Electric Light Orchestra Will Say ‘Over and Out’ with Farewell Tour

Jeff Lynne is saying goodbye to the road with his brand of the Electric Light Orchestra, only a decade after relaunching and just a handful of years after returning to the States. Jeff Lynne’s ELO will begin a trek dubbed “Over and Out” in late August, with more than a dozen shows across America.

Known as one of the most iconic forces in music history, Jeff Lynne brought the Electric Light Orchestra name back in 2014 and to the U.S. in 2018 for the first time in more than 35 years. Though the runs were somewhat brief, fans got the chance to see Lynne rip through orchestral rock pop classics like “Livin’ Thing,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Shine a Little Love” and “Turn to Stone.”

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Formed in Birmingham, England in 1970, Electric Light Orchestra saw Beatles obsessive Lynne turn sugary sweet pop numbers into layered, near classical compositions without losing the radio appeal, even when delving into the more conceptual end of the musical pool. Though the peak of worldwide success for the group began in the ‘70s with LPs like 1974’s Eldorado and the 1979 UK chart-topper Discovery, ELO somehow survived soundtracking the 1980 flop film Xanadu by rebounding with Time the following year.

Things began to fall apart with Secret Messages in 1983, and as the decade wore on, Lynne became more focused on production work for the likes of George Harrison, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. ELO came to an end for all intents and purposes in 1986, and Lynne linked up with Harrison, Orbison, Petty and Bob Dylan in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. He also co-produced two new Beatles songs in the mid-90s, “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.”

Lynne revived ELO in 2001, with keyboardist Richard Tandy the only other classic lineup member, and was met with a collective shoulder shrug. A new album, Zoom, tanked gloriously, while a scheduled 25-date arena tour of the United States was scuttled due to abysmal ticket sales. Simply put, the timing wasn’t right.

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Thirteen years later, in 2014, things had changed significantly. Going by the moniker “Jeff Lynne’s ELO,” with Tandy again on board, there was a full-on revival as songs by the band appeared in such blockbuster movies as American Hustle and Guardians of the Galaxy. The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and released two well-received studio albums of new material with Alone in the Universe in 2015 and From Out of Nowhere in 2019.   

Once again, and for the final time, Lynne and Tandy are the sole familiar faces of ELO in 2024, but with the former always the leader of the outfit, this is one of those cases where the bandmembers who should be there are. General on sale for tickets start this Friday, March 22, at 10:00 a.m. There are also tiered VIP packages available.

A version of this article appears in this week’s print and online editions of my syndicated Rock Music Menu column under the title “Electric Light Orchestra to say ‘Over and Out’ with farewell tour.“