The Big Night

1970 – Lift Off

Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan lifted Birmingham England up and the rest of the world would soon be on board.

1971 – 1972 Debut

The debut album “The Electric Light Orchestra” was released in December 1971 which became a top ten hit in the U.K. and in March 1972 it hit the U.S. renamed “No Answer”.

The name came about as a secretary from the U.S. called across the pond to get the name of the album but no one was available to receive the call so she left a note that said “No Answer”.

The debut concert was on April 16th 1972 in the Greyhound Pub in Croydon Surrey U.K. with original members Wood, Lynne, Bevan, Bill Hunt {keyboards, french horn} Andy Craig Mike Edwards, Hugh McDowell {cello} Wilford Gibson {violin} and Richard Tandy {bass}.

1972 – New Line Up

Craig left the band and shortly after Wood left taking Hunt and McDowell with him during sessions of the 2nd album. As the music press claimed that without Wood the band would fold.

Jeff Lynne stepped forward to lead the band. ELO never looked back. Richard Tandy move over to keyboards and Mike de Albuquerque {bass} Colin Walker {cello} joined the band.

At the August 1972 Reading Festival the New Line Up preformed in concert. Their 2nd album ELO 2 came out in early 1973 and brought with it their 2nd top ten hit in the U.K. and a single chart across the pond. Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven“. They also made their first American Bandstand appearance that year.

1973 – Growing Pains

Recording the 3rd album found the band letting Gibson go over a money dispute and Walker left due to wanting more home time with family. Mik Kaminski joins as a “violinist” and Hugh McDowell rejoins as a “cellist”. The results, “On the Third Day” with the American version containing the popular single “Showdown”

1974 – New Horizons On

The 4th album “Eldorado, A Symphony” had as the first single “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” becoming their first American top ten hit and their first Gold Album. ELO by this point had established themselves in the U.S. and became a star attraction on the stadium circuit and began filling arenas.

They appeared on “The Midnight Special” show an unheard of four times {the most in the shows history} in 73′- 75′ – 76′ and 77′.

1975 saw ELO release Face The Music, the fifth album with hits like Evil Woman {3rd top ten in U.K.} and Strange Magic.

Album number 6 “A New World Order” released in 1976 went platinum with hits like Telephone Line, Rockaria !, and Living Thing.

1977 brought us the amazing multi-platinum double LP “Out of the Blue” with sounds like “Mr. Blue Sky”, “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”, and “Turn to Stone”. and…

The band then set out on a nine-month, 92-date world tour, with an enormous set and a hugely expensive spaceship stage with fog machines and a laser display. In the United States the concerts were billed as The Big Night

1979 another multi-platinum LP was released reaching #1 in the U.K. Album Chart, Discovery. By the end of this bad ass decade ELO had reached the Zenith of their fame bringing us an era of light shows and imagination

ref* photos pintrest.com/wikipedia.com

until next time –