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Post by tightrope on May 1, 2016 16:38:55 GMT
Now,now, you know that's not true.... I think it is. 95% of the fans are casuals that want to hear Mr. Blue Sky. 3% know more than five songs. 2% are nerds like us who can name other members than Jeff. Thousands of fans singing every word at concerts would disagree.
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Post by spike on May 1, 2016 17:49:34 GMT
I think it is. 95% of the fans are casuals that want to hear Mr. Blue Sky. 3% know more than five songs. 2% are nerds like us who can name other members than Jeff. Thousands of fans singing every word at concerts would disagree.
I had a guy near me at Newcastle that not only sang every word, but got up in the aisle during Tightrope and moondanced through to Roll Over Beethoven
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Post by jackpunch on May 1, 2016 23:36:44 GMT
Might have been me !
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Post by erchie on May 2, 2016 14:30:44 GMT
Thousands of fans singing every word at concerts would disagree. I was very surprised to hear lots of people around me sing along to Wild West Hero in Birmingham. It was only topped by Livin' Thing and Mr. Blue Sky.
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Post by Timeblue on Jun 14, 2016 22:05:24 GMT
I'm not usually one to be so forward, but Jeff must surely know that fans - both hardcore and casual - wouldn't need to spend an eternity searching online to disprove the amount of time he claims not to have spoken with "Bevan," which I definitely see as a knock on his former colleague. Even if they didn't exchange a single word after going their separate ways in 1986, there's still the months of negotiations that had to be settled before Part II came into existence, plus it's believed they have at least spoken over the phone since Bev gave up his 50% share in ELO. I don't recall Bev ever saying anything immediately hostile about Jeff in recent years, though he's been quite vocal when it comes to stating a few regrets. First of all, he said that he preferred being in The Move, and feels they should have made greater efforts to crack America before focusing all of their collective energy into ELO, as this meant losing a lot of the momentum they'd worked hard to build up. The one thing that has changed is Bev's gone back on his vow to never play another ELO song again, though I believe that was a comment made around the time he'd just left Part II under circumstances that saw pretty much everyone in that group fall out with him (apart from Phil Bates, as they later reunited on stage). Despite the noble and completely unexpected gesture of Bev congratulating Jeff on Alone In The Universe, the fact remains that ELO remains whoever its sole leader chooses to include, and for now that appears to be almost entirely Mr. Blue Sky himself in the studio, with Richard Tandy on stage plus a revolving door of session musicians who are undeniably talented yet never permanent fixtures. Although he was invited to make a credited appearance on the Time Tour and subsequent Secret Messages sessions, even returning for the handful of shows in 1986, it seems as if Jeff was reluctant to announce Dave Morgan as a permanent member of ELO. On the other hand, he went on to produce a song for Dave and then had him participate in the choir for several Armchair Theatre tracks, so it's not as if there was a snubbing taking place due to Jeff already having one eye beyond ELO. My guess is that Jeff's simply afraid to make such major commitments because of what happened with Kelly, whose death he didn't openly acknowledge. Like it or not, Jeff owes his old colleagues nothing, yet it's equally noble that he continues to call on Richard, both as a nod to his own past and to give fans another familiar face up there with him. As for the subject of Bev as a musician, let's not forget that The Move came to exist because of Ace Kefford and Trevor Burton poaching who they felt were the best talents from some of the biggest groups around the Brum Beat scene. They clearly saw potential in Bev, and I doubt he was offered equal partnership in ELO as a result of there being no other drummers available. Sure, he later called Looking On ponderous, notoriously refused to be involved with recording The Battle Of Marston Moor then enraged Roy Wood by reforming The Move in his absence by using the argument he too was recruited and therefore didn't need asking for permission, but why did Black Sabbath turn to him in their own hour of need? There are few examples of Bev's true capabilities on the later ELO material especially, but to dismiss him outright is unfair. In a live capacity, he's always been a powerhouse, and for a while he even had to adjust his stick grip due to a serious wrist injury without compromising his speed or thunderous sound. Beyond his role behind the drums, Bev was just as much a public figure in ELO as Kelly, and I certainly won't deny him for helping to allow countless fans a chance at experiencing Jeff's work long after its creator had decided to focus on mostly producing other artists. No, I'm not usually one to be so forward, but in my opinion, Bev's place in history is sealed! This ..... We all know that Jeff is/was the driving and creative force behind the band,but at what point in time did this actually start? In the beginning there was Jeff,Roy and Bev all as equal partners so was it when Roy left that Jeff thought to take full control? Bev held his share until 1986 or thereabouts but Jeff was always seen as the sole man behind the band with the other musicians throughout the years regarded as 'workers' for him.
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Post by ShardEnder on Jun 15, 2016 18:29:00 GMT
Bev held his share until 1986 or thereabouts My understanding is that Bev retained his 50% share all the way up to when he left Part II, which is why that group was legally forced to adopt The Orchestra as its new name, plus it meant there could be no resistance to Jeff putting out Zoom as an ELO album rather than as a solo follow-up to Armchair Theatre (for much of the 1990s, it was still listed on upcoming release tables as simply the second title under his contract with Reprise). I'm hoping to cover this particular aspect more in my upcoming book, but I've also learned that Jeff negotiated early on to ensure he earned a cut from Part II's concerts. With their setlists being so heavy on the classic era material, I can't blame him for pushing to get performing royalties - especially as he wasn't doing much back then apart from approving the appearances of his songs in movies or commercials and presumably generating the majority of his revenue from all the greatest hits type compilations that were starting to be issued during this period!
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Post by wolvesgirlgonewild on Sept 5, 2016 16:14:07 GMT
Hi, so I've joined the discussion a bit late but it is something that I have always been interested in knowing is why have Jeff and Bev not spoken for 30 years or so.
Of course I don't think we'll ever get the true reason from either Jeff or Bev as to why they're not speaking because it is their business but of course we are curious. I do think it's an awful shame they don't speak because they had been friends for so long and going by the fact that Bev was one of the only constant members of ELO up to 1986 of course, demonstrates to me he obviously thought Bev was a good drummer and was the right man for the job. From what I gathered when I think it was the Birmingham Hall of Fame or some other Birmingham related event not so long ago is that Roy Wood and Jeff have made up which is great despite them falling out musically and personally and Roy was the man who gave Jeff a big break by joining The Move in 1970.
I do get the impression also that Bev did do Jeff's bidding a lot in ELO, similar really to John and Paul exploiting George and Ringo to do their songs and not be bothered about George and Ringo's songs when it came down to it. What does confuse me though is that again mentioning The Birmingham Hall of Fame, Jeff seems to be friends with Jasper Carrott who of course is Bev's best mate (think they've known each other for at least 60 years or so?) but not Bev? Surely things can be forgiven after 30 odd years? It was nice of Bev also to praise Alone in the Universe because to me that shows he's not bitter towards Jeff and admires him musically. It is sad that Bev has said he regrets being in ELO and knowing how shy Jeff is not only on stage but in interviews, I gathered Bev was the one who spoke to the audience in between songs and spoke to the press and that. I hope he still doesn't think this because he did some cracking drumming in many ELO songs.
I just really hope they don't end up like John and Paul who never fully reconciled before John's death and Paul regretting this. To quote a very famous Beatles song "Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend." and you never know what's round the corner and before you know it could be too late to become friends again.
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Post by wolvesgirlgonewild on Sept 5, 2016 18:32:09 GMT
Chippa That is very true, they hung it roughly 1975? But I don't think even then, they had fully reconciled. Although of course John did reference Paul's song Coming Up helping him get back into music again. Just hope they do eventually talk!
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Post by unomusette on Sept 5, 2016 20:08:31 GMT
I hadn't considered the Jasper Carrott angle, it must be difficult for him being close to both Jeff and Bev but I supppose he's doing it right because both of them continue to be his friends.
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Post by wolvesgirlgonewild on Sept 5, 2016 20:11:47 GMT
I hadn't considered the Jasper Carrott angle, it must be difficult for him being close to both Jeff and Bev but I supppose he's doing it right because both of them continue to be his friends. I mean from a personal perspective, I've got two best friends who I get the impression don't really like each other but tolerate each other because they're best friends with me. Maybe Jeff and Bev think poor Jasper would be stuck in the middle if they both started squabbling amongst themselves? I know I'd hate it!
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Post by queenofthehours on Sept 7, 2016 18:28:45 GMT
And Jeff produced Jasper's 'Funky Moped' single too -
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Post by lawrev on Feb 12, 2024 19:12:33 GMT
Stumbled upon this thread while researching something else on the internet. I didn't contribute to this thread and wasn't even a forum member at the time.
I wonder if there has been any change in their relationship since this thread? No evidence that they have been speaking to each other. Any thoughts from anyone else?
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Post by Timeblue on Feb 12, 2024 20:52:08 GMT
Stumbled upon this thread while researching something else on the internet. I didn't contribute to this thread and wasn't even a forum member at the time. I wonder if there has been any change in their relationship since this thread? No evidence that they have been speaking to each other. Any thoughts from anyone else? I thought I read somewhere that they HAVE met (not sure where and when) but nothing came of it.
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Post by lawrev on Feb 12, 2024 22:01:16 GMT
Stumbled upon this thread while researching something else on the internet. I didn't contribute to this thread and wasn't even a forum member at the time. I wonder if there has been any change in their relationship since this thread? No evidence that they have been speaking to each other. Any thoughts from anyone else? I thought I read somewhere that they HAVE met (not sure where and when) but nothing came of it. Well, we do know it wasn't at ELO's induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
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Post by Chippa on Feb 13, 2024 1:38:19 GMT
Stumbled upon this thread while researching something else on the internet. I didn't contribute to this thread and wasn't even a forum member at the time. I wonder if there has been any change in their relationship since this thread? No evidence that they have been speaking to each other. Any thoughts from anyone else? There was some talk from a mutual friend of theirs that Jeff and Bev spoke on Bev's birthday a couple of years back.
But being honest, its none of our business. If they're friendly, so be it. if not, it's fine. Life goes on. They're two guys in their late 70's , living the home stretch of life the way they want. I'm sure some hardcore fans are clamoring for a one off reunion, but I won't lose sleep if it happens or not. I've just never been one of those people obsessed with the personal relationships of the band members.
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