Jeff Lynne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Lynne
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Lynne in 2014
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Jeffrey Lynne
30 December 1947 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
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| Years active | 1963–present |
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Rosemary Adams
(m. 1972; div. 1977)Sandi Kapelson
(m. 1979; div. 2017)Camelia Kath
(m. 2017) |
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Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is a famous English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder and main member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). ELO started in 1970, and Jeff Lynne has written all of their songs since 1972. Some of ELO's big hits include "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", and "Mr. Blue Sky".
Jeff Lynne has also had a successful solo career. He released two albums: Armchair Theatre (1990) and Long Wave (2012). He has received many awards for his music. In 2014, he got a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. The next year, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also won three Ivor Novello Awards for his amazing contributions to British music. In 2017, ELO, with Jeff Lynne, was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was honored as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Jeff Lynne was born in Birmingham, England. He loved music from a young age and was greatly inspired by the Beatles. He started his music journey in 1963. He joined several bands before forming ELO. After ELO first broke up in 1986, he started producing music for many other artists. He even helped form the supergroup Traveling Wilburys in 1988 with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. He also helped finish some John Lennon songs for the Beatles' Anthology project. In 2014, he brought ELO back together, now called "Jeff Lynne's ELO", and they started touring again.
Contents
Jeff Lynne's Early Life and Music Start
Jeff Lynne was born in Erdington, Birmingham, England. He grew up nearby in Shard End. He went to Alderlea Boys' Secondary School. He still has his Brummie accent from Birmingham. His dad bought him his first guitar, an acoustic one, for just £2. He was still playing that same guitar in 2012.
In 1963, Jeff formed a group called the Andicaps. They practiced at the Shard End Community Centre. They performed every week. In 1964, Jeff left the Andicaps to join another local band called "the Chads".
Around 1965, he got his first studio recording machine. It was a Bang & Olufsen tape recorder. This machine let him record different parts of a song separately. He said it "taught me how to be a producer." In 1966, Jeff joined a band called the Nightriders as a guitarist. He saw an advertisement in the Birmingham Evening Mail.
The Nightriders soon changed their name to the Idle Race. They made two albums that critics really liked. Jeff even produced their second album. But they did not become very famous. In 1970, Jeff's friend Roy Wood asked him to join his more successful band, the Move. Jeff said yes.
The Move and Creating ELO
Jeff Lynne wrote many songs for the Move's last two albums. At the same time, he was planning a new band with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan. Their idea was to mix rock music with classical music. This new project became the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The first plan was for both bands to exist at the same time. But Bev Bevan later said that Jeff Lynne was not very interested in the Move. He said, "The only reason Jeff Lynne ever joined the Move was to form a new band."
ELO's first album came out in December 1971. Jeff and Roy Wood contributed a lot to it. It included the band's first single, "10538 Overture". Roy Wood left ELO in 1972. This left Jeff Lynne as the main creative force for the band. After that, ELO released many popular albums. These included ELO 2 and On the Third Day (both 1973). Then came Eldorado (1974) and Face the Music (1975).
By the album A New World Record (1976), Jeff Lynne had created a unique pop-rock sound. It had studio strings, many layers of vocals, and catchy pop songs. Jeff Lynne was the producer, songwriter, arranger, lead singer, and guitarist. This made ELO seem almost like a solo project. But other members like Louis Clark, Richard Tandy, and Bev Bevan also helped shape the ELO sound. Richard Tandy's keyboards, like the piano and Moog, gave the songs a symphonic sound. Bassist Kelly Groucutt's voice also mixed with Jeff's to create the classic ELO vocal sound.
ELO's biggest success was the double album Out of the Blue (1977). Jeff Lynne wrote most of it in a Swiss chalet. The band's 1978 world tour had a cool "space ship" stage and laser light show. To play their complex songs live, they used pre-recorded backing tracks. This is common now, but it was new then. Jeff Lynne often said he liked working in the studio more than touring.
After Out of the Blue, ELO released Discovery (1979). This album was number one in the UK for five weeks. It is known for its two disco-style songs: "Shine a Little Love" and "Last Train to London". But it also had other pop-rock songs, like the rock anthem "Don't Bring Me Down". Jeff Lynne said he liked the "force of disco" and the "steady driving beat."
In 1980, Jeff Lynne wrote five songs for the movie soundtrack Xanadu. This soundtrack had three Top 20 hits for ELO. These included "I'm Alive" and "All Over The World". The title song "Xanadu" featured Olivia Newton-John singing with ELO. It reached number one in the UK.
Jeff Lynne then took the band in a new direction with the science-fiction album Time (1981). It was number one in the UK for two weeks. This album used a lot of synthesizers. After a tour, Jeff continued this style with Secret Messages (1983) and Balance of Power (1986). By 1986, Jeff Lynne had lost interest in ELO and decided to break up the group.
Working with Music Legends
After ELO broke up in 1986, Jeff Lynne started producing music for many other artists. His music style changed to be more simple and acoustic. He often used a special guitar sound and a unique drum sound.
Collaborations with The Beatles
During the 1980s and 1990s, Jeff Lynne worked with former members of the Beatles. The Beatles had a huge influence on Jeff Lynne. He loved their music since their first album in 1963.
In 1968, while with The Idle Race, Jeff met The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios. He saw them making their White Album. He later said being in the same room with them "caused me not to sleep for, like, three days." The original goal of ELO was to continue "where the Beatles had left off." John Lennon even called ELO the "sons of the Beatles" on a radio station.
Jeff Lynne worked very closely with George Harrison in the late 1980s. This friendship led to Harrison appearing at a charity concert in 1986. Jeff also appeared with Harrison at Prince's Trust in 1987. Critics often compared ELO to The Beatles. Jeff Lynne said being compared to The Beatles was the "ultimate compliment."
In 1987, Jeff Lynne produced George Harrison's album Cloud Nine. This album was a big comeback for Harrison. It had hit songs like "Got My Mind Set on You" and "When We Was Fab". Jeff Lynne co-wrote some of these songs.
Traveling Wilburys Supergroup
Jeff Lynne's work with George Harrison led to the creation of the Traveling Wilburys in 1988. This was a "supergroup" that included Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison. They released two albums, Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. Both were produced by Harrison and Lynne.
In 1988, Jeff also worked on Roy Orbison's album Mystery Girl. He co-wrote and produced Orbison's last big hit, "You Got It". In 1989, Jeff Lynne co-produced Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty. This album had hit songs like "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down". Both Full Moon Fever and Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 were nominated for Grammy Awards. The Traveling Wilburys won a Grammy for "Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal" that year.
In 1990, Jeff Lynne released his first solo album, Armchair Theatre. George Harrison and Richard Tandy played on it. The album had singles like "Every Little Thing". In 1991, Jeff worked with Tom Petty again. He co-wrote and produced the album Into the Great Wide Open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This album featured the hit songs "Learning to Fly" and "Into the Great Wide Open".
Working with The Beatles Again
In 1994, Jeff Lynne worked with the three remaining Beatles. This was for Anthology album series. George Harrison asked Jeff to help with John Lennon's old song demos. They used technology to add the other Beatles' parts to Lennon's demos. This created new "reunion" songs like "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". He also worked on the song "Now and Then", which was finished in 2023. Jeff Lynne also produced records for Ringo Starr and worked on Paul McCartney's album Flaming Pie.
In 1996, Jeff Lynne received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Contributions to British Music" for the second time.
ELO's Return and Recent Work
In 2000, Jeff Lynne brought ELO back. He released a collection of songs called Flashback. It had many new, unreleased songs. The next year, in 2001, Jeff released the first new ELO album in fifteen years, Zoom. This album had guest appearances by Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and Richard Tandy. Jeff played most of the instruments and sang the vocals himself. The album got good reviews, but it did not have any hit singles.
In 2001, Jeff Lynne started working with George Harrison on his last album, Brainwashed. After Harrison passed away in 2001, Jeff returned to the studio in 2002 to help finish the album. Jeff was also very involved in the memorial Concert for George in London in 2002. He sang lead vocals on several songs. In 2006, Jeff reunited with Tom Petty to produce his album Highway Companion.
In 2012, Jeff Lynne released his second solo album, a covers album called Long Wave. On the same day, he released a collection of re-recorded ELO songs called Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra. In 2013, Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy performed together as "Jeff Lynne and Friends". They played "Livin' Thing" and "Mr. Blue Sky" at a charity concert in London.
In 2014, Jeff Lynne performed George Harrison's "Something" at a Grammy event. He also performed "Hey Bulldog" with Dave Grohl. On 5 March 2014, Jeff Lynne received an honorary doctorate degree from Birmingham City University. He also said he was working with Bryan Adams on new music. On 14 September 2014, Jeff Lynne and his band, now called Jeff Lynne's ELO, played a public concert for the first time in over 25 years. They headlined a festival in Hyde Park, London. Jeff Lynne called it "easily the best concert I've ever been involved with."
On 8 February 2015, Jeff Lynne performed at the Grammy Awards with Ed Sheeran. They played "Evil Woman" and "Mr. Blue Sky". In September 2015, Jeff Lynne announced a new ELO album called Alone in the Universe. It was released on 13 November 2015. This was the first new ELO music in 14 years. It was followed by promotional shows, including the first ELO shows in the United States in 30 years. Jeff Lynne's ELO also played concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with a full orchestra and fireworks.
On 24 June 2017, Jeff Lynne performed at Wembley Stadium for 60,000 people. The concert was released on DVD and CD as Wembley or Bust. In 2018 and 2019, Jeff Lynne's ELO went on tours in North America and Europe. On 26 September 2019, Jeff Lynne's ELO announced a new album, From Out of Nowhere. It was released on 1 November 2019 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
In March 2024, Jeff Lynne's ELO announced their final tour of North America, called the Over And Out Tour. Richard Tandy, a long-time ELO member, passed away in May 2024. Jeff Lynne remembered him as "a remarkable musician and friend." In late 2024, the band announced five extra shows in the United Kingdom for the following summer. In December 2024, Jeff Lynne received an award from Spotify. It celebrated 1 billion streams of ELO's biggest hit, "Mr. Blue Sky".
Jeff Lynne's Personal Life
Jeff Lynne was married to Rosemary Adams from 1972 to 1977. Then he married Sandi Kapelson in 1979. They have two daughters. After divorcing Sandi, Jeff married Camelia Kath in 2017.
Despite his success, Jeff Lynne has said he does not like the typical rock star lifestyle. He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was "shy" and preferred working 14 hours a day in the studio. He said, "Everything else was peripheral to me." He added, "Rock stars are different. They dress all flashy and hang out in nightclubs. That just wasn't my priority."
Jeff Lynne was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2020 for his services to music. He is also a fan of Birmingham City F.C., a football club.
Awards and Special Honors
- 2009: Golden Note Award from the ASCAP
- 2013: Nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2014: Received a Star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars
- 2014: Awarded an Honorary doctorate degree from Birmingham City University
- 2015: Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 2015: Nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2016: Nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2017: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Electric Light Orchestra
- 2018: Nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- 2019: ASCAP Founders Award from the ASCAP
- 2023: Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Images for kids
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ELO performing in 1986 (Lynne and Tandy pictured)
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See also
In Spanish: Jeff Lynne para niños
