caption current_members associated_acts label article_title landscape past_members background genre image origin name
elo . performing live during their time tour in 1981 jeff lynne richard tandy jeff , the orchestra , traveling wilburys , the idle race lynne , olivia newton-john , rosie vela , the move , elo part ii harvest , columbia , epic , legacy , sony bmg , warner bros. , united artists , jet electric light orchestra
 yes see `` former members '' group_or_band symphonic rock , progressive rock , elo - time tour 81-82 . jpg birmingham , england electric light orchestra
electric light orchestra

the electric light orchestra -lrb- elo -rrb- are a british rock group from birmingham , england , who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001 .
elo was formed to accommodate roy wood 's and jeff lynne 's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones .
after wood 's departure following the band 's debut record , lynne wrote and arranged all of the group 's original compositions and produced every album .
despite early singles ' success in the united kingdom , the band was initially more successful in the united states , billed as `` the english guys with the big fiddles '' .
they gained a cult following notwithstanding initial lukewarm reviews in their native uk .
by the mid-1970s , they had become one of the biggest-selling acts in music .
from 1972 to 1986 , elo accumulated 27 top-40 hit singles in both the uk and the us , with 20 top 20 uk singles and 15 top-20 us singles .
the band also holds the record for having the most `` billboard '' hot 100 top 40 hits , 20 , of any group in us chart history without ever having a number one single .
elo collected 19 cria , 21 riaa and 38 bpi awards , and sold over 50 million records worldwide during the group 's original 13-year period of active recording and touring .
