History Music / ElectricLightOrchestra

Formed in 1970 by Music/RoyWood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan from the experimental art rock band 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 (now the band's creative lead and only credited songwriter) and drummer Bev Bevan as its remaining founding members. 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 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 arranger Louis Clark beginning with ''Eldorado''. Resultantly, the subsequent albums, 1975's ''Face the Music'' and 1976's ''A New World Record'', were major commercial successes, yielding such iconic progressive pop anthems as "Evil Woman", "Strange Magic", "Livin' Thing" and "Telephone Line". 1977's ''Out of the Blue'', a double album frequently viewed as the group's best work (and containing the band's arguable signature song "Mr. Blue Sky"), wielded an even more commercially-viable sound, hence the increasingly synth-based aesthetic and shortening durations of its tracks, although the progressive pop aesthetic of the previous two albums nonetheless remained audible. 1979's ''Discovery'', released at the apex of the group's popularity, would, however, herald a more distinct stylistic sea change into heavily disco-based soft rock while eliminating the group's signature orchestrations almost entirely.

Following a failed attempt to persuade Lynne to commit to another album, Bev Bevan - initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO - created ELO Part II in 1989 and released an eponymous album (a harder, more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) two years later. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski (former ELO and Wizzard cellist Hugh [=McDowell=] likewise briefly became a live member, but only retained membership for a single tour owing to conflicts with other band members). Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne (who would distance himself from many of his former bandmates owing to the Part II project), eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him (in a smaller-scale repeat of this incident, Bevan would later form his own touring incarnation of The Move alongside fellow founding member Trevor Burton, likewise drawing the ire of Roy Wood). The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

* IAmTheBand: Jeff Lynne, especially after the release of ''Zoom''. ''Alone in the Universe'' is almost ''entirely'' performed and sung by Lynne. It's been noted that Jeff prides himself as enjoying playing all the instruments (guitar, drums, bass, etc), but the trope is averted for his live band.
* InNameOnly: Arguably applicable, to varying degrees, to both notable projects (ELO Part II and Jeff Lynne's ELO) succeeding the original band. While founded by longtime ELO drummer Bev Bevan and featuring a maximum of four alumni from its predecessor, the majority of ELO Part II's album material (with notable exceptions such as "Honest Men", "Hello" and "Blue Violin") stylistically veers more towards a harder ArenaRock aesthetic in the vein of Music/{{Journey}} or Music/{{Styx}}, albeit with fleetingly ELO-reminiscent orchestral arrangements, over the more Beatles-esque sensibilities of its precursor. Jeff Lynne's ELO, conversely, features the original group's central figure providing the majority of instrumentation and composing in a steadier, more country-influenced style more starkly reminiscent of Music/TomPetty and Music/RoyOrbison than the lavish studio pyrotechnics of his '70s work, suggesting the corresponding albums to be closer aesthetic relatives of Jeff Lynne's solo career than to his output with the original ELO.

* [[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".

* ''Electric Light Orchestra Part II'' (1991): ''Honest Men'', ''1000 Eyes''
* ''Moment of Truth'' (1994): "Power of a Million Lights", ''Breakin' Down the Walls''
* ''No Rewind'' (The Orchestra, 2001): ''Jewel and Jonny'', ''Say Goodbye''

Following a failed attempt to persuade Lynne to commit to a reunion tour, Bev Bevan - initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO - created ELO Part II in 1989 and released an eponymous album (a harder, more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) two years later. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski (former ELO and Wizzard cellist Hugh [=McDowell=] likewise briefly became a live member, but only retained membership for a single tour owing to conflicts with other band members). Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne (who would distance himself from many of his former bandmates owing to the Part II project), eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him (in a smaller-scale repeat of this incident, Bevan would later form his own touring incarnation of The Move alongside fellow founding member Trevor Burton, likewise drawing the ire of Roy Wood). The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (a more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski (former ELO and Wizzard cellist Hugh [=McDowell=] likewise briefly became a live member, but only retained membership for a single tour owing to conflicts with other band members). Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne (who would distance himself from many of his former bandmates owing to the Part II project), eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him (in a smaller-scale repeat of this incident, Bevan would later form his own touring incarnation of The Move alongside fellow founding member Trevor Burton, likewise drawing the ire of Roy Wood). The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

* Historical note: Creator/{{Hipgnosis}} did the cover art for the first two albums, plus the compilation ''The Light Shines On''. They were busy people back then.

Sadly, ELO started to decline after the release of their second concept album, ''Time'', in 1981, coinciding with Lynne's accentuating depression. ''Secret Messages'', a planned double album ultimately reduced to a single LP by its TroubledProduction, was initially successful on release in 1983, but quickly fell off the charts. Lynne effectively disbanded ELO following the album, reuniting three years later 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.)

* ArtifactName: As time went on, the role of the string section decreased, rendering the "light orchestra" part of their name more and more moot. By the release of ''Time'', the violins had disappeared entirely (though the synths still provide a lush orchestration often).

* CoolShades: Is Jeff Lynne ever seen without them?
** [[WordOfGod According to Jeff]], he got the idea to wear big sunglasses from Music/RoyOrbison, so as to hide his nervousness of the crowd when playing concerts.
* CoverVersion: Covered Music/ChuckBerry's "Roll Over Beethoven" on ''ELO 2'' and a cover of Del Shannon's "Little Town Flirt" was added for the re-release of ''Discovery''. The song "Do Ya" was also a cover of an older version written by Jeff for The Move, a band he and Wood had been part of previously.
** And their epic version of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", featuring a ''VIOLIN SOLO!'' by touring member Mik Kaminski. Kaminski would also regularly cover "Orange Blossom Special" during his violin solos.

* 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.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first LP when Roy Wood was in the group - witness the tone and theme of "10538 Overture" compared to the mainstream pop-chart orientated later work featuring Jeff Lynne. Wood took the general progressive rock left-field weirdness to his new band Wizzard, while Lynne remained at the head of ELO and had rapidly revamped its sound into more mainstream, [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles-esque]] pop by the time of ''Face the Music'' four years later, a genre the band would continue to use throughout the '70s and early '80s.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
* ElectronicMusic: While they have never fully crossed the threshold into true electronic music, they pioneered many of the techniques that would be adopted by the next generation of artists, such as vocals distorted to the point of doubling as instruments, mixing of traditional and synthetic sounds, and densely layered multitracks. This is especially true for ''Discovery'' and later albums.

* Creator/{{Hipgnosis}}: Did the cover art for the first two albums, plus the compilation ''The Light Shines On''.

* IAmTheBand: Jeff Lynne, especially after the release of ''Zoom''. ''Alone in the Universe'' is almost ''entirely'' performed and sung by Lynne.
** It's been noted that Jeff prides himself as enjoying playing all the instruments (guitar, drums, bass, etc), but averted for his live band.

* LastNoteNightmare: ''Horace Wimp... Horace Wimp... Horace Wimp...''

* TheLastTitle: "Last Train to London"
* LineOfSightName: Their first album is known as ''No Answer'' in America, after the American publishing office called to ask what the title of the album should be and the phone wasn't answered, so "No answer" was written down onto a memo slip that somebody else in the office sent off to the printer.
* ListOfExperiencesSpeech: The verses of "Do Ya"
* LyricalDissonance: "Calling America" and "So Serious"
** Not to mention "Tightrope", "Julie Don't Live Here Anymore", "Ordinary Dream"... Jeff Lynne ''loves'' this trope.
* MeaninglessMeaningfulWords: ''Eldorado'''s "Prologue". It ''sounds'' pretty profound, but good luck trying to make any sense of it.
** Ditto ''Time'', it seems this trope's common with ELO's concept albums.
* MotorMouth: The bridge to "Turn to Stone". This gets a lot of cheers from the audience in live performances.
-->''Yes I’m turning to stone / ’cause you ain’t coming home / why you ain’t coming home / if I’m turning to stone / you’ve been gone for so long / and I can’t carry on / Yes I’m turning I’m turning I’m turning to stone''

* PunnyName: ''Electric light'' plus ''light orchestra''. And on a second level of punniness the name references the Enoch Light Orchestra, a popular jazz-dance outfit from the 1930s.
** The band's [[VisualPun first logo]] was a parody of GE's then-current "light-bulb" logo.

* RidiculousFutureInflation: Presumably averted by ''Time''`s vision of the year 2095, as ''Twenty-First Century Man'' includes a reference to 'a penny in your pocket'.

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

--> '''Intro''': "Morning! Today's forecast calls for blue skies."
--> '''Verse 1''': The sun is shining in the sky\\

* {{Zeerust}}: ''Time'', being about a man from 1981 (the year it was written) transported to the year 2095, naturally has a few (relatively minor) examples:

* PunnyName: ''Electric light'' plus ''light orchestra''. Get it?

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (a more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski (former ELO and Wizzard cellist Hugh [=McDowell=] likewise briefly became a live member, but only retained membership for a single tour owing to conflicts with other band members). Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately left the band in 1999 and, to settle a lawsuit filed by Lynne (whose frustration at the Part II project ultimately alienated him from the majority of his former bandmates), eventually sold his share of the ELO name to him (in a smaller-scale repeat of this incident, Bevan would later form his own touring incarnation of The Move alongside fellow founding member Trevor Burton, likewise drawing the ire of Roy Wood). The remaining ELO Part II members continue to perform, however, renamed as "The Orchestra", and released the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (a more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski (former ELO and Wizzard cellist Hugh [=McDowell=] likewise briefly became a live member, but only retained membership for a single tour owing to conflicts with other band members). Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately 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 the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

Formed in 1970 by Music/RoyWood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan from the experimental art rock band 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 (now the band's creative lead) and drummer Bev Bevan as its remaining founding members. That didn't stop them, however. After recruiting some new members, ELO kept getting stronger throughout the [[TheSeventies 1970s]].

Formed in 1970 by Music/RoyWood and Jeff Lynne from the experimental art rock band 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 (now the band's creative lead) and drummer Bev Bevan as its remaining founding members. That didn't stop them, however. After recruiting some new members, ELO kept getting stronger throughout the [[TheSeventies 1970s]].

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (a more AOR-adjacent work featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski. Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately 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 the (ironically more ELO-reminiscent) ''No Rewind'' in 2001. They later toured in the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

is center]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/muuyp9sriiwynm6nauu2um_0.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:ELO's classic lineup as of 'Out of the Blue', band leader Jeff Lynne is center]]

* EroticDream: The explanation behind the [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs bizarre]] lyrics of "Strange Magic".

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 as its remaining founding members. 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 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 arranger Louis Clark beginning with ''Eldorado''. Resultantly, the subsequent albums, 1975's ''Face the Music'' and 1976's ''A New World Record'', were major commercial successes, yielding such iconic progressive pop anthems as "Evil Woman", "Strange Magic", "Livin' Thing" and "Telephone Line". 1977's ''Out of the Blue'', a double album frequently viewed as the group's best work (and containing the band's arguable signature song "Mr. Blue Sky"), wielded an even more commercially-viable sound, hence the increasingly synth-based aesthetic and shortening durations of its tracks, although the progressive pop aesthetic of the previous two albums nonetheless remained audible. 1979's ''Discovery'', released at the apex of the group's popularity, would, however, herald a more distinct stylistic sea change into heavily disco-based soft rock.

Sadly, ELO started to decline after the release of their second concept album, ''Time'', in 1981. ''Secret Messages'', a planned double album ultimately reduced to a single LP by its TroubledProduction, was initially successful on release in 1983, but quickly fell off the charts. Lynne effectively disbanded ELO following the album, reuniting three years later 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.)

** The android woman from ''Yours Truly, 2095'' is made by IBM; while IBM still exists, it has started moving away from mass hardware manufacture in the second decade of the 21st century, and if made today the song would probably reference a company like Apple instead.
** ''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'.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

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 arranger Louis Clark beginning with ''Eldorado''. Resultantly, the subsequent albums, 1975's ''Face the Music'' and 1976's ''A New World Record'', were major commercial successes, yielding such iconic progressive pop anthems as "Evil Woman", "Strange Magic", "Livin' Thing" and "Telephone Line". 1977's ''Out of the Blue'', a double album frequently viewed as the group's best work (and containing the band's arguable signature song "Mr. Blue Sky"), wielded an even more commercially-viable sound, hence the increasingly synth-based and shortening durations of its tracks, although the progressive pop aesthetic of the previous two albums nonetheless remained audible. 1979's ''Discovery'', released at the apex of the group's popularity, would, however, herald a more distinct stylistic sea change into heavily disco-based soft rock.

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski. Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily ArenaRock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately 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 the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

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 arranger Louis Clark beginning with ''Eldorado''. Resultantly, the subsequent albums, 1975's ''Face the Music'' and 1976's ''A New World Record'', were major commercial successes, yielding such iconic progressive pop anthems as "Evil Woman", "Strange Magic", "Livin' Thing" and "Telephone Line". 1977's ''Out of the Blue'', a double album frequently viewed as the group's best work (and containing the band's arguable signature song "Mr. Blue Sky"), wielded an even more commercially-viable sound, hence the increasingly synth-based and shortening durations of its tracks, although the progressive pop aesthetic of the previous two albums nonetheless remained audible. 1979's ''Discovery'', released at the apex of the group's popularity in 1979, would, however, herald a more distinct stylistic sea change into heavily disco-based soft rock.

In 1989, Bev Bevan, initially aided by three musicians entirely unrelated to ELO, created ELO Part II and released an eponymous album (featuring longtime ELO string arranger Louis Clark in a prominent guest capacity) in 1991. Over the subsequent years, Part II evolved into an increasingly successful touring act, particularly following the long-term addition of two further ELO veterans, bassist (and secondary vocalist) Kelly Groucutt and violinist Mik Kaminski. Now boasting four ELO members/affiliates, Part II released the heavily arena rock-inspired ''Moment of Truth'' in 1994. Bevan ultimately 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 the 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. While the Orchestra continues to perform into the present, Kaminski is the sole remaining member (following Clark and Groucutt's deaths) with any connection to the original ELO.

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 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.

* AlternateAlbumCover: The UK release of ''On the Third Day'' features a cropped headshot of Jeff Lynne staring down at the Earth. The US release replaces this with a black and white photo of the band baring their navels atop a white backdrop. Interestingly, the US cover features [=Hugh McDowell=], who had briefly left the band while the album was being recorded and thus played exactly zero notes on the record.