“I was very pretentious. On the early albums I was writing things I thought I should write. But all I ever wanted to do was write pop songs”: how ELO conquered the planet with mini-symphonies and giant spaceships

Electric Light Orchestra with their hands and faces pressed against glass.

Way back in the 60s, The Move were part of a peculiar pop dynasty, huge and respected in the UK while never having quite made it in the USA. By the mid-70s this most English of bands had morphed into one of the few genuinely huge bands in the world – the Electric Light Orchestra.

By 1978 ELO were selling out eight nights on the trot at Wembley Arena during a memorable global tour. When their star shone it was with a dazzling brilliance. I was lucky enough to be hanging onto their coat-tails through the 70s as they went into overdrive and into orbit, knocking out a string of exceptional hit singles and albums.