Roy Wood

Roy Wood

Roy Wood (born November 8, 1946 in Birmingham ; his alleged maiden name Ulysses Adrian Wood is generally doubted) is a British songwriter , singer , guitarist and multi-instrumentalist . In the 1960s and 1970s he was (co) founder of The Move , the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Wizzard . With his various bands and solo, he had over 20 singles in the British charts , including several No. 1 hits. Multi-instrumentalist Wood plays guitar , sitar , bass , cello , saxophone , clarinet , trombone , tuba , horn , flute , oboe , bassoon , drums , percussion , bagpipes , vibraphone and keyboards .

Life

First bands

Wood began in Birmingham in the early 1960s with Gerry Levine and the Avengers . He then played in the band Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders , which after his departure Jeff Lynne (Woods later congenial musical partner) got on board and renamed The Idle Race .

The Move

As a musical head, Wood formed the group The Move in 1965 , which quickly became known beyond Birmingham's borders. From the end of 1966 the band landed hits like Flowers in the Rain , Fire Brigade and Blackberry Way and caused a sensation with their (for the time) spectacular stage shows. Although Carl Wayne was actually the singer of the band, Wood took over from 1968 ( Fire Brigade ) the lead vocals in most of the singles. For his front role, he acquired a wild image including Indian masking. When Wayne finally left the band, he was replaced in early 1970 by Jeff Lynne, who also worked as a songwriter and, together with Wood, soon had more ambitious plans than were possible within the Move context.

Electric Light Orchestra

During Move, Wood founded the Electric Light Orchestra with Move drummers Bev Bevan and Jeff Lynne in 1971 , which wanted to pick up where the Beatles left off with I am the Walrus . The band was one of the pioneers in combining rock music with other styles such as classical music or big band sound. With the integration of strings and winds , ELO broadened the instrumental basis of a rock group. The single 10538 Overture , written by Lynne, reached position 9 in the English charts in 1972. However, differences of opinion regarding the musical goals soon led to the end of the partnership.

Wizzard

In August 1972 Wood left the Electric Light Orchestra and immediately founded the group Wizzard, which was also made up of cellists and wind players. He also had several single hits with Wizzard, and in 1973 he even had two chart toppers in Great Britain with See My Baby Jive and Angel Fingers . The Christmas single I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday , released in the same year, peaked at number 4 and became a regularly played evergreen . After a Phil Spector- like “Wall of Sound”, which was often used in the beginning , the band later paid homage to rock 'n' roll of the 1950s. In 1976 it dissolved.

solo

From 1973 Wood also released several solo albums on which he demonstrated his skills as a songwriter, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and producer. However, his willingness to experiment did not always coincide with the general public taste, and commercial success declined sharply from the mid-1970s (the last hit was the solo single Oh What A Shame in 1975 ). Nonetheless, Wood has continued to appear tirelessly both in the studio and on stage with band projects like Wizzo, The Helicopters and Roy Wood's Army.

Discography

Albums

The Move

• The Move (1968)
• Something Else from The Move (Live EP, 1968)
• Shazam (1970)
• Looking On (1970, with Lynne)
• Message from the Country (1971, with Lynne)

Electric Light Orchestra

• The Electric Light Orchestra (1971, with Lynne)
• ELO 2 (1973, with Lynne, Wood played cello and bass in "In Old England Town" and "From the Sun to the World")

Wizzard

• Wizzard Brew (1973)
• Eddie and the Falcons (1974)
• Main Street (1976, published 2000)

solo

• Boulders (1973)
• Mustard (1975)
• On The Road Again (1979)
• Starting up (1986)

Wizzo band

• Super Active Wizzo (1977)

Compilations

• You Can Dance The Rock 'n' Roll (1989, compilation)
• Exotix Mixture: Best of Singles A's and B's (1999, compilation, partly unreleased material)
• Outstanding Performer (2003, compilation)
• The Wizzard (2006, compilation, partly unpublished material)
• Look thru 'the eyes of Roy Wood (2007, compilation, partly previously unpublished material)

As a producer

• 2014: Security Alert - The Official Bootleg (live album of the Climax Blues Band )

Singles

• Move: Night of Fear / The Disturbance (1966)
• Move: I Can Hear the Grass Grow / Wave Your Flag And Stop The Train (1967)
• Move: Flowers in the Rain / (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree (1967)
• Move: Fire Brigade / Walk Upon The Water (1968)
• Move: Wild Tiger Woman / Omnibus (1968)
• Move: Blackberry Way / Something (1969)
• Move: Curly / This Time Tomorrow (1969)
• Acid Gallery: Dance Around the Maypole / Right Toe Blues (1969, A-side with Wood writer, producer, musician and singer)
• Move: Brontosaurus / Lightning Never Strikes Twice (1970, with Jeff Lynne )
• Move: When Alice Comes Back To The Farm / What? (1970, with Lynne)
• Move: Tonight / Don't Mess Me Up (1971, with Lynne)
• Move: Chinatown / Down on the Bay (1971, with Lynne)
• Roy Wood: When Gran'ma Plays The Banjo / Wake Up (2/1972)
• Move: California Man / Do Ya / Ella James (5/1972, with Lynne)
• ELO: 10538 Overture / First Movement (Jumpin 'Biz) (7/1972, with Lynne)
• Wizzard: Ball Park Incident / The Carlsberg Special (11/1972)
• ELO: Roll Over Beethoven / Queen of the Hours (1/1973, with Lynne, Wood only on B-side)
• Wizzard: See My Baby Jive / Bend over Beethoven (4/1973)
• Roy Wood: Dear Elaine / Songs of Praise (8/1973)
• Wizzard: Angel Fingers / You got the Jump On Me (8/1973)
• Roy Wood: Forever / Music To Commit Suicide By (11/1973)
• Wizzard: I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday / Rob Roy's Nightmare (11/1973)
• Wizzard: Rock and Roll Winter / Dream of Unwin (4/1974)
• Roy Wood: Goin 'Down The Road / The Premium Bond Theme (6/1974)
• Wizzard: This is the Story of my Love (Baby) / Nixture (8/1974)
• Wizzard: Are You Ready To Rock / Marathon Man (12/1974)
• Roy Wood: Oh What A Shame / Bengal Jig (5/1975)
• Wizzard: Rattlesnake Roll / Can't Help My Feelings (10/1975)
• Roy Wood: Look Thru 'The Eyes Of A Fool / Strider (11/1975)
• Roy Wood's Wizzard: Indiana Rainbow / The Thing is This (This is the Thing) (3/1976)
• Roy Wood: Any Old Time Will Do / The Rain Came Down On Everything (5/1976)
• Roy Wood's Wizzo Band: The Stroll / Jubilee (1977)
• Annie Haslam & Roy Wood: I Never Believed in Love / Inside my Life (1977)
• Roy Wood's Wizzo Band: Dancing at the Rainbow's End / Waiting at This Door (1978)
• Roy Wood: Keep Your Hands On The Wheel / Giant Footsteps (1978)
• Roy Wood: (We're) On The Road Again / Saxmaniacs (1979)
• Roy Wood's Helicopters: Rock City / Givin 'Your Heart Away (1980)
• Roy Wood: Sing Out The Old, Bring In The New / Watch This Space (1980)
• Roy Wood's Helicopters: Green Glass Windows / The Driving Song (1981)
• Roy Wood: Down To Zero / Olympic Flyer (1981)
• Roy Wood: It's Not Easy / Moonriser (1982)
• Roy Wood: OTT / Mystery Song (California Man live) (1982)
• Rockers: We Are The Boys (Who Make All the Noise) / Rockin 'On The Stage (1983, with Phil Lynott , John Coghlan , Chas Hodges )
• Roy Wood: Under Fire / On the Top of the World (1985)
• Roy Wood: Sing Out The Old ... (New Version) / Instrumental version (1985)
• Roy Wood: Raining In The City / instrumental version (1986)
• Roy Wood: 1-2-3 / Oh what a Shame (1987)
• The Roy Wood Big Band: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (live) / Santa Claus Is Coming To Town / I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (soundcheck) / Lion's Heart (1995)
• The Wombles with Roy Wood: I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Everyday / Wombling Merry Christmas / Christmas Everyday (2000)

Web links

• Official website (English)
• Roy Wood as a recorder player

Individual evidence

1. ↑ biography on allmusic.com, accessed on January 14, 2017