"Mr. Radio" is a song recorded by the

Electric Light Orchestra 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 ...

. The song was the scheduled second single release from the band's debut album written by Jeff Lynne and is track number six on their 1971 debut album, ''

The Electric Light Orchestra 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 ...

'' (''No Answer'' in the US). The tune is written in a 1920s American style about a man whose wife has left him and his only companion is his radio. The orchestral intro to the song is played backwards and is an early example of what would be Lynne's trademark ELO production style. The beginning and the end of the number contains backwards samples of a Mozart symphony, and in the bridge section there is a distantly heard piece of

backmasking Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional. Artists have s ...

, with Lynne singing, "Hello, Mr. Radio," which is flipped backwards and augmented with

reverberation Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

. The single edit can be found on a 2005

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''Harvest Showdown'' and on the ''Harvest Years 1970-1973'' compilation. A remastered version would appear on the box set '' Flashback'' and later on remastered versions of their first album.

Personnel

* Jeff Lynne – vocals, piano * Roy Wood – cello * Bev Bevan –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion *Bill Hunt – french horn *Steve Woolam – violin

References

Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Song recordings produced by Roy Wood Electric Light Orchestra songs 1971 songs Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs about radio {{1970s-rock-song-stub