A boxed set of 7-inch singles of the first hits from ELO, Electric Light Orchestra – The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978, will be released Sept. 21. The announcement was made today (July 24) by Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.
The collection presents ELO’s early output of hits and b-sides as originally experienced by the band’s fans in their native U.K. The set features 15 7-inch singles plus 1978’s The ELO EP, each fully recreated from their original releases more than four decades ago. The release precedes their 2018 U.K. concert dates.
All of the music on The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978 was remastered from the analog source tapes while each of the 16 7″ vinyl discs in the collection features detailed reproductions of the original sleeves and labels from the 1970s. Pre-order is available here.
Nine of these singles–including “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Evil Woman,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Telephone Line” and “Mr. Blue Sky”–reached the Top 10 of the British charts. (See the complete listing below.)
Formed in Birmingham, England in 1970, ELO was, per the announcement: “designed to create progressive modern pop music combining classical and rock elements wrapped in futurist iconography.” Jeff Lynne has been ELO’s driving force, writing virtually all of the group’s original material while arranging and producing their albums.
Related: The inside story of the Electric Light Orchestra
From the announcement: “From 1972 through 1986, ELO racked up more combined U.K. and U.S. Top 40 hits than any other band while selling more than 50 million records worldwide. During the same period, ELO scored twenty Top 20s on the U.K. Singles Chart (and fifteen Top 20s on the U.S. Hot 100).”
ELO was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017.
A new concert documentary, Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Wembley or Bust, will make its U.S. television premiere on Showtime this Friday, July 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. A celebration of ELO’s enduring and ongoing musical legacy, director Paul Dugdale documents Lynne’s ELO performance at London’s famed Wembley Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 fans in 2017.
On August 3, Legacy Recordings will release, for the first time ever on 12″ vinyl, Secret Messages, Electric Light Orchestra’s tenth studio album, first issued on CD in 1983. This 35th Anniversary Edition, available as a 2-LP, 150-gram vinyl set, presents Jeff Lynne’s “eclectic creation” as “originally conceived” with six previously unreleased tracks “all with cutting-edge synthesizers as well as up-front guitar mastery” finally restored.
Electric Light Orchestra The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978
Disc 1: 10538 Overture b/w First Movement (Jumping Biz)* (1972 – U.K. No. 9)
Disc 2: Roll Over Beethoven** b/w Queen Of The Hours (1973 – U.K. No. 6)
Disc 3: Showdown b/w In Old England Town (Instrumental) (1973 – U.K. No. 12)
Disc 4: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle b/w Oh No Not Susan (1974 – U.K. No. 22)
Disc 5: Can’t Get It Out Of My Head b/w Illusions In G Major (1974)
Disc 6: Evil Woman b/w 10538 Overture (live) (1974 – U.K. No. 10)
Disc 7: Nightrider b/w Daybreaker (live)(1976)
Disc 8: Strange Magic b/w Showdown (live) (1976 – U.K. No. 38)
Disc 9: Livin’ Thing b/w Fire On High (1976 – U.K. No. 4)
Disc 10: Rockaria! b/w Poker (1976 – U.K. No. 9)
Disc 11: Telephone Line b/w Poor Boy (The Greenwood) / King Of The Universe (1977 – U.K. No. 8)
Disc 12: Turn To Stone b/w Mister Kingdom (1977 – U.K. No. 18)
Disc 13: Mr. Blue Sky b/w One Summer Dream (1978 – U.K. No. 6)
Disc 14: Wild West Hero b/w Eldorado (1978 – U.K. No. 6)
Disc 15: Sweet Talkin’ Woman b/w Bluebird Is Dead (1978 – U.K. No. 6)
Disc 16: The ELO EP: Can’t Get It Out Of My Head / Strange Magic b/w Ma-Ma-Ma Belle / Evil Woman (1978 – U.K. No. 34)
All songs written by Jeff Lynne except:
*”First Movement (Jumping Biz)” written by Roy Wood
**”Roll Over Beethoven” written by Chuck Berry
Jeff Lynne’s ELO 2018 Tour Dates (Tickets are available here and here)
Aug 02 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
Aug 04 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
Aug 05 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
Aug 08 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Aug 10 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Aug 13 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Aug 15 – Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
Aug 16 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Aug 18 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Aug 21 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Aug 22 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Aug 24 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sep 12 – Stockholm – Ericsson Globe Arena
Sep 14 – Oslo – Spektrum Arena
Sep 16 – Copenhagen – Royal Arena
Sep 18 – Hamburg – Barclaycard Arena
Sep 19 – Berlin – Mercedes-Benz Arena
Sep 21 – Munich – Olympiahalle
Sep 23 – Vienna – Stadhalle
Sep 25 – Mannheim – SAP Arena
Sep 27 – Amsterdam – Ziggo Dome
Sep 30 – Nottingham – Motorpoint Arena
Oct 03 – Glasgow – SSE Hydro Arena
Oct 05 – Manchester – Manchester Arena
Oct 06 – Manchester – Manchester Arena
Oct 09 – Newcastle – Metro Radio Arena
Oct 10 – Birmingham – Birmingham Arena
Oct 12 – Birmingham – Birmingham Arena
Oct 13 – Birmingham – Birmingham Arena
Oct 15 – Leeds – First Direct Arena
Oct 17 – London – O2 Arena
Oct 18 – London – O2 Arena
Oct 20 – London – O2 Arena
Oct 21 – London – O2 Arena
Oct 23 – Liverpool -Echo Arena
Oct 25 – Dublin – 3Arena
Oct 26 – Belfast – The SSE Arena
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