For a few lucky people – people like – dreams really do come true. As a teenager growing up in Birmingham in the early 60s, Lynne, like so many other aspiring musicians, worshipped . But unlike so many other dreamers, Lynne not only made it as a rock star but also ended up working with The Beatles themselves.
As co-producer of two long-lost Beatles songs, and , released in the mid-90s on their Anthology series, Lynne made a boyhood fantasy real. Lynne has enjoyed a lengthy, varied and hugely successful career spanning five decades. His first big break came in 1970 when he joined friend Roy Wood in , rated by Paul Stanley of as one of the great British pop rock groups.
But it with his next venture, the Electric Light Orchestra, in which Wood also briefly collaborated, that Lynne truly found his voice. As that arch, punning name indicated, ELO fused electric rock and pop with classical influences, creating a sound that was truly unique. Their classic line-up had Lynne backed by six musicians, including a violinist and two cellists – which, in 1977, was somewhat out of step with the rising tide of punk rock.
But Jeff Lynne’s grand vision extended far beyond punk’s narrow parameters. In their pomp – and in ELO’s case, there really is no other word for it – they sold over 50 million albums in 11 years and performed on stage beneath a giant ‘spaceship’. It couldn’t last, of course.
By 1986, with sales dwindling, Lynne disbanded ELO to work as a producer for , .