Electric Light Orchestra
![{{hlist|ELO performing live during their 1981 Time Tour.<br />From left: [[Jeff Lynne]], [[Louis Clark]] (obscured), [[Kelly Groucutt]], [[Bev Bevan]], and [[Richard Tandy]]}}](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/ELO_-_Time_Tour_81-82.jpg)
The group's name is a pun that references both electric light and "light orchestral music", a popular style featured in places such as the BBC Light Programme between the 1940s and 1960s. ELO was formed out of Lynne's and Wood's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical influences. It derived as an offshoot of Wood's previous band, the Move, of which Lynne and Bevan were also members. During the 1970s and 1980s, ELO released a string of top 10 albums and singles, including the band's most commercially successful album, the double album ''Out of the Blue'' (1977). Two ELO albums reached the top of the British charts: the disco-inspired ''Discovery'' (1979) and the science-fiction-themed concept album ''Time'' (1981). In 1986 Lynne lost interest in the band and disbanded the group. Bevan responded by forming his own band, ELO Part II, which later became The Orchestra. Apart from a brief reunion in the early 2000s, ELO remained largely inactive until 2014, when Lynne re-formed the band with Tandy as '''Jeff Lynne's ELO'''. Tandy died in May 2024.
During ELO's original 13-year period of active recording and touring, they sold over 50 million records worldwide. They collected 19 CRIA, 21 RIAA, and 38 BPI awards. From 1972 to 1986 ELO accumulated 27 Top 40 songs on the UK Singles Chart, and fifteen Top 20 songs on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The band also holds the record for having the most ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top 40 hits (20) without a number one.}} In 2017, four key members of ELO (Wood, Lynne, Bevan, and Tandy) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Provided by Wikipedia