Jeff Lynne's ELO has announced a final tour set to kick off Aug. 24 in Palm Desert, Calif. The 27-date North American trek will stop in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle before wrapping up in Inglewood, Calif. on Oct. 26.
The presale for tickets starts Wednesday (March 20) at 10 a.m. local time, with general tickets available Friday (March 22) at 10 a.m. local time. For more information visit Live Nation and Jeff Lynne solo.
Singer/songwriter Lynne fronted the band originally known as the Electric Light Orchestra during its initial run from 1970 through 1986. The band, which fused rock 'n' roll with the violins, cellos and horns usually heard in classical music, scored several hits, including a remake of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic," "Telephone Line," "Don't Bring Me Down" and others. ELO has sold an astounding 50 million records globally and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
By 1986, Lynne began to turn his attention to production work, producing albums by George Harrison and Tom Petty and joining both -- along with Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison -- in the Traveling Wilburys.
(He also worked with the surviving members of the Beatles in the '90s on the reunion singles "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love," which took shape from some John Lennon demos, as well as Paul McCartney as a solo artist.)
Meanwhile, the ELO name took flight again with drummer Bev Bevan forming ELO Part II with Lynne's blessing, since he co-owned the name.
Lynne brought his new incarnation of the band back in 2000 to promote a series of reissues and relaunched the band again in 2014. The current version of ELO, which last hit North America in 2019, counts Lynne and multi-instrumentalist Richard Tandy as its only original members.
In a 2020 interview with Classic Rock, Lynne revealed that his mother initially doubted that he would be able to make a career out of music. "I didn't ever get a proper job, I just carried on doing this. My mum hated me doing music. She'd go: 'You don't want to do that all rubbish. There's a job going at ATV for a cameraman.' I'd already had about three hits by that point!" he recalled.
Eventually, though, Lynne was able to change her mind. "Yeah -- when I bought my parents a house. That's when she changed a bit, but not that much," he added. "She wasn't that kind about the music, and really disliked my falsetto, when I used to do high screamy ones. It would drive her nuts: 'Stop that 'orrible screeching!' That was when I had the studio in the front room."
