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Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of
the Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...
, Electric Light Orchestra and
Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCartne ...
. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands. Altogether he had more than 20 singles in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
has described Wood as being "responsible for some of the most memorable sounds of the Seventies" and "credited as playing a major role in the
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
, psychedelic and
prog rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...
movements". In 2008, Wood was awarded an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
for his contribution to rock and pop by the
University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ea ...
. In 2015, his long and eclectic career was recognised with the "Outer Limits" award at the Progressive Music Awards in London. Wood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.


Career


Early years

Roy Wood was born on 8 November 1946 in
Kitts Green Kitts Green is an area of Birmingham, England, approximately 5 miles east of the city centre and on the borders of Tile Cross, Lea Village, Lea Hall, and Garretts Green. Historically in Warwickshire, Kitts Green dates back to when it was first m ...
, a suburb of Birmingham, England. For some years the legend persisted that his real name was Ulysses Adrian Wood, until it was revealed that this was probably the result of somebody close to The Move in their early days filling in such names on a 'lifelines' feature for the press as a joke.Van der Kiste, John (2012). ''Roy Wood: The Move, Wizzard and beyond''. KDP. His first group in Birmingham in the early 1960s was the Falcons, which he left in 1963 to join Gerry Levene and the Avengers. He then moved to Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (the band later became
the Idle Race ''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 m ...
). He attended the Moseley College of Art, but was expelled in 1964.


The Move

From this and other Birmingham-based groups, was formed
The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...
, and they quickly entered the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Their single "Night of Fear" climbed to No. 2 in early 1967. Their third hit, " Flowers in the Rain", was the first song played by Tony Blackburn at the launch of
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
on September 30, 1967, and the band evolved over a three-year period. After the departure of The Move's lead singer
Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...
, Wood's influence became more prominent. In 1967, Wood (and fellow Move member
Trevor Burton Trevor Burton (born Trevor Ireson; 9 March 1949 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is an English guitarist and is a founding member of The Move. Career Burton started playing guitar at a young age and was leading his own group called The Evergla ...
) supplied backing vocals on the track, "You Got Me Floatin'", on
the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
's album '' Axis: Bold as Love''. Wood was keen on musical experimentation and was an early proponent of combining
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
and pop music with other styles, such as classical music, or the
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
sound, and introduced classically styled string and brass sections into the pop record. In early 1972, Wood's composition "Songs of Praise" was shortlisted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as one of six possible choices for the UK entry in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1972 The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporat ...
. When performed by
the New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...
on the
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
vehicle ''It's Cliff Richard!'', the song finished in last place with 3,842 votes. The group included the track on their album ''
We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing ''We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'' is the name given to two albums by UK pop group The New Seekers. The first of these, released in late 1971, was a repackaging of their previous album '' New Colours'' and was released in the US. The secon ...
''. Wood recorded his own version of "Songs of Praise", releasing it on the B-side of his 1973 single, "
Dear Elaine "Dear Elaine" is a 1972 song written and produced by Roy Wood. It was first released on Wood's July 1973 debut solo album, ''Boulders'', before being issued as a single on 11 August 1973. Wood played all of the musical instruments on the recording ...
".


Electric Light Orchestra

Whilst The Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleagues
Jeff Lynne 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 cont ...
and
Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...
, founded Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success. The original intention was to split The Move at the end of 1970, but contractual obligations meant that both they and ELO existed together for a year, until the former finally broke up in June 1972. In 2017, the ELO line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, 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 importan ...
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Early ELO concerts and formation of Wizzard

ELO's early live performances were chaotic, due to both poor sound quality of the string instruments competing against the guitars and drums, as well as Wood's constant moving from instrument to instrument during the shows (playing bass, guitar, cello and saxophone). After increasing tensions, Wood left in July 1972 at the start of the second album sessions, following a trip to Italy and formed a new group,
Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCartne ...
, which assembled cellists, brass players and a bigger rhythm section, with several drummers and percussionists. Wood emulated the
wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...
production style of
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
while successfully and affectionately pastiching the rock and roll style of the early 1960s. Wizzard scored seven
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
hits with different songs during this period including two consecutive singles, " See My Baby Jive" and " Angel Fingers" which reached the top of that chart. Meanwhile, he released several solo albums, exploring further musical directions. His 1973 album ''
Boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
'' was an almost entirely genuine solo effort, right down to the sleeve artwork, with Wood playing a wide variety of musical instruments. A second solo album, ''
Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
'', released in 1975 and including contributions by
Phil Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
and Annie Haslam, was less successful.


Post-Wizzard

By the late 1970s, Wood was appearing less in public; commercial success faded away, and his musical experiments did not always match popular taste, but he remained productive in the studio as musician, producer and songwriter. He was a fan of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, but never succeeded in getting him to adopt one of his compositions. However, he was untiring as a producer for other acts, most successfully doo-wop revivalists
Darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...
. In 1976, Wood recorded the Beatles songs "
Lovely Rita "Lovely Rita" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It is about a meter maid and the narrat ...
" and "
Polythene Pam "Polythene Pam" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album '' Abbey Road''. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the fourth song of the album's climactic side-two medley. The Beatles recorded ...
" for the ill-fated musical documentary ''
All This and World War II ''All This and World War II'' is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmma ...
''.


The Wizzo Band and subsequent work

In 1977, he formed Wizzo Band, a jazz-rock ensemble, whose only live performance was a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
simultaneous television and radio broadcast in stereo. The Wizzo Band split early the following year after cancelling a nationwide tour. Between 1980 and 1982, Wood released a few singles under his own name and also as Roy Wood's Helicopters, and played some live dates under this name, with a band comprising Robin George (guitar), Terry Rowley (keyboards), Jon Camp (bass) and Tom Farnell (drums). The release of what would have been the last of these singles, "Aerial Pictures", backed with "Airborne", was cancelled owing to the lack of chart success for its predecessors, but both sides appeared for the first time in 2006 on a compilation CD, ''Roy Wood – The Wizzard!''. "Aerial Pictures", using the original backing track, subsequently became a solo single for Carl Wayne, The Move's former vocalist. Wood also made a one-off rock and roll medley single with Phil Lynott,
Chas Hodges Charles Nicholas Hodges (28 December 1943 – 22 September 2018) was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave. Early life Hodges was born at the North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton on 2 ...
and John Coghlan, credited to The Rockers, "We Are The Boys" (1983), and played a leading role in the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986, on 15 March 1986, which was later partly televised by the BBC. As well as designing the logo, Wood performed in a line-up which also included the Electric Light Orchestra and the Moody Blues. After a hiatus following the release of the album '' Starting Up'' (1987), a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the
Len Barry Leonard Warren Borisoff (June 12, 1942 – November 5, 2020), known professionally as Len Barry, was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, record producer, author, and poet. Life and career Born on June 12, 1942 and raised in Philadelphia, ...
hit " 1–2–3", and a guest vocal appearance on one track on Rick Wakeman's ''
The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'', he went on the road with a band billed as Roy Wood's Army. He also wrote and recorded two tracks with Lynne in 1989 ("If You Can't Get What You Want" and "Me and You"), which were never released. His most regularly broadcast song is the seasonal Wizzard single "
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly ...
". In 1995, Wood released a new live version as the 'Roy Wood Big Band', which charted at No. 59, and in 2000 he joined forces with
Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...
and
the Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recyc ...
, for a re-working of "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and the Wombles' hit "Wombling Merry Christmas", together in one song which reached No. 22. Over Christmas 2007, Wood appeared in a catalogue advertisement for
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
, where he played the part of a rowdy neighbour playing guitar along to Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", and the song once again entered the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 16. In the 2010 Christmas special of the ITV comedy '' Benidorm'', Wood in a cameo role performed his Christmas hit at the Benidorm Palace cabaret theatre. He later performed with Wizzard on the Christmas edition of
Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...
in December 2013. Wood formed the Roy Wood Rock & Roll Band for occasional live dates and television performances in the UK. They were the support act for Status Quo at several UK dates in the weeks leading up to Christmas 2009 and 2011. In December 2018, Wood and his band's touring equipment worth £100,000 was stolen following a ram-raid on a warehouse in Leeds. The police later recovered the van and equipment in
East Ardsley East Ardsley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. East Ardsley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. Etymology The name ''Ardsley'' is first attested in the Domesday Book as ''Erdeslau'' and ...
.


Personal life

Roy Wood currently lives in the former Howard Arms
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
in Cubley,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. Wood voted to
leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...
the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in the 23 June 2016 referendum, and in May 2019 joined the
Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant ...
. Wood has one child.


Discography


Chronological album discography

''For the complete Move discography see The Move Discography''
''For the complete ELO discography see Electric Light Orchestra discography''
''For the complete Wizzard discography see Wizzard Discography''
''
List of songs written by Roy Wood This is a list of songs written by the English singer-songwriter Roy Wood. Released songs {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Title ! Year ! Album ! Ensemble ! Notes , - , "Aerial Pictures" , 1982 , Single , Carl Wayne , - , "Airborne" , 2006 ...
'' * ''
The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...
'' (1968) – The Move * '' Shazam'' (1970) – The Move * '' Looking On'' (1970) – The Move * '' Message from the Country'' (1971) – The Move * '' The Electric Light Orchestra'' (1971) – ELO * ''
ELO 2 ''ELO 2'' is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as ''Electric Light Orchestra II''. It was the band's last album to be released by the Harvest label, the last (in t ...
'' (1973) – ELO (although uncredited at the time, Wood played cello and bass on "In Old England Town" and "From the Sun to the World"). * '' Wizzard Brew'' (1973) – Wizzard * ''
Boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
'' (1973) – Solo * ''
Introducing Eddy and the Falcons ''Introducing Eddy and the Falcons'' is the second album by the English rock music, rock band Wizzard. It peaked at No. 19 in the UK Albums Chart – ten places higher than its predecessor, ''Wizzard Brew''. As with the previous Wizzard album, ...
'' (1974) – Wizzard * ''
Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
'' (1975) – Solo * '' Super Active Wizzo'' (1977) – Wizzo Band * '' On The Road Again'' (1979) – Solo * '' Starting Up'' (1987) – Solo * '' Main Street'' (2000) – Roy Wood & Wizzard


Solo albums

Sources:


Collaboration album

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Charting compilation album

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Solo singles

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Collaboration singles

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Songs recorded and released by other artists


References


External links

* – official site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Roy 1946 births Living people People from Birmingham, West Midlands English rock guitarists English male singer-songwriters 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters English record producers British rock cellists The Move members English rock saxophonists British male saxophonists Rock oboists English oboists Male oboists English rock drummers English rock keyboardists Bagpipe players English horn players Sitar players English clarinetists British pop cellists English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English double-bassists Male double-bassists Electric Light Orchestra members English multi-instrumentalists Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Harvest Records artists Warner Records artists English cellists Lead guitarists Rhythm guitarists Slide guitarists Ivor Novello Award winners Art rock musicians Glam rock musicians British recorder players Renaissance (band) members The Idle Race members 21st-century saxophonists Alumni of the University of Derby 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century clarinetists Wizzard members 21st-century flautists