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.
In Old England Town
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rising gaily to the top
Keep on rising babe, you know you got a long drop
You better cling 'cos it's the done thing
Down, down at the Policeman's ball
They're all dancing in a line
Keep on gruntin' boys, you know you're doin' fine
Down, down at the Military, yeah
They're all marching round and round, oh
Keep them boots shined and that stiff upper lip down, yeah
Ablution revolution
Down, down at the launching pad
Giant phallus stands erect
Ten thousand tons of waste throb then eject
Look out space, we're gonna change our place
Down, down in old England town
There was air and now there's smoke
Let's build more cars and drive away before we choke
Suddenly it's always night time
Down, down at that nice Trade Fair
All the money gone astray
Let's inflate this price and float away
Just you and me and everyone
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's "In Old England Town" bring to mind a dizzying image of people moving up and down in various settings, while societal norms and pressures are hinted at. The first stanza seems to describe a scene where people are climbing higher and higher, risking a long fall. The line "you better cling 'cos it's the done thing" suggests that the climb is not voluntary but rather a societal expectation. This seems to be further confirmed in the next stanza, where the "Policeman's ball" is described as having everyone "dancing in a line" and "grunting". There is a sense of confinement in this stanza, with the line "come quickly, I've been strangled" hinting at a sense of suffocation or oppression.
The third stanza describes the military, where soldiers are marching round and round, their "boots shined" and "stiff upper lip down". Here, conformity and discipline are emphasized, with the phrase "ablution revolution" possibly referring to a sanitizing or regimented cleansing of soldiers. The fourth stanza brings in the idea of space travel, with a "giant phallus" representing a rocket that is preparing to launch. This stanza hints at the potential for change and transformation, but the line "look out space, we're gonna change our place" could also suggest a destructive recklessness.
The fifth and final stanza describes pollution in old England town, and the need to escape before it's too late. The line "let's build more cars and drive away before we choke" emphasizes the sense of urgency and the need to find a way out, even if it means contributing to the problem. The final line, "just you and me and everyone" seems to suggest that everyone is in this together, even if it means taking some questionable actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Down, down, you can see them all
People are always trying to get ahead, but they might eventually fall
Rising gaily to the top
They're going up and enjoying the ride
Keep on rising babe, you know you got a long drop
Be careful because the higher you climb, the harder you'll fall
You better cling 'cos it's the done thing
Hold on tight because that's what everyone else is doing
Down, down at the Policeman's ball
Everyone's following the rules at the party
They're all dancing in a line
They're all following the same steps
Keep on gruntin' boys, you know you're doin' fine
Keep working hard, it'll pay off
Come quickly, I've been strangled
Something's gone wrong and help is needed
Down, down at the Military, yeah
They're training hard at the military
They're all marching round and round, oh
They're following orders and practicing drills
Keep them boots shined and that stiff upper lip down, yeah
Keep everything looking perfect, even when it's tough
Ablution revolution
A call for change in the way things are done
Down, down at the launching pad
They're getting ready to blast off into space
Giant phallus stands erect
The rocket is huge and standing tall
Ten thousand tons of waste throb then eject
There's a lot of waste that needs to be expelled
Look out space, we're gonna change our place
We're exploring new frontiers and changing our perspective
Down, down in old England town
Things are changing in England
There was air and now there's smoke
The environment is being polluted
Let's build more cars and drive away before we choke
Let's keep doing what we're doing and ignore the consequences
Suddenly it's always night time
Things have gotten darker and more pessimistic
Down, down at that nice Trade Fair
The fair seems like a good opportunity
All the money gone astray
Something has gone wrong with the finances
Let's inflate this price and float away
Let's raise the value and move on
Just you and me and everyone
We're all in this together
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Cochran
on State of Mind
An overlooked album which more people should listen to
Rodney
on Rockaria!
Weit in die Ferne , man hört, man hört die Musik
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A nice ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A lovely ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Wild West Hero
An absolutely beautiful song.
Philip Kassabian
on Last Train to London
Never heard this ELO song before.
Philip Kassabian
on All Over the World
An ELO song that surprisingly few people know about. To me this rivals Mr. Blue Sky.
Philip Kassabian
on Ticket to the Moon
A song about a person being utterly confused in a difficult situation. He can't even fathom the journey he's about to take to the moon. It's surreal to him.
Philip Kassabian
on Strange Magic
A very mysterious and awe inspiring song. Definitely one of ELO's better songs.
Philip Kassabian
on Livin' Thing
It's a great song and to me it symbolizes the meaning of loss and how absolutely devastating it can be for a person.