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Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of ELO, including " Evil Woman", "
Livin' Thing "Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album '' A New World Record'' and was also released as a single. Patti Quatro sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "hi ...
", " Telephone Line", "
Mr. Blue Sky "Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto fo ...
", "
Don't Bring Me Down "Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album ''Discovery''. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date. History "Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's se ...
", and " Hold On Tight". Lynne was born in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and became interested in music during his youth, being heavily inspired by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. He began his music career in 1963 as a member of the Andicaps, leaving the group a year later to join the Chads. From 1966 to 1970, Lynne was a founding member and principal songwriter for the Idle Race, a group which also featured Roy Wood. In 1970, Lynne accepted Wood's offer to join the Move, with Lynne contributing heavily to the band's last two albums. Later that year, Lynne and Wood disbanded the Move to form the band ELO, which was formed out of Lynne's and Wood's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. Following Wood's departure from ELO in 1972, Lynne assumed sole leadership of the band and wrote, arranged, and produced virtually all of its subsequent records. During the 1970s and 1980s, ELO released a string of top 10 albums and singles, including the band's most commercially successful album, the double album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Two ELO albums reached the top of British charts: the disco-inspired ''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
'' (1979) and the science-fiction-themed concept album ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' (1981). Lynne produced all fifteen ELO singles that rose to the Top 10 record charts in the UK. After ELO's original disbandment in 1986, Lynne released two solo albums: '' Armchair Theatre'' (1990) and '' Long Wave'' (2012). Additionally, he began producing various artists. In 1988, under the pseudonyms Otis Wilbury and Clayton Wilbury, he co-founded the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. In the 1990s, Lynne co-produced the Beatles' '' Anthology'' reunion singles from
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
demos, " Free as a Bird" (1995) and " Real Love" (1996). In 2014, Lynne reformed ELO and resumed concert touring under the name "Jeff Lynne's ELO". Outside of ELO, Lynne's producing credits include the UK or US Top 10 albums '' Cloud Nine'' (Harrison, 1987), '' Mystery Girl'' (Orbison, 1989), '' Full Moon Fever'' (Petty, 1989), '' Into the Great Wide Open'' ( Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1991), '' Flaming Pie'' (
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, 1997), and '' Get Up!'' ( Bryan Adams, 2015). In 2014, Lynne received a star on the
Birmingham Walk of Stars The Birmingham Walk of Stars is a walk of fame-style installation on the pedestrian pavement of Broad Street, Birmingham, England, which honours notable people from the Birmingham area or with significant connections with it. The scheme is orga ...
, and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following year. He received three Ivor Novello Awards, including the award for Outstanding Services to British Music. In 2017, Lynne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of ELO, and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 Birthday Honours.


Musical career


Early life and career

Lynne was born in Erdington,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, to Nancy and Philip Lynne and grew up in
Shard End Shard End is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a ward within the formal district of Hodge Hill. Shard End borders Castle Bromwich to the north and Kingshurst to the east which are situated in the northern part of the neighbouring Met ...
, Birmingham, England, where he attended Alderlea Boys' Secondary School. As a native of Birmingham, he still has his Brummie accent. His father bought him his first guitar, an acoustic instrument, for £2. He was still playing it in 2012. In 1963, he formed a group with Robert Reader and David Walsh using little more than Spanish guitars and cheap electrical instruments. They were originally named the Rockin' Hellcats, then the Handicaps and finally the Andicaps. They practised at Shard End Community Centre and performed weekly. However, in 1964, Robert Reader and David Walsh left the band and Lynne brought in replacements. At the end of 1964, Lynne decided to leave the band to replace Mick Adkins of the local band "the Chads". Some time in or after 1965, he acquired his first item of studio recording equipment, a Bang & Olufsen 'Beocord 2000 De Luxe' stereo reel-to-reel tape recorder, which allowed multi-tracking between left and right channels. He says it "taught me how to be a producer". In 1966, Lynne joined the line-up of the Nightriders as guitarist, having responded to an advertisement in the '' Birmingham Evening Mail''. The band soon changed their name to the Idle Race. Despite recording two critically acclaimed albums with the band and producing the second, success eluded him. In 1970, Lynne accepted an offer from friend Roy Wood to join the line-up of the more successful band the Move.


1970–1986: The Move and ELO

Lynne contributed many songs to the Move's last two albums while formulating, with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan, a band built around a fusion of rock and
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...
– a project which would eventually become the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The original idea was that both bands would exist in tandem. Bevan has, however, since suggested that Lynne had little interest in the Move, stating: "The only reason Jeff Lynne ever joined the Move was to form a new band. He was never interested in being a part of the Move." The band's eponymous first album was released in December 1971, featuring heavy contributions from Lynne and Wood and producing the band's debut single " 10538 Overture". Problems led to Wood's departure from ELO in 1972 (forming the band Wizzard later that year), a year after the release of the band's first album, leaving Lynne as the band's dominant creative force. Thereafter followed a succession of band personnel changes and increasingly popular albums: '' ELO 2'' (1973) and '' On the Third Day'' (also 1973), '' Eldorado'' (1974) and '' Face the Music'' (1975). By ''
A New World Record ''A New World Record'' is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U.S., and on 19 November 1976 on Jet Records in the United Kingdom. ''A New World Record'' mark ...
'' (1976), Lynne had almost developed the roots of the group into a more complex and unique pop-rock sound mixed with studio strings, layered vocals, and tight, catchy pop singles. Lynne's now almost complete creative dominance as producer, songwriter, arranger, lead singer and guitarist could make ELO appear to be an almost solo effort. However, the ELO sound and the focus of Lynne's writing was also shaped by
Louis Clark Louis Clark (27 February 1947 – 13 February 2021) was an English music arranger and keyboard player. He trained at Leeds College of Music. He is best known for his work with Electric Light Orchestra and '' Hooked on Classics''. Clark started ...
's and
Richard Tandy Richard Tandy (born 26 March 1948) is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an important in ...
's co-arranging, under Lynne's direction (especially the large string sections in addition to ELO's own string trio), and Bev Bevan's drumming, while Richard Tandy's integration of the piano, Moog, harmonium, and Mellotron, with more novel keyboard technology, gave Lynne's songs a more symphonic sound. Bassist Kelly Groucutt's distinctive voice mixed with Lynne's to produce the classic ELO harmonic vocal sound. The pinnacle of ELO's chart success and worldwide popularity was the expansive double album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977), which was largely conceived in a Swiss chalet during a two-week writing marathon. The band's 1978 world tour featured an elaborate "space ship" set and laser light show. In order to recreate the complex instrumental textures of their albums, the band used pre-recorded supplemental backing tracks in live performances. Although that practice has now become commonplace, it caused considerable derision in the press of the time. Lynne has often stated that he prefers the creative environment of the studio to the rigours and tedium of touring. Lynne followed up the success of ''Out of the Blue'' with ''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
'' (1979), which held No. 1 in the UK for 5 weeks. The album is primarily associated with its two disco-flavoured singles ("
Shine a Little Love "Shine a Little Love" is a song by the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released as a single in the US and UK in 1979. Summary The song is the first track on their 1979 album ''Discovery''. This was one of the band's ...
" and "
Last Train to London "Last Train to London" is a song from the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the fifth track from their album ''Discovery''. The song was released in 1979 in the UK as a double A-side single with "Confusion". It peaked at number ...
") and with the title's word play on "disco" and "very". However, the remaining seven non-disco tracks on the album reflected Lynne's range as a pop-rock songwriter, including a heavy, mid-tempo rock anthem ("
Don't Bring Me Down "Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album ''Discovery''. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date. History "Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's se ...
") that, despite its use of a drum loop, could be considered the antithesis of disco. Lynne later recalled his forays into dance music: "I love the force of disco. I love the freedom it gave me to make different rhythms across it. I enjoyed that really steady driving beat. Just steady as a rock. I’ve always liked that simplicity in the bass drum." In 1979, Lynne rejected an offer for ELO to headline the Knebworth Concert in the UK, allowing
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...
to headline instead. In the absence of any touring to support ''Discovery'', Lynne had time to contribute five tracks to the soundtrack for the 1980 film musical '' Xanadu''. The score yielded three Top 20 singles for ELO in both the UK and the US: " I'm Alive" (UK No. 20, US No. 16), " All Over The World" (UK No. 11, US No. 13), and the title track " Xanadu", featuring Olivia Newton-John joining ELO on lead vocals, which reached number one in the UK (US No. 8). Nevertheless, Lynne was not closely involved with the development of the film, and his material consequently had only superficial attachment to the plot. ''Xanadu'' performed weakly at the box office (although it later has experienced popularity as a cult favourite). Lynne subsequently disavowed his limited contribution to the project. Lynne took the band in a somewhat different direction with the science-fiction themed album ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' (1981), reaching number one for two weeks in the UK, producing the second Top 3 single in less than two years. The strings were still featured, but with heavily synthesised textures. Following a marginally successful tour, Lynne kept this general approach with ''
Secret Messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album ...
'' (1983) and a final contractually-obligated ELO album '' Balance of Power'' (1986). Lynne discusses the contractually-obligated nature of the final albums on the short interview included with the 'Zoom' DVD. ELO now had only three remaining official members (Lynne, Bevan and Tandy), and Lynne began devoting more time to producing. During his time in the Electric Light Orchestra, Lynne had managed to release a few recordings under his own name. In 1976, Lynne covered
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
songs " With a Little Help from My Friends" and " Nowhere Man" for '' All This and World War II''. In 1977, Lynne released his first solo single, the disco-flavoured "
Doin' That Crazy Thing "Doin' That Crazy Thing" is a song written, recorded and produced by Jeff Lynne. The song and its associated dance started in the mind of Lynne when he took a short break from being Electric Light Orchestra's frontman. He released the single "Doi ...
"/"
Goin' Down to Rio "Goin' Down to Rio" is a song by Jeff Lynne, B-side to "Doin' That Crazy Thing". Track listing The songs are written by Jeff Lynne. #"Doin' That Crazy Thing "Doin' That Crazy Thing" is a song written, recorded and produced by Jeff Lynne. Th ...
". Despite ELO's high-profile at that time, it received little airplay and failed to chart. In 1984, Lynne and Tandy contributed two original songs "
Video! "Video!" is a song by Jeff Lynne from the soundtrack to the film '' Electric Dreams'' in 1984. It is one of two songs that Lynne and keyboard player Richard Tandy provided for the film's soundtrack. The single version is 3:26 in length, while the ...
" and "Let It Run" to the film '' Electric Dreams'' (they also provided a third song, " Sooner Or Later", which was released as the b-side of "Video!"). Lynne also wrote the song "The Story of Me," which was recorded by the Everly Brothers on their comeback album '' EB84''. Even before the official end of ELO, Lynne began his move toward focusing almost exclusively on studio production work. Lynne produced and wrote the 1983 top-40 hit " Slipping Away" for Dave Edmunds and played on sessions (with Tandy) for Edmunds's album, ''Information''. Lynne also produced six tracks on Edmunds's follow-up album in 1984, '' Riff Raff''. In contrast to the dense, boomy, baroque sound of ELO, Lynne's post-ELO studio work has tended toward more minimal, acoustic instrumentation and a sparse, "organic" quality that generally favours light room ambience and colouration over artificial reverb, especially on vocals. Lynne's recordings also often feature the jangling compressed acoustic guitar sound pioneered by Roger McGuinn and a heavily gated snare drum sound.


1980s–1990s: Collaborations with the Beatles

During the 1980s and 1990s, Lynne collaborated on various projects with former members of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. The band had been a major influence on Lynne since the release of their debut album, '' Please Please Me,'' in 1963, and have continued to influence him throughout his career to date. In 1968, while performing with The Idle Race, Lynne and the other members of the band were invited to a Beatles session at Abbey Road Studios. While there, he met the Beatles during the making of '' The White Album'', witnessing the band making it together. He spent an hour at the session, before going back to the sessions with the Idle Race. Years later, he admitted that being in the same room "caused me not to sleep for, like, three days." The original aim of Electric Light Orchestra was to take up "where the Beatles had left off, and to present it on stage."
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
praised the group, calling them the "sons of the Beatles" on a radio station when discussing the group's 1973 single "
Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' ( ...
" on the New York radio station WNEW. Critics often compared Electric Light Orchestra to The Beatles, and they were often criticised for "ripping off" the band. Lynne admitted that he "was very influenced by the Beatles' sound of '68 and '69. That has obviously been a big influence on the way elooked at songwriting" and said that being compared with The Beatles was the "ultimate compliment".


1987–1991: Traveling Wilburys

Lynne's Beatles influence was clearly evident in his ELO work, and the connection to the Beatles was strengthened when Lynne produced George Harrison's '' Cloud Nine.'' The latter was a successful comeback album for Harrison, released in 1987, featuring the popular singles " Got My Mind Set on You", "
When We Was Fab "When We Was Fab" is a song by English musician George Harrison, which he released on his 1987 album '' Cloud Nine''. It was also issued as the second single from the album, in January 1988. The lyrics serve as a nostalgic reflection by Harrison ...
" (appearing in the video) and " This Is Love", the last two of which were co-written by Lynne. Lynne's association with Harrison led to the 1988 formation of the Traveling Wilburys, a studio " supergroup" that also included Tom Petty,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and Roy Orbison and resulted in two albums ('' Vol. 1'' and '' Vol. 3''), both produced by Harrison and Lynne. In 1988, Lynne also worked on Orbison's album '' Mystery Girl'', co-writing and producing Orbison's last major hit, "
You Got It "You Got It" is a song from American singer Roy Orbison's 22nd studio album, ''Mystery Girl'' (1989). The song was released posthumously on January 3, 1989, after Orbison's death from a heart attack on December 6, 1988. The song was issued with ...
", plus two other tracks on that album. For '' Rock On!'', the final Del Shannon album, Lynne co-wrote "Walk Away" and finished off several tracks after Shannon's death. In 1989, Lynne co-produced '' Full Moon Fever'' by Tom Petty, which included the hit singles " Free Fallin'", " I Won't Back Down" and " Runnin' Down a Dream", all co-written by Lynne. This album and ''Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1'' received nominations for the
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for Best Album of the Year in 1989. The Traveling Wilburys won a Grammy for "
Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
" that year. Lynne's song " One Way Love" was released as a single by Agnetha Fältskog and appeared on her second post-
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...
album, ''
Eyes of a Woman ''Eyes of a Woman'' is the second English-language solo studio album by Swedish singer and former ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog, and her eighth studio album overall. It was released in March 1985. Background The album was recorded in the Polar ...
''. Lynne co-wrote and produced the track " Let It Shine" for Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson's first solo album in 1988. Lynne also contributed three tracks to an album by Duane Eddy and "Falling in Love" on '' Land of Dreams'' for Randy Newman. In 1990, Lynne collaborated on the Wilburys' follow up ''
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 ''Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3'' is the second and final studio album by the Traveling Wilburys, a group consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. It was released on October 29, 1990, as the follow-up to their 1988 debut, ' ...
'' and released his first solo album '' Armchair Theatre''. The album featured Harrison and Tandy and included the singles " Every Little Thing" and "Lift Me Up". It received some positive critical attention but little commercial success. Lynne also provided the song "Wild Times" to the motion picture soundtrack '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' in 1991. In 1991, Lynne returned to the studio with Petty, co-writing and producing the album '' Into the Great Wide Open'' for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which featured the singles " Learning to Fly" and "Into the Great Wide Open". The following year he produced two songs on Roy Orbison's posthumous album '' King of Hearts'', including the single "
I Drove All Night "I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until ...
".


1990s–2000s

In February 1994, Lynne worked with the three surviving Beatles on the '' Anthology'' album series. At Harrison's request, Lynne was brought in to assist in reevaluating
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's original studio material. The songs " Free as a Bird" and " Real Love" were created by digitally processing Lennon's demos for the songs and overdubbing the three surviving band members to form a virtual Beatles reunion that the band had mutually eschewed during Lennon's lifetime. Lynne has also produced records for Ringo Starr and worked on
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's Grammy-nominated album '' Flaming Pie''. Lynne's work in the 1990s also includes production of a 1993 album for singer-songwriter
Julianna Raye Julianna Raye is an American songwriter, singer, actress, entrepreneur, and mindfulness teacher. Music She became briefly well known in 1993 when her work as a backing singer and songwriter persuaded producer Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (bor ...
titled ''Something Peculiar'' and production or songwriting contributions to albums by Roger McGuinn ('' Back from Rio'') and Joe Cocker ('' Night Calls''), songs by Aerosmith ("Lizard Love"),
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
("Lift Me Up"), Bonnie Tyler (" Time Mends a Broken Heart"), the film '' Still Crazy'', Hank Marvin (" Wonderful Land" and "Nivram"), Et Moi ("Drole De Vie") and the Tandy Morgan Band ("Action"). In 1996, Lynne was officially recognised by his peers when he was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Contributions to British Music" for a second time. In the year 2000, Lynne reactivated ELO and released the retrospective box set '' Flashback'', containing many newly finished, previously unreleased tracks. The following year Lynne debuted the first new ELO album in fifteen years, '' Zoom''. The album featured guest appearances by Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Richard Tandy, with Lynne multi-tracking a majority of the instruments and vocals. The album received positive reviews but had no hit singles. It was marketed as a "return to the classic ELO sound" in an attempt to connect with a loyal body of fans and to jump-start a planned concert tour (with Lynne and Tandy as the only returning original ELO members). While a live performance was taped at
CBS Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Ch ...
over two consecutive nights and shown on PBS (with subsequent DVD release), the tour itself was cancelled. Earlier in 2001, Lynne began working with George Harrison on what would turn out to be Harrison's final album, ''
Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process Music Albums * ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the title song * ''Brainwashed'' (While ...
''. After Harrison's death from cancer on 29 November 2001, Lynne returned to the studio in 2002 to help finish the uncompleted album. Lynne was heavily involved in the memorial '' Concert for George'', held at London's Royal Albert Hall in November 2002, which also featured Traveling Wilburys member Petty. Lynne sang the lead vocal on "
The Inner Light ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
", "
I Want to Tell You "I Want to Tell You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was written and sung by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. After "Taxman" and "Love You To", it was the third Harrison compositi ...
" and "
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the opening track of his 1973 album ''Living in the Material World''. It was also issued as the album's lead single, in May that year, and becam ...
", and subsequently produced the Surround Sound audio mix for the ''Concert for George'' DVD, released in November 2003, which later received a Grammy. Lynne reunited in 2006 with Petty to produce the latter's third solo release, ''
Highway Companion ''Highway Companion'' is the third and final solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Tom Petty. It was released on July 25, 2006, and charted at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. The album was produced by former Traveling Wilbury ...
''. In 2004, Lynne and Petty inducted Harrison into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then played " Handle with Care" with Dhani Harrison, also " While My Guitar Gently Weeps" adding
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
, Steve Winwood, and others. In a
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
article on 23 April 2009, Lynne said that he had been working on the follow-up to his 1990 solo debut album '' Armchair Theatre'' with a possible tentative release date of "later this year". He also produced four tracks on Regina Spektor's fifth album '' Far'', released 23 June 2009.


2010s

In a March 2010 interview with the '' Daily Express'' newspaper, Lynne confirmed he was working on a new album with Joe Walsh and simultaneously "writing a couple of albums under his own name, though he won't tell us in which musical direction he's heading." Lynne contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's " Words of Love" for the tribute album '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'', which was released on 6 September 2011. On 31 December 2011, Brian Williams reported on NBC New Year's Eve with Carson Daly that "2012 releases will include rare new work from Jeff Lynne." In 2012, Walsh released his '' Analog Man'' album which was produced by Lynne. Lynne's second solo album, a
covers album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
titled '' Long Wave'', was released on 8 October 2012. A greatest hits collection of re-recorded ELO songs by Lynne titled '' Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra'' was also released under the ELO moniker on the same day. Lynne suggested that a new album with original material could be released during 2013. In 2012, Lynne and Tandy teamed up at Lynne's Bungalow Palace home studios to record a live set of ELO's songs. This was broadcast on TV as part of the ''Mr. Blue Sky'' documentary. Lynne and Tandy reunited again on 12 November 2013 to perform, under the name Jeff Lynne and Friends, "Livin' Thing" and "Mr. Blue Sky" at the Children in Need Rocks concert at Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, London. On 9 February 2014, Lynne performed George Harrison's " Something" with Joe Walsh and Dhani Harrison on '' The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles'', as well as "
Hey Bulldog "Hey Bulldog" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles released on their 1969 soundtrack album '' Yellow Submarine''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written primarily by John Lennon, it was finished in the recording studio by both L ...
" from the '' Yellow Submarine soundtrack'', while accompanying Dave Grohl, commemorating the 50th anniversary of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' performance on '' The Ed Sullivan Show''. On 5 March 2014, Lynne received an honorary doctorate degree from Birmingham City University. He also mentioned he was working with Bryan Adams on new material. On 14 September 2014, Jeff Lynne and his touring band, under the name
Jeff Lynne's ELO The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
, played a public concert for the first time in over 25 years, headlining at the Radio 2
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
in
Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...
. Never particularly enthusiastic for live performance even in his younger days, Lynne has called this event "easily the best concert I've ever been involved with". On 8 February 2015, Lynne appeared at the Grammy Awards, playing "Evil Woman" and "
Mr. Blue Sky "Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto fo ...
" with Ed Sheeran. On 10 September 2015, Lynne's website announced he had signed a contract to deliver an album of new ELO music for Columbia Records marking the first time in 14 years new ELO music would be released. On 24 September 2015, " When I Was a Boy", the first single from ''
Alone in the Universe ''Alone in the Universe'' is the thirteenth studio album by British rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first credited to Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne's ELO. The moniker came out from Lynne as a response to ELO t ...
'' was released on the internet with a music video scheduled not long after. The album was released on 13 November 2015 and was followed by promotional shows including the first ELO shows in the United States in 30 years. A 2016 European tour was scheduled, with
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
and Zurich being some of the locations toured. Notably, the Dublin concert was delayed by a week due to medical advice given to Lynne. In September, 2016, shortly after the European dates, ELO played 3 shows at The Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, with full orchestra and fireworks. Jeff Lynne's ELO also played two concerts at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on 16 and 18 September 2016 respectively. On 24 June 2017, Lynne performed at Wembley Stadium to a crowd of 60,000, playing a 24-song setlist including 'Xanadu', 'Do Ya' and 'Twilight'. The concert was released on DVD and CD, under the title ''Wembley or Bust''. On 2 August 2018, Lynne and his band
Jeff Lynne's ELO The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
began a 10-city tour of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
which included
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
,
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, Rosemont, Illinois,
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. On 12 September 2018, Jeff Lynne's ELO began a tour throughout
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
including dates in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
, Hamburg,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
,
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, and
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
. On 20 June 2019, Jeff Lynne's ELO began a North American tour with Dhani Harrison. On 26 September 2019, Jeff Lynne's ELO announced a new album, called '' From Out of Nowhere'', which was subsequently released on 1 November of the same year. The album was accompanied by the release of an eponymous single which premiered on BBC Radio 2 that same day. The album went to number 1 on the British charts.


Personal life

Lynne was married to his first wife Rosemary from 1972 to 1977, and then to Sandi Kapelson, with whom he has two daughters, in 1979. He is a fan of
Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...
Lynne was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to music.


Awards and honours

* 2009: Golden Note Award from the ASCAP * 2013: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2014 induction * 2014: Star on the
Birmingham Walk of Stars The Birmingham Walk of Stars is a walk of fame-style installation on the pedestrian pavement of Broad Street, Birmingham, England, which honours notable people from the Birmingham area or with significant connections with it. The scheme is orga ...
* 2014: Honorary doctorate degree from Birmingham City University * 2015: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame * 2015: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2016 induction * 2016: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2017 induction * 2017: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Electric Light Orchestra * 2018: Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee for 2019 induction * 2019: ASCAP Founders Award from the ASCAP *2023: Songwriters Hall of Fame induction.


Solo discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums


Singles


Compilation appearances


Producer discography

See also: The Idle Race discography, the Move discography, Electric Light Orchestra discography, Traveling Wilburys discography


Albums

Co-produced


Soundtracks

Co-produced


Singles

A-sides co-produced B-sides B-sides co-produced


References


Bibliography

* Van der Kiste, John ''Jeff Lynne: The Electric Light Orchestra, before and after'', (Stroud: Fonthill Media, 2015)


External links

*
Jeff Lynne Song Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynne, Jeff 1947 births Living people 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers Electric Light Orchestra members English multi-instrumentalists English record producers English male singer-songwriters English rock guitarists Ivor Novello Award winners The Move members English rock singers Traveling Wilburys members Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands English expatriates in the United States Lead guitarists Rhythm guitarists Slide guitarists British music arrangers English composers The Idle Race members English male guitarists Frontiers Records artists Officers of the Order of the British Empire A&R people The Beatles