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
I first saw ELO at the Reading Festival in 1972. This was their first gig after the departure on Roy Wood. Roy was also on the bill with his new band Wizzard. At the time ELO were an intriguing mix of prog/psychedlia, orchestral/classical music and rock n roll. The only song I really knew was 10358 overture, which I loved at the time. I then saw them a few times at gigs in the North East. I remember one gig as part of the Harvestmobile tour, where they shared the bill with Babe Ruth and Spontaneous Combustion at Sunderland Top Rank. I also have a vague memory of seeing them play on the same bill as Status Quo in the same venue, but can’t be certain of that. ELO gigged a lot in the early 70s and started to build up a strong following. 
The set was drawn from their first album with a cover of two included. I recall them playing a great version of The Beatles Day Tripper, Jeff Lynne showing his obvious Beatles influences. I also remember Hall of the Mountain King as a stage favourite at the time. The encore would always be Roll Over Beethoven. I first was ELO at Newcastle City Hall in 1972. The gig was not particularly well attended as I recall, but the band impressed the crowd. By the time I saw them again at the City Hall in 1976, ELO had hit the charts on a few more occasions and were on the verge of greater success. By this time they also had a few albums under their belt, the programme of the time promotes the Face The Music album. 
Support came from fellow Brummies, The Steve Gibbons, who I have blogged on separately. I recall this as being a great gig, by then ELO had built up a strong set. A favourite of mine at the time was Do Ya, partly because I remembered it as the B side of The Move’s California Man. This was the last time I saw ELO; I didn’t go to any of their mega concerts with the spaceship, although one of mates did, and was hugely impressed. Whether we will ever see Jeff Lynne take ELO out on the road again, who knows. I for one would be in the queue to see them, if he ever does. Setlist from 1976: Fire on High; Poker; Nightrider; Ocean Breakup / King of the Universe; Oh No Not Susan; Bluebird Is Dead; New World Rising / Ocean Breakup Reprise; Showdown; Eldorado Overture; Can’t Get It Out of My Head; Poor Boy (The Greenwood); Illusions in G Major; Eldorado; Eldorado Finale; Violin Solo; Strange Magic; 10538 Overture / Do Ya; Evil Woman; Ma-Ma-Ma Belle. Encore: Roll Over Beethoven
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