Jeff Lynne Turns 77! Here Are 7 Things You Didn’t Know About the Electric Light Orchestra Mastermind
Jeff Lynne, the rock ‘n’ roll mastermind behind Electric Light Orchesta and a member of supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, was born 77 years ago today, on Dec. 30, 1947. But today isn’t just a good time to celebrate Lynne because it’s his birthday — 2025 will also mark the official end of ELO on tour. After spending much of 2024 trekking across North America for the Over And Out tour, Jeff Lynne’s ELO will play a goodbye concert in London’s Hyde Park on July 13, 2025.
So as we prepare for the saucer to land one final time in 2025, let’s look back at Lynne and his bands — as well as a personal remembrance of the Over and Out tour.
The Over and Out tour: how was it in person?
Karen Ruud
As a lifelong fan, I was finally able to catch them in Nashville on the Over and Out tour, and they did not disappoint! Kicking off with “One More Time” and “Evil Woman,” the band kept rolling through the hits all night long like the disco track “Last Train to London,” the rock opera track “Rockaria,” and of course the classics like “Don’t Bring Me Down.” They ended with “Mr. Blue Sky.”
And the show wasn’t just a treat for the ears — it had all the eye-candy graphics and lights one would expect to go with the band’s tunes. In between songs, Lynne was not a man of many words. I had been hoping that since we were in Nashville, he would speak a bit about some of the greats he has worked with over his long career. But he was humbled and subdued and extremely grateful to the fans, often giving a thumbs up with a big smile to the sold out crowd.
1ELO had mega hits … but never hit #1
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
ELO was formed in 1970 by Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan and Roy Wood in Birmingham UK. One of the first progressive rock bands with a pop and orchestral twist, ELO released 11 studio albums and had numerous iconic hits like “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Evil Woman,” Telephone Line,” “Livin’ Thing” and many more — in fact, they’ve had six Billboard Top 10 hits, and have sold over 50 million albums worldwide. But somehow, despite that, they never had a number one song in the US. In the UK, they only had one — 1980’s “Xanadu,” a duet with Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Speaking of Xanadu …
2Lynne helped create the Xanadu soundtrack
While the movie is widely considered a dud (unless you are a cult fanatic for it like me), the soundtrack more than makes up for it. In addition to the hit song “Xanadu,” sung by Olivia, the soundtrack includes the ELO songs “All Over the World,” “Don’t Walk Away,” “I’m Alive,” and “The Fall,” as well as “Drum Dreams,” which is not on the soundtrack album.
Like the film, the soundtrack didn’t come easy. Lynne has said in the past he felt it was part of what led to the demise of the band, and told Rolling Stone, “I wrote half the songs, though I’ve never seen the thing … It was supposed to be really bad. I don’t think I’ll ever see the movie after reading the reviews.” Be it as it may, it is still a massive cult favorite adored by many.
3The band had a nasty breakup (and split into two different ELOs)
Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Though the band had high highs, by the early ’80s, Lynne was done and wanted to move on. The band officially split in 1986, leading Bev Bevan to form a band called ELO Part 2, since he could not legally use the ELO name without Lynne. Bevan was joined in the band by Louis Clark, who was ELO’s orchestral conductor and also played synthesizers.
In 2014, Lynne began performing ELO songs live again, under the name Jeff Lynne’s ELO. But before that, in the late ’80s …
4He Was a Traveling Wilbury
Perhaps the super-est supergroup of all time, the Traveling Wilburys were dreamed up by Lynne and George Harrison while the pair worked on recording Harrison’s album Cloud Nine in 1987. The following year, the two joined forces with Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, and recorded the roots rock track “Handle with Care.”
Originally recorded as a B-side for Harrison’s single, it was decided that the finished product was too good for a one-off, and so the band recorded a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. Harrison dreamed up the premise that the band was a group of traveling musicians who were all half-brothers — hence the name. Each band member had an alias (Lynne was “Otis Wilbury”), though the band members made no secret of their real identities.
Orbison died in late 1988; the band released a second album without him in 1990, then disbanded. Dylan and Lynne are currently the two surviving Wilburys.
5He married Kiefer Sutherland’s ex
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Lynne has been married to his third wife, actress Camelia Kath, since 2017, after getting engaged to her in 2008. Prior to settling down with Lynne, Kath was married to actor Kiefer Sutherland, with whom she has one daughter.
6He wasn’t a stereotypical rockstar
Michael Putland/Getty Images
Though he was one of the hugest rockers of the ’70s, there are no tales of Lynne engaging in Led Zeppelin-style wild rock star behavior. Having always been shy, Lynne preferred to spend his time in the studio, rather than pitching TVs out of hotel room windows.
In fact, Lynne loves working in the studio so much, he recently told Mojo that his retirement from touring isn’t a retirement from music — rather, it will actually give him more time to focus on his greatest passion. “This is not a farewell to music,” he said. “I am excited to return to the studio full-time, which is what I love!”
7He was a major fan of the Beatles (& the feeling was mutual)
Photo by FG/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
The Beatles inspired Lynne to become a musician in the first place — in fact, in 1968, before he was in ELO, Lynne got to drop by Abbey Road Studios while the band was working on The White Album, an experience so exciting, he said it “caused me not to sleep for, like, three days.”
With ELO, Lynne wanted to create a Beatles for the ’70s generation — a goal that Lynne was quite successful at, as John Lennon referred to ELO as “sons of the Beatles” in regards to their 1973 single “Showdown.”
In the ’80s, Lynne worked closely with ex-Beatle Harrison, producing his 1987 album Cloud Nine and playing alongside him in the Traveling Wilburys.
Remind
Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
February 2024
"Long live rock," we like to say, but how did it come to life? Revisit the memorable moments, music and movies that made teens go beat crazy back in the 1950s.
Buy This Issue