This was one of the last concerts I attended before my accident and I am finally getting to report on it. I went along with my mate Norm and we were both looking forward to seeing (a new version of) the Electric Light Orchestra again. I’ve seen the ELO many times before, from the very early days when there were a spin-off band from the Move, initially set up by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. But I hadn’t seen them since the 1970s, as I recall, and to be honest this was something I thought I would never see again. But Jeff Lynne had decided to come out of retirement, reform the band and delight fans all over the world (to quote one of their songs).
They started their set with “Tightrope”, followed by one of my favourites “Evil Woman”. And then the hits started flowing. Jeff Lynne had assembled a band of excellent musicians who supported him in playing faultless versions of all their songs. Pure magic. “Telephone Line”, “Turn to Stone”, “Sweet Talking Woman” and many others. They even took us right back to “10538 Overture”, 
which transported me back to seeing them play it at the Reading Festival in 1972; such happy days and happy memories. They closed with “Mr Blue Sky”, another favourite of mine. The encore was (as it always had been, even back in the old days) “Roll over Beethoven”, their unique semi-orchestral version of Chuck Berry’s rock ‘n’ roll classic. The crowd were ecstatic; a night of nostalgia, happy memories, great fun and great music.
Setlist: Tightrope; Evil Woman; Showdown; All Over the World; When I Was a Boy; Livin’ Thing; Ain’t It a Drag; Can’t Get It Out of My Head; Rockaria!; 10538 Overture; Secret Messages; Steppin’ Out; Shine a Little Love; Wild West Hero; Telephone Line; Turn to Stone; Don’t Bring Me Down; Sweet Talkin’ Woman; Mr. Blue Sky. Encore: Roll Over Beethoven
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