….the adventures of a 16 year-old schoolboy and two musicians who found their own way and their own voice.
Today’s studio blog is about CTS/De Lane Lea/The Music Centre Wembley.
The band who wanted to pick up where The Beatles left off…
by 29 Comments
As usual and ever, lovely writing. But shouldn’t it be entitled “Group trying to emulate Beatles but failing in the most catastrophic failure in the history of pop”?
Other opinions are available but they are all Wrong.
No, Lodestone, it shouldn’t. At no point does it say ‘trying to emulate The Beatles.’ Roy’s vision was the use of strings on Beatles songs had gone under the radar and he wanted to have a band which incorporated those sounds – nothing more. Beatles’ fans complete hatred of ELO and, by association, Jeff, makes me laugh. Mention Jeff’s name on any Beatles FB page and the place goes nuts.
Not really a Beatles “fan” (apart from accepting they are “the best band ever” whilst adding ” that I never play today”) but if I ever ask Shazam “What is this puerile piece of juvenile jizz?” it inevitably responds “ELO”.
IMWYHO, of course.
And let me repeat, I’ve admired your writing throughout this series and marvel at your forensic research.
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With you on this @niallb – ELO contributed greatly to the world of pop and Jeff Lynne was snd is widely revered by fellow musicians. Most Beatles fan sites are ridiculously sycophantic towards the band and dismissive of anyone else who may be considered a threat to their legendary status. Mostly not worth reading. There are other bands around.
Jeff’s ‘crime’ to Beatles fans is that they brought him in to work on Anthology, the bastard. Then gets the same crap from Tom Petty fans who claim that he just made Tom sound like ELO. Ditto the stuff with Roy Orbison, The Wilburys, etc.
What these people all forget is that the artists deliberately brought Jeff in because they wanted ‘that sound.’ Itās as if the fans give their artist no credit for the decision at all.
Ah, the Travelling Wilburys..no, I can’t say anything more, I may well self-combust.
Artists, as we know, are not always the best judge of their own work.
Also having Jeff was a requirement for George to take part in the Threetles. So he had to be involved to keep the show on the road.
I think I’ve said too much. Apols.
Travelling Wilburys debut album superb – hope that doesnāt make you self combust.
Well, I’m no particular ELO fan, but Full Moon Fever is my fave Tom Petty album. So he was doing something right.
At the time I had no idea who was involved in Full Moon Fever. In the immortal words I thought “What is this shit? What have they done to Tom?”
I’m still thinking Jamie T is shoo-in for Album of 22. There’s a chance I’m Wrong.
I love these reports. Fascinating research and great writing every time from Niall. My particular highlight this week comes about halfway through the section about Chas & Dave. “Eventually the pair settled on the name Chas and Dave….” Cor Blimey! Luvaduck!! Would you Adam & Eve it!!! etc etc
Thanks, @Vince-Black. I loved the research for this one, partly because I had so much ammunition about the studio and partly because I love all three bands. And, yes, they must have spent hours in the pub ‘choosing the name.’
Who will save the world? The mighty Klaatu – a lot of gullible yanks actually thought they were the Fab Four
“Because I was that 16 year old schoolboy.”
Wow! That must have been quite a moment…
It was. I hung around after the gig and finally plucked up the courage to tell a roadie that I was the person who did the petition and was there any chance of speaking to Andy. He went backstage and never came back.
I told Andy the story when he was selling his book, (by @ColinH of this parish) and he had no memory of it but thought it was brilliant. He even made reference to it when he signed my copy.
Another mammoth episode. One dull correction though, sorry:
“as well as the tele-cine rooms that allowed film to be projected into TV cameras and linked to the other studios for scoring.”
A telecine is a bit like a giant reel-to-reel tape machine, which turns 16mm/35mm film into video signals for recording to tape* and/or displaying on a video screen. The most basic telecine is a film projector with a TV camera pointing at the screen, but there’s a lot more to it than that. I once worked for the Rank organisation designing a 2K telecine, which was used for special effects in a James Bond film (I’m not in the credits, sadly).
Anyhow, “as well as the tele-cine rooms that allowed film to be shown on TV screens and linked to the other studios for scoring” would be more factually correct.
Sorry, I am very dull.
I came across this which may be of interest
https://www.villagepreservation.org/2013/08/26/happy-birthday-electric-lady-studios/
Thanks @davebigpicture. In my dreams, London is two books, the rest of the U.K is book 3 and America is book 4/5 š. Just need a publisher to fund it all!
I was going to ask if there were any studios outside of London you looked forward to writing about (The Manor, Rockfield, Sawmills etc). I guess we’ll have to wait for the book!
I hardly think Rockfield is undocumented.
Cargo on t’other hand…..
There are so many ‘out of London’ gems to look at. Rockfield is fairly well documented but it holds a library-full of untold stories from the ’70’s. Strawberry, north and south? Black Barn, Surrey Sound, Jacobs and Ridge Farm in Surrey? Parr Street in Liverpool? I could go on………..
The Rolling Stones mobile could tell some tales, too, I’ll wager.
*gets out box of old BASF green C90s, finds the ELO In Concert recording, inserts cassette, presses play*
Thinks, oh my god I’d forgotten how amazing this is. Looks around. Is it time for me pills?
One cannot help thinking that Beatlesband knocked it on the head for a good reason and at pretty much the right time. The thing had run it’s course and could only deteriorate if persisted with.
It may have been Jeff, Bev and Roy’s intention to carry the thing on with ELO, but that’s not how it turned out.