My Brummie pal is convinced that ELO are to the 70s what The Beatles were to the 80s and so it was time to test that comparison at the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond.
For starters, what a show. For over two hours the six musicians played their hearts out in front of a packed and appreciative audience as the hits came along, one after another.
It is now many decades since both 10cc and ELO were topping the charts, but in terms of numbers they were both phenomenally successful. ELO amassed 27 Top 40 singles hits and 10cc weren’t far behind.
Formed in 1970 in Birmingham by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan, ELO were at the peak of their powers in the 70s with ‘Out of the Blue’ their most commercially successful album.
They were certainly ground-breaking as there had never really been a successful band which had fused pop with classical music, alongside a tinge of futuristic iconography. The results were remarkable and the hits just kept coming, from ‘Livin’ Thing’ to ‘Telephone Line,’ ‘Sweet Talking Woman’ to ‘Wild West Hero.’
10cclo played them all, although ‘Evil Woman’ mysteriously did not get an airing. The band were outstanding and unlike some tribute acts, they actually looked as though they enjoyed it as much as the audience.
Manchester-based 10cc were also formed in the early 70s with Kevin Godley and Lol Crème’s songwriting topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The singles ‘Rubber Bullets,’ ‘I’m Not in Love’ and ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ all went to No1 in the UK and their music was both arty and cinematic.
10cclo did a terrific version of ‘I’m Not in Love’ as part of the finale, which was topped off by ‘Mr Blue Sky.’ They ended with Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven,’ which was certainly pertinent as Berry recorded it in 1956 in response to his sister Lucy hogging the family piano in order to play classical music, as opposed to Chuck’s desire for pop.
So is my Brummie mate right? That’s for you all to decide, but in terms of a musical legacy, ELO are right up there with the greats. They were creative, innovative, very much original and in Jeff Lynne they had one of the leading songwriters of any generation.
10cclo did that legacy proud. I’d highly recommend.
