The 1970s and 80s group that brought classical influences to rock and pop in songs like “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Evil Woman” will play their final gig in London next summer, organizers said on Monday. Jeff Lynne’s ELO will close the BST Hyde Park series that has seen Kylie Minogue, Morgan Wallen, and Stevie Wonder, among others, headline since it started in 2013.
The band will perform on Sunday, July 13, finishing their ‘Over and Out’ tour. The announcement comes after the British rockers completed a run of US dates that saw them bid a fond farewell to fans. The finale is set to be a jubilant celebration of a career that has taken them to the top of the global charts with symphonic rock anthems like ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down.’
Founded in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan, the original ELO lineup underwent multiple changes before breaking up in 1986. The group reformed as Jeff Lynne’s ELO in 2014, with Lynne and keyboardist Richard Tandy (who died earlier this year) the only remaining members from its original incarnation.
Tandy’s death prompted the British rocker to decide it was time to call time on the group once and for all. The BST Hyde Park event will mark the end of a remarkable musical journey that started in Birmingham and led to worldwide fame and success for the band.
The group’s audacious dream of fusing classical orchestration with rock n’ roll approached near perfection with this 1976 release. Lynne’s pounding piano riffs and heroic guitar flourishes perfectly complement the swirling violins and moaning cellos surrounding them on tracks that are both sensual and angelic in feel. From the aural opulence of “Shangri-La” to the operatic heights of “Rockaria!” it’s hard not to be swept up in the majesty of this album.
This futuristic-sounding track is one of Lynne’s most enduring compositions, featuring a rousing chorus covered by Bon Jovi, Elton John, and Cher. The song has also been mistaken for an anti-abortion anthem, but the truth is that it was inspired by a about of food poisoning experienced by singer Patti Quatro. The song was originally a hit in the UK and the United States, reaching number two in the latter country.