Jeff Lynne's ELO reveals 2018 Tour dates

No they were the Fan club codes a few of my friend's used them.

 

See if this code will work:

BevBevan123

Just joking...

 

First of all, I'm grateful for your feedback - it's definitely not been interpreted as anything other than constructive, so don't worry about that.

One of the major differences between writing on here and in a book is that I won't have room for much personal opinion in printed form, though I didn't actually describe Jeff's current shows as being barely live. Instead, I'm simply referring to comments about his performances being lacking in the personal touch (not that I feel such a criticism is anything new, with much of the crowd interaction previously assigned to his former colleagues), which is an opinion I do somewhat agree with. Similarly, I felt there was something more exciting overall about the two Zoom Tour shows, including Jeff's perceived level of engagement. I've heard that he took the cancellation of further shows quite badly, spending the next few years unwilling to discuss even the possibility of playing live with ELO again, though he did make a few low-key appearances as a special guest to some of his friends. Indeed, it wasn't until Chris Evans began pushing ELO back into the public consciousness that the once unthinkable happened: the group was no longer seen as a guilty pleasure, and there was genuine demand for concerts.

Going back to my book, I can assure you that where facts may remain quite sketchy in spite of me conducting research over several months and even going as far as to check details several times over, I'll present the known information without any personal opinion getting in the way, allowing each individual reader to form their own conclusion. However, in most cases, it's not difficult to see where the likely truth was. To give one such example, even though we lack an official explanation, Secret Messages was shelved in its original 2LP form at the request of CBS, but it was ultimately due to the financial difficulties being experienced by Jet Records as opposed to their distributor. To help build a case for this, I've gone to considerable lengths documenting the collapse of Don Arden's empire and how it got to be in such a bad state, despite perhaps it's biggest success story being on top of the music world just a few years before.

I've not yet decided whether to give Jeff's post-1980s output any page space beyond a planned final chapter, similar to how I'll use the opening to guide newcomers through ELO's formation and all the way up to the release of Discovery, where the group faced a very different new decade to the one where it had enjoyed a meteoric rise. While it would be interesting to compare Jeff's present live setup and even the approach taken on the Zoom Tour to his 1981-2 or handful of '86 performances from a purely technical perspective, would it be fair to do this without bringing up complaints as well? At every point during this project, my intention has been to accurately describe what happened to the best of my ability and knowledge, where the more personal side of things is best left to open forums. I'd rather the readers form their own opinions of Jeff and the other members of ELO as people. Instead, I'll be concentrating on shedding fresh light on a little-covered period that I feel is deserving of wider attention, especially when there is so much from the era Jeff seems unlikely to want releasing.

 

S

 

Eh?

 

Yes, there are limits though!

 

Two bucket list items with one stone for me: ELO at MSG. Can't wait!

 

Just scored tix. Thought they might have sold out.

 

Got tickets for Philadelphia.

 

Jeff's version of ELO, let's put it that way. Not the band I grew up with for the Time Tour, or even the group during the final 1986 shows. Although, Richard Tandy is to join him on keyboards for this tour next year.

 

Jeff was never the really engaging type, even in the 70s and 80s. Now Bev Bevan and Kelly Groucutt - THEY were very engaging and friendly to the crowds. They were like that with ELO Part II and then The Orchestra after. Those two musicians love/loved playing live.

 

Those two shows for Zoom, in particular the Storytellers show, were a million miles removed from what Jeff's doing now. Those Zoom shows WERE excellent. No one could accuse that band of playing to backing tapes or phoning it in. THAT'S how I wish Jeff/ELO sounded now. A real band playing some great songs, and sounding like a BAND playing those songs. The very fact that we are discussing WHETHER the current ELO/Jeff shows are all live or not is 99% of the problem. If you could prove to me that it's all live, I'd say it's still still uninspired and too close the records.

A few years ago, when Jeff came out of the wilderness and started to make a few live appearances, it was at first pretty cool to see him performing again. But that didn't last long, in light of the "is it live?"types of performances. They might be 100% live, but honestly, I don't much care. They're still pretty dull.

I love ELO and Lynne as an artist, but unless he's going to do something more engaging live, I don't have much interest. (Either something like the 2001 shows or the Bungalow performances would suit me fine!)

 

Bev and Kelly have/had naturally friendly and engaging personalities. I met Kelly twice, as well as other former members of ELO, and they were all regular people. Look at Mik Kaminski playing with The Orchestra - he still loves playing that blue violin on stage! Obviously, changes in technology and Jeff having about twice as many musicians on stage now as opposed to 1978 are major differences too.

It is true that ELO's 65 shows in 78 days (or something like that) from 1976 -77 were back breaking. I recently saw an interview with Mel Gale (celloist) and he mentioned how hard it was to do those shows. I think that ELO's OOTB/Big Night Tour in 1978 was not as hard, though they did go to Australia and Japan for a few shows. The Time Tour was much smaller and after that Jeff really didn't conduct a proper U.S. tour until now - 37 years after the Time Tour.

 

Still looking forward to the show. Despite the negative comments above.

 

I saw the London Wembley show last June and have two tickets to the Los Angeles Forum show. I'm just really hoping that Jeff has an above average album out before then, something that will draw new people to the shows.

 

Trucks/Buses are already driving between LA and Texas. Seattle is a 1,600 mile side trip /tofrom Oakland

 

The Norwegian concert is sold out! 8000 seats!

 

And so you should. I saw the gig in Glasgow almost two years ago and loved it. Great band, great songs and a terrific stage show. I thought he came across as a genuine humble guy too.

 

You won't. Nothing like it in fact. Tight band, great stage show, fine vocals. I saw Brian two years ago and he was running on empty. Jeff is doing fine and brought a great show.

 

You're really making me excited for this show and it's still more than 8 mos. away.

 

Good to hear it! That's how it should be!

 

Well put! That's the way most concerts big the big acts were gauged during the original ELO's heyday. And since Jeff is Jeff, that is why Bev and Kelly were so critically important to their live performances. Jeff and Richard are not the most engaging on stage. So I'm not expecting Jeff to be any different now. And don't get me started on why Jeff turned down Knebworth in 1979! I know why he did it, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity - now gone for good.

 

Speaking of the upcoming ELO dates, I need to sell two pretty good tickets to Jeff Lynne's ELO show in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 4. PM me if interested.

 

I would not have guessed they would have been filling arenas multiple nights.