Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

[Calvert]

Lordy.
There was a thread a while back about songs that make you happy.
I've just watched an hour and a half of aural happiness on BBC Four.

He's a fucking legend.

That is all.

[Duncan Gardner]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Memo to Mrs Calvert:

For God's sake don't let him watch late night nostalgia shows

5 Wild West Hero
4 Horace Wimp
3 10538 Overture
2 Tonight
1 Ma Ma Belle

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

1Sweet Is The Night
2 Shangri-La
3 Big Wheels
4 Summer And Lightning
5 One Summer Dream

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

And what a really humble chap. He's been living in Los Angeles for years and not a hint of McDowellitis.
'We were practising this in Bob Dylan's garage, as you do, like...'

Road trip to Donegal next week because we love hypothermia.
I'll be digging out Three Light Years and Out Of The Blue.

Yahoo.

[Fussbudget]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

1. Turn to Stone
2. The Whale
3. Shine a Little Love
4. The Way Life's Meant to Be
5. Starlight

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

1.Evil Woman

2.Strange Magic

3.Livin' Thing

4.Shangri-La

5.Starlight

[MsD]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

I've got a photo of him at the Roxy in 1977. He is standing behind my friend.

You can see him clearly, I should add, it's not like one of my Getty shots.

I'm getting it framed when I get around to it.

[Ray de Galles]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

I was at the gig, best of the year by far. I never thought I'd see Lynne play those songs so it was overwhelming to do so. I've watched it back again twice already on the BBC and imagine it's impossible to tire of it.

.

[hobbes]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

I found out about the gig about 4 seconds after the tickets sold out.
Quite ruined my year, it did.
Not sure I could do a top 5 being mostly a greatest hits kinda guy, but Mr Blue Sky would head it if I could.
It reminds me of those Sunday mornings when my Dad wasn't working.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Calvert wrote: Jeff Lynne's ELO

Don't tell me there's another version touring?

[Squarewheelbike]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

As a card carrying late 70s punk, I always viewed ELO as a Heavy Metal gateway drug. You think you can handle Out Of The Blue, but soon you'll be listening to Whitesnake, Saxon and ..... Rush! At which point there's no hope for you!

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

God help me.
I'm just in from work and I'm watching this again with a glass of wine and another big smile.

Some of the punters are wearing Afro wigs and big sunglasses in honour of the man.

Happy time again.

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Has Paul Weller acknowledged the influence of 10538 Overture on The Changingman? If not he owes Jeff Lynne a few bob in backdated royalties.

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Abba might owe him a few quid for the 10538-esque intro on Gimme Gimme Gimme.

[Benjm]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Calvert wrote:
Some of the punters are wearing Afro wigs and big sunglasses in honour of the man.

He's got quite a unique look, Jeff Lynne.

When I used to go to the Wolves way back when, if someone pointed out Robert Plant you'd be going, 'Which one?'

ELO I don't get at all, despite many people of admirable taste and style reckoning that they're fab.

[MsD]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

I'm surprised, as I wouldn't have thought there was that much between them and Queen.

I liked a couple of ELO tunes but always thought Roy Wood had been the more interesting member. It's not an opinion I'm particularly attached to.

[Bored Of Education]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Squarewheelbike wrote: As a card carrying late 70s punk, I always viewed ELO as a Heavy Metal gateway drug. You think you can handle Out Of The Blue, but soon you'll be listening to Whitesnake, Saxon and ..... Rush! At which point there's no hope for you!

I am not sure about that. As a card-carrying early 80s punk, I could quite happily stop at Rush and not go further into the barren lands of Genesis, Yes and ELP.

ELO were pop to me and very good pop at that.

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Yeah, ELO are all about the catchy hook and the all-important vocal melody. Lynne clearly loves old-time rocknroll too but it's the bloody clever vocal. If a talentless lump like me wrote songs for a hundred years, I could never come up with the kind of melody Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy can routinely knock out in five minutes. They hear this stuff pretty much in its finished form in their heads. Add engineering and producing absolutely all of this output and you've truly got a unique talent.

[Ray de Galles]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Stumpy Pepys wrote:

Jeff Lynne's ELO

Don't tell me there's another version touring?

Not currently but the ELO name is apparently co-owned by Lynne and Bev Bevan who wasn't in this line up so the distinction has to be made.

Bevan toured without Lynne as ELO II and The Orchestra after the initial split.

[Land Waster]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Calvert wrote:

Yeah, ELO are all about the catchy hook and the all-important vocal melody. Lynne clearly loves old-time rocknroll too but it's the bloody clever vocal.

The backing vocals on the records are what stop me from giving my full allegiance to ELO. I don't think they've aged well.

[Calvert]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Each to their own, and all that, but that's a bit bizarre.
The vocal arrangements are pretty spectacular and Lynne's trademark. The multi-layered choral backing vocals are spectacularly effective and even the seemingly simple backing on the more straightforward rocknroll tracks are so smart and so difficult to place correctly. You hear new things in Mr Blue Sky every time you listen to it which has a mixture of both. The attention to detail is obsessive.
I can't see how you can say they haven't aged well. They'll always remain as examples of how to do it right.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Bored of Education wrote: I am not sure about that. As a card-carrying early 80s punk, I could quite happily stop at Rush and not go further into the barren lands of Genesis, Yes and ELP.

ELO were pop to me and very good pop at that.

ELO were deeply unfashionable for a long time. I think the Super Furry Animals contributed towards restoring their creditably, as they're clearly fans. Also their inclusion on the Boogie Nights soundtrack.

[Duncan Gardner]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Calvert wrote: You hear new things in Mr Blue Sky every time you listen to it which has a mixture of both. The attention to detail is obsessive.

I can't see how you can say they haven't aged well. They'll always remain as examples of how to do it right

Thanks again for the recommendation. All that ridicule from the cool prog fan guys at school 40 years ago now seems worth it

After watching the concert, I switched over to the BBC Sunday Politics Show. A highlight of which was the Green candidate in the forthcoming Rochester by-election busking on bass outside the Castle.

[Gangster Octopus]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

Always been baffled by ELO-love.

[WOM]

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park

See also Bros, Status Quo, Robbie Williams and Bucks Fizz, who also missed the trans-Atlantic flight.