"Ticket to the Moon" is a popular song written by

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 music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

and performed by

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 ...

(ELO). It was track four on the album ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' (1981) and was released as a double-A single along with "

Here Is the News "Here Is the News" is a 1981 song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It is track ten on the album ''Time'' (1981) and was released as a double A-side along with "Ticket to the Moon" in January 1982, reaching ...

" in January 1982, reaching number 24 in the UK charts. ELO writer Barry Delve feels that it is appropriately paired with "Ticket to the Moon" on the single since both songs "share lyrical references and have a similar string arrangement." But Delve also feels that these two songs were not the most commercial songs on ''Time'' to be released as singles, especially since their lyrics can be "enigmatic" and mystifying" outside the context of the concept album. The song is somewhat reminiscent of their earlier output, featuring grand piano and more strings than their past few singles. Rainer Pietsch conducted the strings on the song. The promo video featured

Mik Kaminski Michael Kaminski (born 2 September 1951) is an English musician. He is best known for playing violin in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1973 and 1979 and touring from 1981 to 1986, as well as being a member of Electric Ligh ...

on violin. Delve calls it a "fine ELO ballad" that is introduced by a piano piece "reminiscent of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's '

Moonlight Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The popular name ''M ...

.'" The single was also released as a limited edition 12" picture disc showing the ELO spaceship. The same image was later used as the sleeve design for the UK follow up single " The Way Life's Meant to Be". The name was used for a compilation album in 2007, '' Ticket to the Moon: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2''.

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1982 singles Electric Light Orchestra songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne 1981 songs Jet Records singles