The band continued to tour Germany and the UK in 1992 with Louis Clark playing keyboards to duplicate the strings of the absent orchestra. In 1993, Pete Haycock and Neil Lockwood left the band, and were replaced by guitarist/vocalist Phil Bates, who had been in the band Trickster which were the opening act for ELO's 1978 world tour. An ambitious world tour was undertaken by ELO Part Two in 1993, including dates in the USA and Eastern Europe.
Now a six-piece band with a slightly altered name, Electric Light Orchestra Part II recorded a second studio album, Moment Of Truth, which was released in 1994. The album was not a commercial success, but was generally considered superior to their first album. The band continued its rigorous tour schedule over the following years, sometimes augmenting the core band with a backing orchestra. On these occasions, they took only a small number of string players on the road and added local musicians to the orchestra at each venue to cut down costs. This was one of the features that distinguished ELO Part II from ELO, as the original band never played live with orchestral accompaniment. Another live album with orchestral backing was recorded in Sydney, Australia in 1995 and was released the following year in Germany as a double album One Night, and the year after that in the USA as a single album One Night - Live In Australia. The band sold the master tapes of this album, and it has since been remixed, remastered, and re-released under so many guises that the original CD may prove difficult to acquire.
Bates remained with the band until 1998 and was replaced by Parthenon Huxley (guitar, vocals). As the decade progressed, the percentage of original material in the band's set list tended to decrease, and their concerts often consisted of 90 per cent ELO songs. Bevan started to get frustrated, especially with their inability to break through in the United States, where the band sometimes performed in bars or at festivals where they were not the centre of attention. In November 1999, Bevan played his last show with the band at the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City.
Unlike the original ELO, which were under the creative control of writer/producer Lynne, ELO Part II were often portrayed as more of a democracy, with various band members sharing songwriting and lead vocals. But Bev Bevan was still the leader of the band, and he issued a press release in early 2000 indicating that ELO Part II were disbanded.
Honest Men
Electric Light Orchestra Part II Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From Burning Hellfire
Does anybody know,
Where did all the heroes go?
We've had our fill of
This gallery of scoundrels,
The leaders of the world,
Those power hungry liars
Rise up and sound the sirens,
Send out the searching powers,
All we need is a few good men
Send the S.O.S. and red alerts
All across the universe
Calling your honest men?
S.O.S. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse.
Where's your honest men?
In some village, far away,
Or in a little town pub.
High on a mountain top
There must be an honest man
Calling all honest men
Throw out the tyrants,
The aged fat cats
Outlived their usefulness
They have led us to this mess
Make them answer,
Hold them to their promises,
And throw them in the street
If they won't tell the truth
S.O.S. and red alert
All across the universe,
Calling all honest men
S.O.S. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse,
Where's your honest men?
To your stations,
Man the ramparts,
The barricades
We need new heroes urgently
We need a few good honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
Call to him
He lives next door,
Across the street
On the upper floor.
It's our only hope we need him now
Send the S.O.S. and red alert,
All across the universe,
Calling all honest men
S.O.S. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse,
Where's your honest men
Strike a blow,
Save the ship,
We need a few good honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
Calling all honest men
S.O.S. across the universe
Where's your honest
We need your honest
Calling all honest men
Calling out all over the world,
Where's your honest men
Looking out all over the world,
We need your honest men
The lyrics of "Honest Men" by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) Part II express a call for action and the need for honest and trustworthy leaders. The song refers to the "gallery of scoundrels" and "power hungry liars" who have led the world to a state of emergency, leaving people asking "Where did all the heroes go?" The lyrics suggest that the solution lies in searching for, and calling on, "honest men" who can be found anywhere and at any level of society.
The song also encourages people to rise up and demand change, holding those in positions of power accountable for their promises and actions. The lyrics call for the removal of "tyrants" and "aged fat cats" who have outlived their usefulness, and for new heroes to emerge and man the barricades. The overall message is a call for action and a reminder that each individual has the power to effect change and that the search for honest and trustworthy leaders needs to be ongoing.
Line by Line Meaning
We're just a stone's throw
From Burning Hellfire
We are very close to chaos and destruction
Does anybody know,
Where did all the heroes go?
We are in a time of crisis and we are in dire need of people to look up to and inspire us
We've had our fill of
This gallery of scoundrels,
The leaders of the world,
Those power hungry liars
We are tired of leaders who are corrupt and only care about themselves and their own interests
Rise up and sound the sirens,
Send out the searching powers,
All we need is a few good men
Send the S.O.S. and red alerts
All across the universe
Calling your honest men?
We need people to step up and take action to find and bring in honest leaders who will make things better
S.O.S. emergency,
Sinking fast and getting worse.
The situation is dire and getting worse quickly
Where's your honest men?
In some village, far away,
Or in a little town pub.
High on a mountain top
There must be an honest man
Calling all honest men
We need people from all walks of life, from all over the world, to come forward and be leaders
Throw out the tyrants,
The aged fat cats
Outlived their usefulness
They have led us to this mess
We need to get rid of leaders who are only in it for themselves and their own benefit and have led us to a state of turmoil
Make them answer,
Hold them to their promises,
And throw them in the street
If they won't tell the truth
Current leaders must be held accountable for their actions and the promises they made, and if they refuse to be honest, they should be ousted
To your stations,
Man the ramparts,
The barricades
We need new heroes urgently
We need to prepare for the fight ahead to bring new, honest leaders to power
Strike a blow,
Save the ship,
We need a few good honest men
Calling all honest men
We need brave souls to fight for the greater good and salvage what is left of our current state
Call to him
He lives next door,
Across the street
On the upper floor.
It's our only hope we need him now
We need to identify and call upon those who have integrity and the potential to lead us in the right direction
S.O.S. across the universe
Where's your honest
We need your honest
Calling all honest men
We need brave and honest heroes to step up and help save us from the dire state we are in
Calling out all over the world,
Where's your honest men
Looking out all over the world,
We need your honest men
We need people from all over the world to answer the call and join us in our quest to find honest and trustworthy leaders
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ERIC LEE TROYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gregtestagent
Just need to force Lynne and these guys into a recording studio and lock it up until they come out with a new album.
@stevemecrani9202
Fantastic album. I think it was their best since 'Out of the Blue' and I believe the fans loved the return to the classic sound of ELO.
@charlesowers541
Underrated song, underrated band.
@nightisright1873
Original Elo was understated this version was mediocre and tacky .The orchestras no rewind was amazing out of the blue good
@SwiftNimblefoot
ELO underrated? Pretty sure they are really well known.
@ofenblase3713
@@SwiftNimblefoot I think that Charles means ELO Part 2.
@troyedwin3607
Thank-you Kelly, Bev, Mik, Louis and the rest in the band.
@michaelkriegsman9226
F'ing brilliant. So lush, so BIG.
@gdm2492
Great song, totally underrated
@ZlatkoKuzmanovski
Pure ELO sound, up to the edge of the Universe