This interview was originally published in 'King Of The Universe'
Fanzine in the summer of 1999.

Alan Heath:- How did your musical career start, was it at Moseley Grammar School?

Richard Tandy:- I started piano lessons when I was nine years old, but I encountered my first electric guitar at Moseley.

AH:- I understand you met Bev Bevan for the first time whilst at Moseley.

RT:- Yes, but Bev was two years older than me, so we did not know each other very well, but it was Bev and his friends who brought electric guitars to school, and played them on the school playing field, whilst us younger boys watched in awe.

AH:- Where was your first professional gig and who was it with?

RT:- My first gig was at Solihull Civic Hall, with some friends from school.

AH:- The Chantelles were just one band who seemed to have various members who were extremely talented, of which you were just one. Why do you think sixties Birmingham in particular seemed to unearth so many fine musicians?

RT:- I think that most big city's at that time were a breeding ground for musicians.

AH:- What are your recollections about your time with the Ugly's and Balls?

RT:- Well, this was the 60's, and a great time to be in a group. The Ugly's were a fantastic group before I joined, and I got a job because I could play the intro to 'I Am A Walrus', and I think my keyboard (a Hohner Clavinet) added to their sound. We even did tunes like 'America' (the Nice version), and 'Hello Mr. Soul' by Buffalo Springfield. Balls was an attempt to do a 'Traffic', i.e. move to a cottage in the country and get it together. Trevor Burton replaced the current guitarist, Willie Hammond, (and in a rather heartless way, on reflection), and we encamped to a small bungalow in the New Forest, near Fordingbridge. It was a beautiful place, donkey's in the garden and in the kitchen, country pubs, cider etc, but it did not work out, in fact it all fell apart quite quickly, Dave Morgan, Keith Smart, and myself found ourselves back in Birmingham. Trevor carried on with Steve Gibbons, Denny Laine and others, but I don't know much about that period.

AH:- What do you remember about your days when you helped out the Move?

RT:- I first started working with Trevor and Carl Wayne after I had sent a few songs to them, (Dave Morgan also sent them some songs and we all went to John Haynes' recording studio in Birmingham. One of the songs from that period, 'Something' by Dave ended up as a B-side for the Move. Trevor and I became friends, and we spent a lot of time together. At this time there were lots of live radio shows on the BBC, and when the Move were promoting 'Wild Tiger Woman' I was asked to help out by playing the piano part. I think these sessions are now on release. Another factor at this time was that the Move's roadie was a guy called John Downing, who had worked with me in the 'Chantelles', and he was very supportive. He later went on to work for Jimi Hendrix and ELO, and died tragically in an accident at sea. Then there was the time when Trevor dislocated his shoulder, and since I knew all the tunes, I played bass for two weeks until he was recovered. Then Trevor left the Move and we formed 'Balls'.

AH:- What are your memories of the 'Blackberry Way' recording which you played on?

RT:- I remember walking into the Olympic studio in London and seeing a Burns electric harpsichord, I played a few E minor chords and Jeff and Roy thought it would be good for the song. If you listen carefully you can hear it, especially in the middle eight.

AH:- How did the invite to join ELO come about?

RT:- I got a call, out of the blue, from Roy, who invited me round to hear some tracks and offered me the job.

AH:- What memories do you have about the early days with ELO?

RT:- Well, the first gig, at the Greyhound was memorable; the first tune, 10538, was good, but then all the changes between tunes became confusing and I guess it all got shambolic. After that, as far as I was concerned, things just went from one good thing to another.

AH:- ELO built up a great support very quickly in the seventies especially in America, did the rise to fame come as any suprise to you?

RT:- It did to me.

AH:- England was slow to respond to the band until 75-76, why do you think this was?

RT:- I don't know.

AH:- What were your greatest memories of your time in ELO?

RT:-For me, the period from 1971 - 1986 was fantastic, and I consider myself very lucky to have been a part of it.

AH:- Do you have a favourite ELO story?

RT:- There was a time in Paris once, when we all piled into the limousines outside the hotel and asked the driver to take us to the gig, and to our suprise he said (no (or non). There followed a heated discussion, and some of us knew a bit of French - like "allez" and "on y va" but the driver refused to budge, so you can imagine the situation - an intractable French driver with three young big-heads in the back. Anyway, as it turned out they were not our limousines, ours were around the corner. Excusez-moi!

AH:- Were there any low points for you whilst with ELO, i.e. the constant travelling?

RT:- No.

AH:- You collaborated with Dave Morgan for both the Earthrise album and the BC Collection. At a recent interview with Dave he recalled fond memories of these albums. Do you forsee any similar type projects like these in the future?

RT:- I don't think so, because we now have different philosophies.

AH:- You played some fine keyboards on Jeff Lynne's solo album 'Armchair Theatre', you also collaborated with Jeff playing amongst others with the Everly Brothers, Dave Edmunds, Julianna Raye, Tom Petty, George Harrison and Jim Horn, all fine albums, do you think you will collaborate with Jeff again at any time in the future?

RT:- Thank you. I don't know if we'll work together again.

AH:- You found a new songwriting partner in Nadina Stravonina from Russia in 1994. Nothing was ever heard of the songs that were reportedly written, is there any chance that the songs will ever be released?

RT:- I have lost contact with Nadina, so I don't know.

AH:- Do you have any other material unreleased that may see the light of day?

RT:- Yes, I've got a few of my own songs which I hope to release, (when I've got the courage).

AH:- You are now playing with the Trevor Burton Band, and Trevor is a most underated guitarist. The band which you are part of are really exciting live, how are you enjoying this more low key approach to playing small venues, which must be different to your days with ELO?

RT:- The music is wonderful, but some of the conditions we face are less than ideal.

AH:- Trevor has a new album due out soon, what can you tell us about this?

RT:- It was recorded over a three day period at the BBC (Pebble Mill), all of the tracks were recorded live, with no overdubs, apart from one song of mine (Mississippi Nights) which was built up from my studio demo. The album will be called 'Blue Moons', and we are having 1000 copies pressed initially, it should be launched in early May.

AH:- Have you ever thought about releasing a solo album yourself?

RT:- See above.

AH:- You have suffered from Tinitus in recent years, this must be a very difficult in your day to day life never mind the problems you must face as a musician. How are you coping with this?

RT:- I've had it for a few years now, and am learning to live with it, I only really notice it when I'm in a very quiet enviroment. I wear ear protection if I anticipate that the noise will be above 100 db, i.e. loud, although the industry standard is, I believe 85 db.

AH:- Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions which you would still like to achieve?

RT:- World peace, especially in light of the current happenings with NATO.

AH:- Many ELO fans are constantly asking about what you are currently doing. I would like to thank you very much for all of the music over the years, I cannot begin to explain the pleasure your music and that of ELO has given both myself and other fans, thank you.

RT:- Thank you.

Thanks go to both Sheila and Richard Tandy for their co-operation with this interview.

Since this interview Richard has left the Trevor Burton Band to concentrate on his solo projects.

Interview © of Alan Heath and is not to be reproduced without prior written consent.