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.
Endless Lies
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've got to leave you now
I find you never really cared
Stand back, take a look at you
You couldn't care if you wanted to
You keep saying it's gonna change
But every time it comes back again
Endless lies shine in your eyes
It's alright, count to ten
It will all be better then
It's alright, the world will go away
Stand back, take a look at you
You couldn't care if you wanted to
You keep saying it's gonna change
But every time it comes back again
It's a merry-go-round
Endless lies, I can see it in your eyes
The heartbreak is, if you could only see
That's not the way it's supposed to be
Endless tears that flowed through the years
You take it all, and then you take some more
Then you come running back to me
Play on, pretty music
Play on and on for me
Shine on, silver stars
Over the sea
Endless lies, I can see it in your eyes
The heartbreak is, if you could only see
That's not the way it's supposed to be
Endless lies shine in your eyes
The lyrics of "Endless Lies" by Electric Light Orchestra appear to be about a toxic relationship that is going nowhere. The song describes a man who is leaving his partner, as he feels that she never really cared for him. Despite her promises to change, the same old cycles of lies and heartbreak continue endlessly. The singer urges his partner to take a step back and realize that this is not the way things are supposed to be. He offers comforting words that everything will be alright and that the world will go away. However, he also notes that he can see the endless lies in her eyes, and it's clear that she is unable to break out of the cycle of heartbreak.
One interpretation of the song could be about the frustration of being in a relationship that is going nowhere, but also the feeling of being trapped and unable to let go. The imagery of a merry-go-round suggests that the same patterns repeat themselves over and over, with no end in sight. Yet, there is a sense of hope in the music, with the mention of pretty music and silver stars shining over the sea. The singer seems to be holding out for a better future, even as he walks away from his partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Bye bye, pretty woman
I have to say goodbye to you, my beautiful woman.
I've got to leave you now
I must go now and go away from you.
I find you never really cared
I realize that you never really loved me.
Stand back, take a look at you
Take a step back and look at yourself.
You couldn't care if you wanted to
You are not capable of caring even if you wanted to.
You keep saying it's gonna change
You repeatedly state that things will change.
But every time it comes back again
But every time things return to the same state.
It's a merry-go-round
Life seems like a cycle of repeated events.
Endless lies shine in your eyes
I can see that you have told so many lies from your eyes.
It's alright, count to ten
Take a deep breath and count to ten.
It will all be better then
Things will look up then.
It's alright, the world will go away
It's alright, the world and its problems will disappear.
The heartbreak is, if you could only see
The sad part about it is, if only you could see.
That's not the way it's supposed to be
This is not how things are meant to happen.
Endless tears that flowed through the years
So many tears have been shed over the years.
You take it all, and then you take some more
You keep taking everything and then some more.
Then you come running back to me
Then you turn back and come running to me again.
Play on, pretty music
Continue to play beautiful music.
Play on and on for me
Continue to play for me endlessly.
Shine on, silver stars
Keep shining brightly, silver stars.
Over the sea
Above the vast sea.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sarah Kinsey
I would have loved to hear Roy Orbison sing this!
Sarah Kinsey
@Lindsay Emerson and yeah, he had a tragic life. He had at least one major heart surgery and I believe he died of a broken heart
Sarah Kinsey
@Lindsay Emerson I love the Wilburys too. Such a good blend of fantastic artists
Lindsay Emerson
I didn’t know about Roy’s wife and sons 😭😭 my favorite band is Traveling Willburys and I had no idea that happened.
Lindsay Emerson
Ooooo good one! There was nothing like his voice and I don’t think there will ever be. My boys love him.
Tuffy Badass
One of their best. It should've been the album closer. That last song 'Send It' that comes after it is such a clinker.
Gage Crooks
His power and range in this song 😳
Stephan Alexander
0:39 is so cool.
Steve Pila
Steffan Pila
An Homage to the late, great Freddie Mercury with the operatic vocals courtesy of Mr. Jeff Lynne himself. Thank you!!!
Abby Sennett
Freddie Mercury died in 1991. This album was released five years before.