History Music / ElectricLightOrchestra

* SpiritualSuccessor: Music/JohnLennon himself referred to ELO as ''The Son of Music/{{the Beatles}}''.
** And in turn, Music/ThePolyphonicSpree has been compared to ELO, with songs like "Soldier Girl" proving the point.
** A one-off supergroup called LEO featuring Bleu, Andy Sturmer of Music/{{Jellyfish}} and [[Music/{{Hanson}} Taylor Hanson]] released a spot on pastiche album of ELO called ''Alpacas Orgling'' in 2003.

* ExcitedShowTitle: "Rockaria!"
* FakeOutFadeOut:
** "Mr. Blue Sky"
** "Boy Blue" from ''Eldorado'' has ''three''.
** "Shangri-La" from ''A New World Record''
** "Jungle" sort of qualifies, though it gets a slightly faded replay of half the chorus.

->''"Mister Blue Sky,\\

Where did we go wrong?''"
-->"Mr. Blue Sky"

ELO's sound started changing considerably as time went on. After the release of the concept album ''Eldorado'', their initial centralization of lengthier orchestral prog-rock epics began to wane in favor of a more hook-based (and decidedly [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles-esque]]) pop sensibility, with the eponymous orchestra relegated to an increasingly peripheral role and delegated chiefly to guest arranger Louis Clark beginning with ''Eldorado''. ''Out of the Blue'', considered to be their best album, started bringing even more synths into their music, and ''Discovery'' taking a (mostly) disco sound.

ELO's sound started changing considerably as time went on. After the release of the concept album ''Eldorado'', their initial centralization of lengthier orchestral prog-rock epics began to wane in favor of a more hook-based (and decidedly [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles-esque]]) pop sensibility, with the eponymous orchestra relegated to an increasingly peripheral role. ''Out of the Blue'', considered to be their best album, started bringing even more synths into their music, and ''Discovery'' taking a (mostly) disco sound.

* BareYourMidriff: The alternative cover to "On the Third Day" by photographer Richard Avedon has ELO baring their belly buttons for the camera.

* CreditsGag: Cellist Colin Walker left after "ELO 2" was released, leaving the group with only one cello for "On The Third Day". A fictional cellist "Ted Blight" was credited in the lineup with a blurry photo of sound engineer Rick Pannell, who also mimed cello on a few TV appearances at the time.

** "Boy Blue" from Eldorado has ''three''.
** "Shangri-La" from A New World Record
** "Jungle" sort of qualifies, though it gets a slightly faded replay of half the chorus
* FormatSpecificJoke: The vocoded speech at the end of "Mr. Blue Sky" is, contrary to popular belief, ''not'' the song's title again, but the words "Please turn me over," as on the original LP release that song marked the end of side C.
* GratuitousFrench: "Hold On Tight" repeats the chorus in French.

* {{Sampling}}: PlayedWith. The drums in "Don't Bring me Down" is the drum track from a song earlier on the album "On the Run" but slowed down on a tape loop.

* [[XMeetsY/MusicSongs X Meets Y]]: Music/JohnLennon loved "Showdown," calling it a mix of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" and "I Am the Walrus."

** ''Here Is The News'' is influenced by the style and content of the news from 1981, in particular the story about striking spaceport workers and the mention that there are bulletins 'every hour, on the hour'.

In 2001, meanwhile, Jeff Lynne released another album under the ELO name, ''Zoom''. However, Lynne and Tandy were the sole members of the original band featured on the album. Lynne then reformed ELO with some new members and started a new tour. However, it was cut short, primarily due to the illness and subsequent death of his friend George Harrison. Tandy and Lynne later continued to perform ELO songs sporadically, notably for a short concert film and documentary recorded at Lynne's own bungalow, and at a highly successful concert in Hyde Park in 2014 later released on home video. The interest led to a new album release by Lynne in 2015, ''Alone in the Universe'', with the band now billed as "Jeff Lynne's ELO"; Lynne provided the majority of the album's instrumentation itself, virtually rendering it an ELO album InNameOnly. The newly-reconstituted group has gone on several tours since, with another album, ''From Out of Nowhere'', releasing in 2019.

Sadly, ELO started to decline after the release of their second concept album, ''Time''. ''Secret Messages'', a planned double album ultimately reduced to a single LP by its TroubledProduction, was successful at first, but quickly fell off the charts. Lynne effectively disbanded ELO following the album, reuniting three years as a pared-down three-piece (comprising Lynne, Bevan and longtime keyboardist Richard Tandy) to record ''Balance of Power'' to fulfil a contractual obligation. The album, a [[LyricalDissonance lyrically dour work with a light synthpop aesthetic]], was largely unsuccessful, and ELO was seemingly finished for good. Subsequently, Lynne continued the development of his increasingly prolific and successful producer career, helping to revive both Music/RoyOrbison's and Music/GeorgeHarrison's careers and producing a very successful solo album for Music/TomPetty (he would later produce two more of his solo records.)

In 2001, meanwhile, Jeff Lynne released another album under the ELO name, ''Zoom''. However, Lynne and Tandy were the sole members of the original band featured on the album. Lynne then reformed ELO with some new members and started a new tour. However, it was cut short, primarily due to the illness and subsequent death of his friend George Harrison. Tandy and Lynne later continued to perform ELO songs sporadically, notably for a short concert film and documentary recorded at Lynne's own bungalow, and at a highly successful concert in Hyde Park in 2014 later released on home video. The interest led to a new album release by Lynne in 2015, ''Alone in the Universe'', with the band now billed as "Jeff Lynne's ELO". The newly-reconstituted group has gone on several tours since, with another album, ''From Out of Nowhere'', releasing in 2019.

Sadly, ELO started to decline after the release of their second concept album, ''Time''. ''Secret Messages'', a planned double album ultimately reduced to a single LP by its TroubledProduction, was successful at first, but quickly fell off the charts. Lynne effectively disbanded ELO following the album, reuniting three years as a pared-down three-piece (comprising Lynne, Bevan and longtime keyboardist Richard Tandy) to record ''Balance of Power'' to fulfil a contractual obligation. The album, a [[LyricalDissonance lyrically dour work with a light synthpop aesthetic]], was largely unsuccessful, and ELO was seemingly finished for good. Subsequently, Lynne continued the development of his increasingly prolific and successful producer, helping to revive both Music/RoyOrbison's and Music/GeorgeHarrison's careers and producing a very successful solo album for Music/TomPetty (he would later produce two more of his solo records.)

Formed in 1970 by Music/RoyWood and Jeff Lynne from Music/TheMove, ELO was originally conceived as a rock band with classical instruments and sounds -- an electrified light orchestra, hence its name. In other words, it was intended to bring the synthesis of ClassicalMusic and rock that the inchoate genre of ProgressiveRock promised to its logical conclusion. After the release of their first album in 1971, Wood left the band, leaving Lynne and drummer Bev Bevan. That didn't stop them, however. After recruiting some new members, ELO kept getting stronger throughout the [[TheSeventies 1970s]].

ELO's sound started changing considerably as time went on. After the release of the concept album ''Eldorado'', their songs started becoming less classical-sounding and more rock. ''Out of the Blue'', considered to be their best album, started bringing even more synths into their music, and ''Discovery'' taking a (mostly) disco sound.

Sadly, ELO started to decline after the release of their second concept album, ''Time''. ''Secret Messages'' was successful at first, but quickly fell off the charts. After three years, ''Balance of Power'' was released in 1986 and ELO was seemingly finished for good, with Lynne becoming a very prolific and successful producer, helping to revive both Music/RoyOrbison's and Music/GeorgeHarrison's careers and producing a very successful solo album for Music/TomPetty (he would later produce two more of his solo records.)

In 1989, Bev Bevan and Mik Kaminski created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album the same year. It was followed by ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan then left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne, eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him. The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in fall of 2015, but they continued to perform regularly in Ride/WaltDisneyWorld's "Garden Rocks" series during the spring Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot.

In 2001, Jeff Lynne released another ELO album, ''Zoom''. However, only Lynne and Richard Tandy, the band's primary keyboardist, were featured players. Lynne then reformed ELO with some new members and started a new tour. However, it was cut short, primarily due to the illness and subsequent death of his friend George Harrison. Tandy and Lynne later continued to perform ELO songs sporadically, notably for a short concert film and documentary recorded at Lynne's own bungalow, and at a highly successful concert in Hyde Park in 2014 later released on home video. The interest led to a new album release by Lynne in 2015, ''Alone in the Universe'', with the band now billed as "Jeff Lynne's ELO". The newly-reconstituted group has gone on several tours since, with another album, ''From Out of Nowhere'', releasing in 2019.

* UpToEleven: Their multi-multi-multi-multi-tracked production values, especially around 1974–78, and the concert productions in 1978 which included a "spaceship" filled with stage lights and lasers overhead operated on this level.

* XMeetsY: Music/JohnLennon loved "Showdown," calling it a mix of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" and "I Am the Walrus."

* RobotGirl: "Yours Truly, 2095"

* SomethingBlues: "Birmingham Blues"

-->My Shangri-La has gone away
-->Faded like Music/TheBeatles on "Hey Jude"

* DarkerAndEdgier: "Balance of Power". The album contains songs with haunting, sad and evocative lyrics about breaking ups, Jeff Lynne's disillusionment over the band and the album's TroubledProduction set to happy and mostly synthesized, backing music.

* DarkerAndEdgier: "Balance of Power". The album contains songs with haunting, sad and evocative lyrics about breaking ups, Jeff Lynne's disillusionment over the band and the TroubledProduction set to happy and mostly synthesized, backing music.

* AscendedFanboy: Lead singer and FaceOfTheBand Jeff Lynne conceived the band's idea with Roy Wood to be a sort of sequel to Music/TheBeatles, taking rock music in the direction "that The Beatles had left off." He later worked with former Beatles members on various projects, including Music/TheTravelingWilburys and producing the "Threetles"[[note]]the nickname given to Music/TheBeatles minus the late Music/JohnLennon, who went back into the studio together for ''The Beatles Anthology'' to record a few new singles[[/note]] singles "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love".

* GratuitousFrench: "Hold On Tight"

Not to be confused with ''Music/YellowMagicOrchestra''.

In 1989, Bev Bevan and Mik Kaminski created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album the same year. It was followed by ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan then left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne, eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him. The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released ''No Rewind'' in 2001. Their most recent tour was in fall of 2015, but they continue to perform regularly in Ride/WaltDisneyWorld's "Garden Rocks" series during the spring Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot.