News Jan 06 - June 06

23/06/2006 - The premiere of Giovanni's latest video 'Ticket To The Moon' was broadcast on German music channel Viva earlier tonight. A very nice cover of the E.L.O. song with the only change to the words at the start with "Remember the good old 1990's...."

18/06/2006 - E.L.O. featured heavily on BBC TV last night with both Jeff Lynne & E.L.O. name-checked in this weeks episode of Dr. Who and a few songs played during the show. BBC4 also had an 'E.L.O. Night' with the Live At Wembley 1978 concert aired for the first time with the new surround sound vocals. Bev Bevan featured during the 'History Of The Curly Perm' show, and the full promo video of 'Don't Bring Me Down' starting off the evening at 9pm.

12/06/2006 - BBC4 on Saturday June 17th will be an 'E.L.O. Night'!! From 9pm onwards, the channel will show 'E.L.O. Live at Wembley 1978', followed by 'The History Of The Curly Perm' and finally 'Rock Family Trees - The Birmingham Beat'.

12/06/2006 - E.L.O. performing 'Evil Woman' from January 1976 was shown on Top Of The Pops on BBC2 last night.

28/05/2006 - I have added my own review of The Orchestra's concert at Manchester Opera House on 21st May 2006.

28/05/2006 - With the E.L.O. remaster series currently on hold, a few single-sided 7" blue vinyl promo singles of 'Surrender' have surfaced on Ebay recently. This fantastic unreleased song will appear on the upcoming 'A New World Record' remaster.

28/05/2006 - The Orchestra featuring former members of Electric Light Orchestra Part 2 are currently touring the U.K. Reviews from all of the shows have been excellent with near sell-out audiences for all the concerts so far. As the tour progresses there should be more band merchandise available at venues including new copies of No Rewind, a pre-concert sampler cd featuring tracks from all members of the band and hopefully the Live in Reno dvd will also appear. More details at www.theorchestra.net. Photos from many of the U.K. gigs can be found on the official site and also at the ULS Fanzine website at www.ulsmag.co.uk.

28/05/2006 - Rockaria - The ELO Experience will be performing at Roscoes in Leeds on 25th May. Tickets are £7. Check out the bands' superb new website at www.elotribute.com.

23/04/2006 - Kelly Groucutt appeared on a recent episode of 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' on BBC2 in the line-up for 'guess who?'.

22/04/2006 - Rob Caiger of F.T.M. announced that Jeff's manager Craig Fruin says there is to be a delay in the release of the upcoming SonyBMG E.L.O. remaster series.

25/03/2006 - Phil Bates will be appearing live in a special concert at Tamworth's Castle Hotel in June. Full details below, where the concert is also expected to feature Phils wife Jo, Tina McBain and Martin Kelly.

Candlelit Cabaret
at the Castle Hotel, Lady Bank, Tamworth

Quality wining, dining and entertainment for the discerning audience
An evening with
FORMER ELO II STAR
AND CURRENT MEMBER OF BEV BEVAN’S MOVE

Phil Bates

Phil Bates

IN A FAMILY AFFAIR WITH GUEST ROSIE BATES
With Tina McBain & Martin Kelly

FRIDAY 30TH JUNE 2006

Tamworth’s finest musical export, Phil Bates now introduces the younger generation with his daughter Rosie joining him on stage at this special show. Phil is well known to Tamworth and brings his fantastic show back by public demand.

The Candlelit Cabaret, Castle Hotel, Ladybank Tamworth

Tickets £28.00 to include superb 4 course dinner

Doors Open 7:15 pm ~ Dinner Served 8:00 pm ~ Show Starts at 9:15

Tickets on sale at The Castle Hotel reception
Tourist Information Centre, Market Street, Tamworth
or book online www.candlelitcabaret.com
Credit cards accepted at all outlets
Telephone Reservations: 01827 317700 Information: 07908 695543

22/03/2006 - Former saxophonist with Wizzard, Mike Burnie was featured on last nights 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' show on BBC2. Here are a few screen shots from the show with how he looked in 1973 on 'Top Of The Pops' and how he looks in 2006....

19/03/2006 - Check out Face The Music Online for the latest release news, including full details of the upcoming SonyBMG remaster series featuring ELO's 'On The Third Day', 'Face The Music' and 'A New World Record'. All these albums will feature bonus tracks with a planned release date of May 22nd. The U.S.A. should also see remastered releases of 'No Answer' and 'ELO2' later this month with bonus material.

19/03/2006 - A new E.L.O. compilation cd has just been released in the UK by EMI. 'The Collection' features remastered tracks from the early E.L.O. albums featured in the recent EMI remaster series. The cd can be purchased for a bargain £3.33 from Amazon. Two new Roy Wood compilations are also released in the next few weeks with images & track listings below.

E.L.O. - 'The Collection' Track Listing - 10538 Overture (single version) / First Movement (Jumping Biz) / Showdown / Manhattan Rumble / Look At Me Now (alternate mix) / In Old England Town (Boogie No.2) / Mr Radio / The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) (alternate mix) / Momma / Queen Of The Hours / Whisper In The Night (Take 1 - early version) / Roll Over Beethoven

Roy Wood - 'Wizzard' Track Listing (from Amazon UK) - See My Baby Jive / Ball Park Incident / Angel Fingers / Forever / Olympic Flyer / Ella James / Dear Elaine / Moonriser / Green Glass Windows / Aerial Pictures / Airborne / Premium Bond Theme / Goin' Down The Road / Driving Song / It's Not Easy / Down To Zero / Music To Commit Suicide By / Whisper In The Night / California Man / I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

Roy Wood - 'Look Thru the Eyes of Roy Wood (Best of The Jet Record Years and Beyond)' Track Listing (from Castle Music Website) - (CD1) Look Thru The Eyes Of A Fool / Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Looney's Tune) / You Sure Got It Now / Angel Fingers (live - unreleased) / Forever (live - unreleased) / Any Old Time Will Do / Every Day I Wonder / Starting Up / Bengal Jig / Jingle (from the Kenny Everett Show - unreleased) / The Song (early mix - unreleased) / Rattlesnake Roll / 1-2-3 (previously unreleased version) / Indiana Rainbow / Oh What A Shame (early mix - unreleased) / Sing Out The Old Bring In The New (rare unreleased mix) (CD2) Intro/Eddy's Rock / R U Red E 2 Rock / Ball Park Incident (live - unreleased) / Human Cannonball (previously unreleased) / The Rain Came Down On Everything / Under Fire / Polythene Pam / Main Street / You Got Me Runnin' / The Thing Is This (This Is the Thing) / This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby) (live - unreleased) / We're Gonna Rock 'n' Roll Tonight

26/02/2006 - Two new website links added today. Former Move guitarist Rick Price has a new official site, and a new U.K. based E.L.O. tribute band Rockaria - The ELO Experience have started work on their official site and their first gig will be in April at The Springhead in Hull.

26/02/2006 - There's some great photo's and a review from The Orchestra's recent Spanish gigs at the Spanish 'ELO Espana' website.

17/02/2006 - Mik Kaminski was interviewed on 7th February on ITV1's 'Calendar' programme, where he spoke about his early days with E.L.O. and about the upcoming E.L.O. Part 2 Former Members tour.

17/02/2006 - Amazon have a link to a 2cd 'Brumbeat' collection due out on February 20th.

CD1
1. Dimples - Davis, Spencer Group
2. My Colour Is Blue - James, Nicky
3. That's Alright - Powell, Jimmy & The Five Dimensions
4. Journey Into Dreams - Wolves (2)
5. You'd Better Come Home - Rockin' Berries
6. Your Loving Ways - Wayne, Carl & The Vikings
7. He's In Town - Rockin' Berries
8. Daydreaming Of You - Hellions
9. Go Now - Moody Blues
10. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter - Brand
11. Sugar Babe - Powell, Jimmy & The Five Dimensions
12. Walk Baby Walk - Neal, Johnny & The Starliners
13. You Could Be Fun - Wayne, Carl & The Vikings
14. People Get Ready - Powell, Keith
15. Dream Child - Hellions
16. Wake Up My Mind - Uglys
17. Take My Hand - Sheridan, Mike
18. All That Is Mine Can Be Yours - Montanas
19. My Girl - Wayne, Carl & The Vikings
20. Baby I Like The Look Of You - London, Peter
21. At The Club - Wolves (2)
22. Shades Of Blue - Revolution Generation
23. Quiet Explosion - Uglys
24. Early Morning Rain - Settlers (1)
25. That's When Happiness Began - Montanas

CD2
1. Night Of Fear - Move (1)
2. You Better Run - N'Betweens
3. It Keeps Rainin' - Powell, Keith
4. Can't See For Looking - Bobcats
5. Ciao Baby - Montanas
6. Eagle Flies On Friday - Exceptions (3)
7. Real Good Girl - Uglys
8. Difference Of Opinion - Montanas
9. Dawn (Go Away) - Rockin' Berries
10. Don't Leave Me In The Dark - Young Blood
11. William Chalker's Time Machine - Lemon Tree
12. His Lordship - Aston, Gary
13. Pain - Rockin' Berries 14. Doctor Junk - Campbell, Ian Folk Group
15. Wizard Of Gobsolod - Velvett Fogg
16. I See The Light - Uglys
17. Colinto - Paradox (2)
18. Take It Or Leave It - Cinnamon Quill
19. Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill - Young Blood
20. Colour Of My Love - Jefferson
21. For Your Love - Kefford, Ace Stand
22. Days Of Broken Arrows - Idle Race
23. I'm No Good For Her - Copperfield
24. Jackie - Sight & Sound
25. Slow Down - Powell, Jimmy

01/02/2006 - Check out the Concert Reviews pages for a great review and photo's from The Orchestra's concert in Guatemala City back in December 2005.

01/02/2006 - It appears that 2006 is going to be an amazing year for E.L.O. & related artists fans. As well as the previously announced Carl Wayne & Roy Wood 'Songs From The Wood & Beyond' cd next week, and the Out Of The Blue tour dvd mentioned below, a number of on-line music retail sites are mentioning other new releases including U.S. only releases of remastered editions of 'No Answer' and 'ELO2' with bonus material, and for the U.K., 'The Collection' featuring EMI era tracks. For all the latest news, check out the Showdown ELO Mailing List.

01/02/2006 - March 20th sees the release of Electric Light Orchestra Live At Wembley 1978 Special Edition dvd. This new release of the 'classic' E.L.O. concert features for the first time remastered sound taken from the original master tapes in DTS, Dolby 5.1 and PCM Stereo. The dvd is released by Eagle Vision, catalog number EREDV567 with a U.K. price around £14.99.

Taken from the upcoming press release from Eagle Vision - "The Electric Light Orchestra are one of the most successful British bands of all time. Formed after the break up of The Move in 1970 they pioneered the integration of orchestral instruments into pop music and released a series of groundbreaking and increasingly successful albums through the seventies that culminated in the multi-million selling Out Of The Blue. This concert is from the world tour for that album and was filmed at London’s Wembley Arena in 1978. Already the subject of one of our all-time best selling DVDs (EREDV058) the concert is now available as a special edition in a fold out digipack inside a slipcase with a reproduction of the original tour programme and for the first time remixed from the original masters in DTS and 5.1 Surround Sound and PCM Stereo."

Track listing - Introduction / Standing In The Rain / Night In The City / Turn To Stone / Tightrope / Telephone Line / Rockaria! / Wild West Hero / Showdown / Sweet Talkin’ Woman / Mr Blue Sky / Do Ya / Livin’ Thing / Roll Over Beethoven.