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.
Letter from Spain
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw your photograph
You look good in the movie
It must be so much fun
Letter from Spain
From someone I once knew
I got a letter this morning
Your writing is so very strange
I guess it always was that way
Letter from Spain
From someone I once knew
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song "Letter From Spain" tell a story of someone who received a letter from an old acquaintance who is now in Spain. The singer reads the newspaper and sees their photo, feeling nostalgic as they remember how much fun they had once. The letter then arrives, and the singer can't help but notice how strange the writing is, as if suggesting that time has passed and things have changed. However, the fact that they received a letter from someone they once knew shows that there is still a connection, despite the distance and time.
The song is an exploration of the bittersweet feelings of nostalgia and longing for the past, as well as the realization that time stops for no one. It speaks to the universal human experience of looking back fondly on memories while also acknowledging that they cannot be recaptured.
Line by Line Meaning
I read the papers this morning
I perused the paper today
I saw your photograph
I caught your picture in view
You look good in the movie
You appear great in the film
It must be so much fun
It must be quite enjoyable
Letter from Spain
Correspondence from Spain
From someone I once knew
From a person I used to know
I got a letter this morning
I received a missive this morn
Postmark said it was from Spain
The stamp confirmed it came from Spain
Your writing is so very strange
Your penmanship is quite peculiar
I guess it always was that way
I suppose it always had been
Letter from Spain
Correspondence from Spain
From someone I once knew
From a person I used to know
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jonni IInferno
I read the papers this morning
I saw your photograph
You look good in the movie
It must be so much fun
Letter from Spain
From someone I once knew
.
I got a letter this morning
Postmark said it was from Spain
Your writing is so very strange
I guess it always was that way
Letter from Spain
From someone I once knew
Ben Aqua
This song is an otherworldly gift to the universe
Ken Gibson
And, that is what the universe deserves. :)
Alexander The Great
In my opinion, this is one of Electric Light Orchestra's best tracks to come out of their 1980's music catalog.
Ben Aqua
Agreed
Ken Gibson
Agreed!!!
Ken Gibson
You are correct.
gdg1963
Very ambient song. One of my favourite Pop songs.
Katherine Ledesma
Estupendo El trabajo! Senor Sir Jeff Lynne!
Slide
ELO's saddest song, really causes you to feel lots of emotion despite the short length.
Snsn Shhhs
IMO, ELO’s saddest song is Kuiama. It evokes so much tragedy and sorrow.