They incorporated the sounds of string ensembles, vocoders and dub echos into rock songs, thereby creating a very sophisticated studio version of rock. The musical content of ELO songs often went far beyond usual chord structures, mixing pop songwriting with classical romanticism and synthesized sounds. The band claim that their music "picks up where The Beatles' 1967 song I Am the Walrus left off."
Formed in 1970 by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan (the remaining members of the 1960s rock group The Move). The band used cellos, violin, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound. This was an idea Roy Wood initially had while with The Move, to take rock music in a new direction. In 1970 when Carl Wayne left the The Move, Jeff Lynne, front man with fellow Brum band Idle Race, responded to Wood's second invitation to join the line-up, with the lure of starting the new band. To help finance the fledgling project, two more Move albums were released during the recording of their eponymous first album in 1971 which produced the UK hit 10538 Overture. In the US this album was released with the mistaken title of No Answer, due to a mix-up with an uncompleted telephone call to the American label and subsequent secretarial message.
However, tensions soon surfaced between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. With most of the media attention focused on Roy Wood, differences in musical direction, and a disastrous first live outing, it was no surprise when the band went through the first of its many line-up changes as Wood took Hugh McDowell and Bill Hunt with him to form Wizzard. Despite the music press's predictions that the band would fold without Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bevan remaining on drums, bassist Richard Tandy switching to moog synthesizer, Michael d'Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards, Colin Walker (cello) and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolam on violin. They released ELO 2 in 1973, from which came their first U.S. chart hit, a hugely elaborate version of the Chuck Berry classic Roll Over Beethoven. After their second album, violinist Gibson was dismissed and replaced by Mik Kaminski. They also released On The Third Day in 1973, with Mike Edwards playing all the cello parts due to Colin Walker leaving the band. Later that same year saw the return of Hugh McDowell, who had jumped ship the year previous, to replace cellist Colin Walker.
In 1974 Lynne hired a thirty-piece orchestra, choir and Louis Clark, then began work on the next LP Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept album about dreams, scoring their first U.S. Top Ten hit with Can't Get It Out Of My Head in 1975. Eldorado would become ELO's first gold album.
After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards respectively.
The band split in 1983. In 1985, Lynne, Tandy and Bevan reunited and recorded the album "Balance of Power". This reunion was short lived and the band split once more in 1986. Bev Bevan and Louis Clark, with the consent of Lynne, toured and recorded as ELO Part II from 1988 until Bevan's retirement in 1999. In 2000, Lynne and Tandy reformed Electric Light Orchestra and released a new record, "Zoom". "Zoom" proved to be a commercial failure, and the duo split once more in 2001.
In 2014, following support from BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, Lynne and Tandy reunited as a part of BBC Radio 2's "Festival in a Day" to perform under the new billing, "Jeff Lynne's ELO", a name Lynne devised as a response to ELO tributes, imitation bands, and offshoots who used ELO to promote their own tours.
In February 2015, Jeff Lynne's ELO performed at the Grammy Awards with Ed Sheeran, and in September of that year they announced a new album would be released under Columbia Records. Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe was released on November 13, 2015, and was ELO’s first album of new material in almost 15 years.
The second album under Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out of Nowhere, was released on November 1, 2019.
There is more than one artist with the name "ELO". The vast majority of scrobbles to "Electric Light Orchestra" are for the rock band from England.
ELO, is a South Korean singer, who debuted with the album, 8 Femmes, on August 26, 2016.
Don’t walk away
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll be the way your were before
When you don't want me anymore
Don't turn around, don't ever leave
A lonely room where empty days
Are gathering to meet me when you're gone-
Gone- how in the world will I go on
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
(Don't walk away)
Don't walk away, don't say goodbye
Don't turn around, don't let it die
When shadows fall, when day is done
All through the night, all of my life
Don't walk away
Is it a dream, when will it end
When everything we've ever known
Has ended and I'm all alone
Where will I go, where will I be
The feelings that I've never shown
Maybe I'll find the answer when you're gone-
Gone- how in the world will I go on
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
(Don't walk away)
Don't walk away, don't say goodbye
Don't turn around, don't let it die
When shadows fall, when day is done
All through the night, all of my life
Don't walk away
The lyrics of "Don't Walk Away" by Electric Light Orchestra touch upon the fear and heartbreak of someone realizing that their significant other may be leaving them soon. The songwriter pleads with their lover to stay with them and not walk away, reminding them of the good times they shared before and how much they fear being alone. The lyrics are filled with a sense of desperation and sadness as the songwriter struggles to come to terms with the possible end of their relationship. They will be left with an overwhelming sense of loneliness if their lover chooses to walk away, and they will be forced to face that reality all alone.
The repeated lines "all you gotta do is stay" highlight the simplicity of what the songwriter is asking for from their lover- just to remain together and not give up on the relationship. They suggest that if they stay together, they can overcome any problem or difficulty that may arise. The song's mood is one of longing and sadness, but it is also filled with hope as the artist tries to convince their lover not to walk away from their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do I say, don't walk away
I'm begging you to stay with me and not abandon our relationship.
You'll be the way your were before
If you leave, you'll revert back to your old self and the love that we shared will be gone forever.
When you don't want me anymore
If you no longer love me, walking away will be easy for you but would devastate me.
Don't turn around, don't ever leave
Please don't go and never look back. Our love will grow empty if we drift apart.
A lonely room where empty days
Days would be filled with sorrow and sadness if you depart.
Are gathering to meet me when you're gone-
If you leave, I'd be left with a void within and it would be difficult to cope with the emptiness.
Gone- how in the world will I go on
If you leave me, I won't be able to survive without you.
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
Just stay in this relationship and don't let our love evaporate.
(Don't walk away) all you gotta do is stay
Don't abandon me and stay with me forever.
(Don't walk away)
Please don't leave me in this darkness.
Don't walk away, don't say goodbye
Don't leave me and end our relationship. It will be unbearable for me.
Don't turn around, don't let it die
Never lose faith in us and let our love wither away.
When shadows fall, when day is done
Even after dark times in life, don't give up on us and keep our love alive.
All through the night, all of my life
I'll always love you forever, through thick and thin.
Don't walk away
Please don't walk away from this relationship, it means everything to me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
maurice ant
ELO were underated, they were ahead of their time. Jeff Lynne is a genius song writer, singer, musician and producer. Mixing typical rock instruments with classical instruments, their critics said it wouldn't work and yet ELO and Jeff made it work. Decades later their music is still as FRESH as ever. Amazing !!
Shirley Kelce
My nephew told me about this recording and I couldn't believe I had never heard it before!
Without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. By the way, I'm 80
years old..............
Carmine Murphy
I love to sing it.
People often ask me to sing it for them, it is hard for me to sing this song, without crying.
I felt line that during my teen years after a break up.
Gabriele Sartori
I was a huge fan of ELO but didn’t know this song😟
Gary Sumner
That's awesome gets me kind of choked up between the gorgeous song and your nephew telling you about the song , it just doesn't really get much better then that....
Ninjabear Press
You should see the movie it's from.
Xanadu, starring Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, and Olivia Newton-John.
Connie Maros
My youth is gone. I still have ELO to make me smile!
Laust Jensen
Oh yes we have!!
Carmine Murphy
I'm just a gigolo, and some day, youth will fade away...
Shane Bowers
You right, elo were the best