Electric Light Orchestra are an English symphonic rock band which formed in… Read Full Bio ↴Electric Light Orchestra are an English symphonic rock band which formed in Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1970. The band was formed by Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, multiple instruments), Roy Wood (multiple instruments, vocals), Richard Tandy (keyboards, vocals) and Bev Bevan (drums). Lynne, Wood and Bevan were former members of the psychedelic rock band The Move. The band's lineup would fluctuate throughout its original incarnation, although Lynne, Tandy and Bevan would remain constant members.

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.

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Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics

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When I was a boy, I had a dream
All about the things I'd like to be
Soon as I was in my bed
Music played inside my head
When I was a boy, I had a dream

When I was a boy, I learned to play
Far into the night and drift away

Don't want to work on the milk or the bread
Just want to play my guitar instead
When I was a boy, I had a dream

And radio waves kept me company
In those beautiful days when there was no money
When I was a boy, I had a dream

When I was a boy, I had a dream
Finding out what life could really mean
Don't want a job 'cause it drives me crazy
Just wanna sing, do you love me, baby?
When I was a boy, I had a dream

And radio waves kept me company
In those beautiful days when there was no money
When I was a boy, I had a dream

When I was a boy

Overall Meaning

, Electric Light Orchestra's song is a nostalgic look back at the dreams and aspirations of childhood. The opening lines set the scene, as the songwriter reflects on the dreams he had as a boy, envisioning all the things he would like to become. He then goes on to describe the important role music played in his life from a young age. Even when he was lying in bed at night, he could hear music playing in his head. This early connection to music is something that he carried with him throughout his life.

The second verse describes how the songwriter learned to play music when he was young, staying up late into the night to practice and get lost in the music. He goes on to say that he never wanted to do anything else, never wanted to work a regular job, but always wanted to play his guitar instead. Music was his ultimate passion, and he pursued it with all his heart.

The final verse finds the songwriter reflecting on the power of music to provide comfort and companionship. Even when times were tough and money was scarce, radio waves could always be counted on to provide entertainment and distraction. And through it all, the songwriter clung to his dream of making music and finding out what life could really mean. These lyrics are a poignant reminder of the power of music to inspire and transform us, no matter where we come from.

Line by Line Meaning

When I was a boy, I had a dream
In my youth, I had aspirations and hopes for my future

All about the things I'd like to be
I had clear goals and ambitions for my life

Soon as I was in my bed
As soon as I laid down to sleep

Music played inside my head
Tunes and melodies would fill my thoughts and imagination