Orchestra tracks below.
Jeff Lynne’s Favorite Electric Light Orchestra Tracks
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Confrontation’
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Evil Woman’
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Telephone Line’
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Turn to Stone’
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘M. Blue sky’
- Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Don’t Knock Me Down’
- Electric Light Orchestra – “Around the World”
- ELO by Jeff Lynne – “When I Was a Boy”
- ELO by Jeff Lynne – “Love and Rain”
Interestingly, he also gave love to two new band creations, which were released under Jeff Lynne’s new ELO name. The Birmingham native listed ‘When I Was A Boy’ and ‘Love and Rain’ as his favorites from the band’s latest chapter.
Reflecting on their reunion, Lynne admitted: “I had all these negative thoughts before I agreed to play Hyde Park last year, but the crowd just went absolutely crazy. They loved every minute. It was the best show I had ever been on up to that point.
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