ELO'S NEXT TWO ALBUMS ARE HERE!...ELO 1977 - 1978

A Jeff Lynne masterpiece and one of the finest albums ever recorded, 'Out Of The Blue' began life in a Swiss chalet overlooking the picturesque village of Bassins in the mist and rain of the Jura Mountains. Immediately after ELO's 'A New World Record Tour' ended in April 1977, Lynne left for Switzerland determined to compose enough new material for a double album. The singer-songwriter and producer had elevated ELO to global superstardom with the release of 'A New World Record' during 1976 and expectations of their record company, critics and ELO's millions of fans were higher than ever.

Jeff Lynne: "I rented this little chalet in Switzerland, in the mountains just beyond Lake Geneva. I rented this gear from a little shop in a village, a little music shop, with a Revox tape recorder, an electric piano - I had my guitar there - and just sat there to try and write. For two weeks, I came up with nothing - and I only had four weeks to write this double album! I was sort of thinking, 'bloody 'ell, maybe I can't come up with anything'. The weather had been really bad and then one day I got up and it was fantastic, the sun was brilliant and shining, all the mountains were lit up and this mist had gone away. It was gorgeous and I came up with 'Mr. Blue Sky'. I just kept coming up with songs then, y'know? They just came real quick and I came up with about fourteen in the two weeks after the first empty two weeks."

In perfect surroundings and with the sun shining in the sky, Lynne wrote constantly, creating song after song and recording demos. After working through orchestral and choral arrangements with Richard Tandy and conductor Louis Clark and following rehearsals with band members, recording sessions were scheduled at Musicland Studios with Mack, their trusted sound engineer. Lynne and Tandy, together with Bev Bevan and Kelly Groucutt entered the studio on May 22 1977 ready to record a double album…

Preview extract taken from 'Out of the Blue' sleeve notes by Rob Caiger.

Photos from top:
Jeff Lynne live on Midnight Special, 1977
Jeff Lynne performing live, Out Of The Blue Tour, Australia, 1978
Musicland Studios control room / ELO during promo video shoot for Wild West Hero, 1978