The big orchestral-rock fusion band, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) were one of the biggest selling groups of the 70s and 80s. They were formed in 1970 by Roy Wood, Bev Bevan and Jeff Lynne. The three were already members of The Move and it was Wood and Lynne's intention that they would start a new band. The three members stayed with The Move for two more albums, preparing the groundwork for what would become the first ELO album.
The self titled album "The Electric Light Orchestra" (1971) No Answer (U.S. 1972) was the resulting debut album. The track "10538 Overture" was their first UK Top 10 hit, but tensions were already forming between Wood and Lynne, and Wood left before the second album. Lynne stepped up to the plate, and took the band on to their second and third albums Electric Light Orchestra II (1973) and On the Third Day (1973).
The fourth album Eldorado, A Symphony by The Electric Light Orchestra was the first time the Orchestra actually employed an orchestra and their rich symphonic sound was realized to its full potential. The album went gold and generated their first US Top 10 hit, Can't Get It Out Of My Head. Face the Music was released in 1975 and further hits followed including "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic". Their success in America was clear, but it took until sixth album A New World Record (1976) before they equalled this success in their homeland with the singles "Livin' Thing" and "Telephone Line". Their next album, the double LP Out of the Blue, was hugely successful in the US and the UK and led to a lavish world tour. Discovery (1979) consolidated their success, spawning several hits including "Don't Bring Me Down", "Last Train to London" and "The Diary of Horace Wimp". By the end of the 70s, ELO were at the height of their fame and were the biggest-selling act in the UK.
They opened the 80s with the soundtrack to the film Xanadu; the film bombed but the album went multi-platinum. Time was a concept album which was released in 1981 and became the last ELO studio album to achieve platinum certification. By Secret Messages (1983), founder member Bevan announced that he was leaving to play drums for Black Sabbath and the album failed to perform well, hitting No.4 in the charts but falling out soon after. There were rumours that the band was about to split and, though they didn't formally disband for two further years, 1986's Balance of Power proved to be their last release for 15 years. In the hiatus before the official announcement Lynne was a member of the short-lived supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.
In the absence of the original ELO, Bevan formed ELO Part II, of which he was the only member to have ever been in the original band. The band released Electric Light Orchestra Part Two (1990) and Moment of Truth (1994) before Bevan left, taking the ELO name with him, though the band continued to tour and record under the name The Orchestra.
In 2001, Lynne returned to the ELO brand, though he was the only original member to do so, and released Zoom, the final studio album for the band. Several of the seminal ELO albums have since been re-mastered and re-released.
