- 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. During ELO's original 14-year period of active recording and touring, they sold over 50 million records worldwide. From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated twenty Top 20 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100.
- IMDb mini biography by: PW
- Did not work together often as a group. Jeff Lynne wrote the songs, called his bandmates together when he was ready to record, and did post-production (mixing and editing) without them. The next time they usually heard the songs was when the finished records began to appear on radio. They would then reassemble to rehearse, before going out on tour.
- Band member Mike Edwards died on September 3, 2010, in a vehicle accident; he was driving his van on a country road when a 600-kg hay bale rolled down a hill, hit his car and crushed it, killing him instantly.
- Their hit single "Don't Bring Me Down" was their first song to not feature a string section.
- Thanks to contact microphones and early wireless miking systems, the band's string players were able to move around onstage as they played, resulting in an unusual, lively stage act.
- Several members regrouped without Jeff Lynne after the final ELO album ("Balance of Power") (1986), first forming OrKestra (with an appearance in Summer Job (1989)), then "ELO Part II". Lynne reacquired the ELO name, with a current album and planned tour (2001), but the album was not a hit, and most of the tour dates were canceled.
- At some of our early shows, we outnumbered the audience!
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