ELO SO SERIOUS 1985 - 1986

Fifteen years on from their formation in 1970 and with a string of critically acclaimed albums including worldwide platinum-sales smashes 'A New World Record', 'Out Of The Blue', 'Discovery', and 'Time', plus twenty-eight hit singles in the UK alone, the Electric Light Orchestra were enjoying a career as one of the UK's greatest and most successful ever bands.

Yet instead of a follow up to 1983's Top 5 'Secret Messages' album, the press were inexplicably announcing ELO's new LP had been postponed. Despite extensive recording sessions at Compass Point Studios in Nassau and unbeknownst to fans, ELO leader, songwriter and producer Jeff Lynne had become frustrated with the direction of his band (now down to a three-piece including Richard Tandy and Bev Bevan) and the restrictions ELO's orchestral format was imposing on his songwriting.

Jeff Lynne: "The last album we had out we didn't tour with and I didn't know what sort of direction to go in musically, because I'd been throwing all these great big thirty-piece orchestras on records at the time. It took me three years to really think "maybe I don't wanna do that anymore" because the last album and the one before that I was getting tired of strings and I'd record them all and gradually pull them down lower and lower in the mix till they'd gone. And I thought "that sounds better. I can hear something now. I can hear some music. And that prompted me not to do anything for a while and just think about it."

Preview extract taken from Balance Of Power' sleeve notes by Rob Caiger.

Photos from top:
Bev Bevan, Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy braving terrible weather at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, 1985...
Jeff Lynne during Epic Records promotional photo shoot for Balance Of Power album launch, 1986