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Post by Timeblue on Aug 9, 2014 22:03:39 GMT
After 'Here Is The News' only four videos/promos were ever made to promote the subsequent releases,why was there a lack of promotion when ELO were still a major draw worldwide?
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Post by ShardEnder on Aug 10, 2014 13:14:58 GMT
I've often found myself trying to imagine what the promotional clips might have been like for some of the later singles that never had any, such as Four Little Diamonds, Stranger and Getting To The Point. My guess as to why only two videos were shot for the Secret Messages tracks is because of Kelly's departure, though the Balance Of Power era was a different matter entirely - I suspect that Jeff simply couldn't be bothered doing more than just the bare minimum required of him by then when it came to anything concerning ELO. Had they not been dropped from the album, I can picture Beatles Forever and an edited version of Hello My Old Friend having truly epic clips made for them, along with Danger Ahead.
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Post by sundown on Aug 29, 2014 11:49:39 GMT
Sales started to drop and less money in the kitty to make videos. If Four Little Diamonds or any of the other singles had hit the top ten there would have been a demand by MTV and others for videos ...just my guess.
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Post by ShardEnder on Aug 29, 2014 22:41:32 GMT
As I've said before, I often try to picture what else could have been done in a visual context with Jeff's music from that era. Four Little Diamonds would have been a great song to play over some animation, or perhaps Stranger could tell a story about Jeff revisiting Birmingham and not recognising parts of his home town following a lengthy absence, maybe using elements of the Secret Messages cover? Whatever the case, I'm sure he'd have insisted on a few "naughty bits" making their way in there. After all (no pun intended), Secret Messages shows a nebula similar to the one in that promotional poster, plus he sang Rock 'N' Roll Is King on a stage featuring a pentagram!
I think the lack of further promotional videos in 1983 was more due to Jeff already moving on from ELO and only wanting to give the required bare minimum - don't forget that Secret Messages in its original form would have been enough to fulfil his contractual obligations, allowing him to leave the increasingly restrictive group format behind for good. By slicing his planned final statement under the band's name in half, Jet must surely have annoyed him, and I can imagine his decision not to go on the road in favour of recording for the Electric Dreams soundtrack was an opportunity to blow off a little steam.
Video! was a recycling of Wisseloord sessions outtake Beatles Forever, while Let It Run was perhaps the final example of the short-lived new wave inspired early '80s sound he'd later describe in an interview as push button music that left him feeling more like a secretary as opposed to a musician. I've said this before, but Sooner Or Later really was a preview of things to come, serving as a precursor to what Balance Of Power would be like in terms of production. However, it was definitely more of a clue as to where Jeff's heart was really at... he'd already started moving in the less is more direction that really introduced itself with Armchair Theatre and the first Traveling Wilburys album.
By the time Jeff was finally ready to head back into a studio to complete what he already knew in his own mind would be ELO's swansong, a lot of his disillusionment had now crept into the lyrics, which were then significantly reworked along with quite a few instrumental ideas over the following months. Balance Of Power was often described as being Jeff on autopilot, though with the remaster's bonus tracks we can finally see that he put in just as much work as usual. The change was that he no longer had to continue on from this point, so it shouldn't have been so alarming when Jeff declined Bev's offer to go through the record-tour cycle again in '88, since he wasn't tied down to a contract by then.
Rewinding back to late '82, while I've never seen a confirmed shooting date, there is evidence to suggest that the clip for Rock 'N' Roll Is King was actually shot long before this song was issued as a single. On the other hand, based on the weather alone I'd say it's unlikely the Secret Messages footage could ever be dated to the same period, meaning that it was done much later. Then again, we know for certain from a visit to Wisseloord in October '82 that Kelly wasn't around then, or was he briefly allowed to return for the benefit of an early-to-mid '83 video during the ongoing lawsuit he started against Jeff?
One thing for sure is that I doubt promos for the likes of Stranger and Four Little Diamonds were high on Jeff's priority at the time, yet it's similarly bizarre how Getting To The Point also didn't have anything filmed for it, especially when you consider that the single then stiffed as a result of what is commonly attributed to an issue on the distributor's side of things. Perhaps the reality is that Jeff simply felt he'd done enough and wanted to move on already? The fact he was convinced to go on a brief tour is supposedly Bev's fault, as he was the one responsible for organising the Heart Beat '86 charity show that served as ELO's return to the stage.
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