Roy Wood(born 8 November 1947) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder ofthe Move,Electric Light OrchestraandWizzard.
Roy Wood | |
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 Wood in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 8 November 1947 Birmingham,Warwickshire,England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Political party | Reform UK(2019-present) |
| Other political affiliations | UKIP(before 2019) |
| Spouse(s) | Unknown (divorced) Maureen Holmes (divorced)[3][4] |
| Website | roywood |
Wood formed the Move in 1965, and had hits including "Flowers in the Rain".While the Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleaguesJeff LynneandBev Bevan,foundedElectric Light Orchestra(ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success. After increasing tensions, Wood left ELO in 1972 and formed a new group,Wizzard,who had seven hits, including Wood's most regularly broadcast song, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day".
As a songwriter, Wood contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of the Move, ELO and Wizzard. Altogether, he had more than 20 singles in theUK Singles Chartunder various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits. Wood was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.[5]
Career
editEarly years
editRoy Wood was born on 8 November 1947[6]inKitts Green,a suburb of Birmingham, England. For some years the legend persisted that his real name was Ulysses Adrian Wood, until it was revealed that this was probably the result of somebody close to the Move in their early days filling in such names on a 'lifelines' feature for the press as a joke.[7][8]His first group in Birmingham in the early 1960s was the Falcons, which he left in 1963 to join Gerry Levene and the Avengers. He then moved to Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (the band later becamethe Idle Race). He attended theMoseley College of Art,but was expelled in 1964.[9]
The Move
edit
The Movewas formed from other Birmingham-based groups, and quickly entered theUK Singles Chart.Their single "Night of Fear" climbed to No. 2 in early 1967.[10]Their third hit, "Flowers in the Rain",was the first song played byTony Blackburnat the launch ofBBC Radio 1on September 30, 1967, and the band evolved over a three-year period.[9]After the departure of the Move's lead singerCarl Wayne,Wood's influence became more prominent. In 1967, Wood (and fellow Move memberTrevor Burton) sang backing vocals on the track "You Got Me Floatin'",onthe Jimi Hendrix Experience's albumAxis: Bold as Love.[11]
Wood was keen on musical experimentation, and was an early proponent of combiningrock and rolland pop music with other styles, such asclassical music,or thebig bandsound, and introduced classically styled string and brass sections into the pop record. In early 1972, Wood's composition "Songs of Praise" was shortlisted by theBBCas one of six possible choices for the UK entry in theEurovision Song Contest 1972.When performed bythe New Seekerson theCliff RichardvehicleIt's Cliff Richard!,the song finished in last place with 3,842 votes.[12]The group included the track on their albumWe'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.Wood recorded his own version of "Songs of Praise", releasing it on theB-sideof his 1973 single, "Dear Elaine".
Electric Light Orchestra
editWhile the Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleaguesJeff LynneandBev Bevan,foundedElectric Light Orchestra(ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success.[9]The original intention was to split up the Move at the end of 1970, but contractual obligations meant that both they and ELO existed together for a year, until the former finally broke up in June 1972.[9][13]
In 2017, the ELO line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, andRichard Tandywere inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[5]
Early ELO concerts and formation of Wizzard
editELO's early live performances were chaotic, due to both poor sound quality of the string instruments competing against the guitars and drums, as well as Wood's constant moving from instrument to instrument during the shows (playing bass, guitar, cello and saxophone). After increasing tensions, Wood left in July 1972 at the start of the second album sessions, following a trip to Italy.[14]He formed a new group,Wizzard,which assembled cellists, brass players and a bigger rhythm section, with several drummers and percussionists.[9]Wood emulated thewall of soundproduction style ofPhil Spectorwhile successfully and affectionately pastiching the rock and roll style of the early 1960s.[9]Wizzard had sevenUK Singles Charthits with different songs during this period including two consecutive singles, "See My Baby Jive"and"Angel Fingers"which reached the top of that chart.[15]Meanwhile, he released several solo albums, exploring further musical directions. His 1973 albumBoulderswas an almost entirely genuine solo effort, right down to the sleeve artwork, with Wood playing a wide variety ofmusical instruments.[9]A second solo album,Mustard,released in 1975 and including contributions byPhil EverlyandAnnie Haslam,was less successful.
Post-Wizzard
editBy the late 1970s, Wood was appearing less in public; commercial success faded away, and his musical experiments did not always match popular taste, but he remained productive in the studio as musician, producer and songwriter. He was afanofElvis Presley,but never succeeded in getting him to adopt one of his compositions. He was untiring as a producer for other acts, most successfullydoo-woprevivalistsDarts.In 1976, Wood recordedthe Beatlessongs "Lovely Rita"and"Polythene Pam"for the ill-fated musical documentaryAll This and World War II.[16]
The Wizzo Band and subsequent work
editIn 1977, he formedWizzo Band,a jazz-rock ensemble, whose only live performance was aBBCsimultaneous television and radio broadcast in stereo. The Wizzo Band split early the following year after cancelling a nationwide tour.
Between 1980 and 1982, Wood released a few singles under his own name and also as Roy Wood's Helicopters, and played some live dates under this name, with a band comprising Robin George (guitar), Terry Rowley (keyboards), Jon Camp (bass) and Tom Farnell (drums). The release of what would have been the last of these singles, "Aerial Pictures", backed with "Airborne", was cancelled owing to the lack of chart success for its predecessors, but both sides appeared for the first time in 2006 on a compilation CD,Roy Wood – The Wizzard!."Aerial Pictures", using the original backing track, subsequently became a solo single for Carl Wayne, the Move's former vocalist.
Wood also made a one-off rock and rollmedleysingle withPhil Lynott,Chas HodgesandJohn Coghlan,credited to The Rockers, "We Are The Boys" (1983), and played a leading role in theBirmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986,on 15 March 1986, which was later partly televised by the BBC. As well as designing the logo, Wood performed in a line-up which also included the Electric Light Orchestra and theMoody Blues.
After a hiatus following the release of the albumStarting Up(1987), acover versionof theLen Barryhit "1–2–3",and a guest vocal appearance on one track onRick Wakeman'sThe Time Machine,he went on the road with a band billed as Roy Wood's Army. He also wrote and recorded two tracks with Lynne in 1989 ( "If You Can't Get What You Want" and "Me and You" ), which were never released.[7]
His most regularly broadcast song is the seasonal Wizzard single "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday",which remains one of the most played Christmas songs in the UK. In 1995, Wood released a new live version as the 'Roy Wood Big Band', which charted at No. 59, and in 2000 he joined forces withMike Battandthe Wombles,for a re-working of "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and the Wombles' hit "Wombling Merry Christmas", together in one song which reached No. 22.[17]Over Christmas 2007, Wood appeared in acatalogueadvertisement forArgos,where he played the part of a rowdy neighbour playing guitar along to Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", and the song once again entered the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 16. In the 2010 Christmas special of the ITV comedyBenidorm,Wood in a cameo role performed his Christmas hit at the Benidorm Palace cabaret theatre.[18]He later performed with Wizzard on the Christmas edition ofPointless Celebritiesin December 2013.
Wood formed the Roy Wood Rock & Roll Band for occasional live dates and television performances in the UK.[19]They were the support act forStatus Quoat several UK dates in the weeks leading up to Christmas 2009 and 2011.[7]In December 2018, Wood and his band's touring equipment worth £100,000 was stolen following a ram-raid on a warehouse in Leeds. The police later recovered the van and equipment inEast Ardsley.[20]
Personal life
editWood currently lives in SouthDerbyshire.[21]He voted toleavetheEuropean Unionin the23 June 2016referendum, and in May 2019 joined theBrexit Party.[22]Beforehand, he was a longtime member of theUK Independence Party(UKIP), and expressed interest in standing as a candidate for the party in 2004.[23]Wood has one daughter, named Holly.[24]
Legacy
editTheBBCdescribed Wood in 2008 as being "responsible for some of the most memorable sounds ofthe Seventies"and" credited as playing a major role in theglam rock,psychedelicandprog rockmovements ".[1]In 2008, Wood was awarded anhonorary doctoratefor his contribution to rock and pop by theUniversity of Derby.[1]In 2015, his long and eclectic career was recognised with the "Outer Limits" award at theProgressive Music Awardsin London.[25]
Wood was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.[5]
Discography
editChronological album discography
editFor the complete Move discography seeThe Move Discography
For the complete ELO discography seeElectric Light Orchestra discography
For the complete Wizzard discography seeWizzard Discography
List of songs written by Roy Wood
- The Move(1968) – The Move
- Shazam(1970) – The Move
- Looking On(1970) – The Move
- Message from the Country(1971) – The Move
- The Electric Light Orchestra(1971) – ELO
- ELO 2(1973) – ELO (although uncredited at the time, Wood played cello and bass on "In Old England Town" and "From the Sun to the World" ).[26]
- Wizzard Brew(1973) – Wizzard
- Boulders(1973) – Solo
- Introducing Eddy and the Falcons(1974) – Wizzard
- Mustard(1975) – Solo
- Super Active Wizzo(1977) – Wizzo Band
- On The Road Again(1979) – Solo
- Starting Up(1987) – Solo
- Main Street(2000) – Roy Wood & Wizzard
Solo albums
edit| Year | Title | UK | USBillboard200 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Boulders | 15 | 176 | |
| 1975 | Mustard | – | – | |
| 1979 | On the Road Again | – | – | Not released in the UK |
| 1987 | Starting Up | – | – |
Collaboration album
edit| Year | Title | UK | USBillboard200 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | The London Bo Diddley Sessions | – | – | Wood played bass on this recording |
Source:[28]
Charting compilation album
edit| Year | Title | UK | USBillboard200 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Singles | 37 | – |
Source:[17]
Solo singles
edit| Year | Title | UK | AUS[29] | Credited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo" | – | – | |
| 1973 | "Dear Elaine" | 18 | – | |
| 1973 | "Forever" | 8 | 43 | |
| 1974 | "Goin' Down the Road" | 13 | – | |
| 1975 | "Oh What a Shame" | 13 | – | |
| 1975 | "Look Thru' the Eyes of a Fool" | – | – | |
| 1976 | "Any Old Time Will Do" | – | – | |
| 1979 | "(We're) On the Road Again" | – | – | |
| 1980 | "Rock City" | – | – | Roy Wood's Helicopters |
| 1980 | "Sing Out the Old... Bring in the New" | – | – | |
| 1981 | "Down to Zero" | – | – | |
| 1981 | "Green Glass Windows" | – | – | Roy Wood's Helicopters |
| 1982 | "It's Not Easy" | – | – | |
| 1982 | "O.T.T." | – | – | |
| 1983 | "We are the Boys (Who Make All the Noise)" | – | – | The Rockers |
| 1985 | "Under Fire" | – | – | |
| 1985 | "Sing Out the Old... Bring in the New" | – | – | (New recording) |
| 1986 | "Raining in the City" | – | – | |
| 1987 | "1–2–3" | – | – |
Source:[17]
Collaboration singles
edit| Year | Title | UK | USBillboardHot 100 | Credited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Dance Around the Maypole" | – | – | Acid Gallery |
| 1977 | "I Never Believed in Love" | – | – | Annie Haslamand Roy Wood |
| 1984 | "Hong Kong Swing" | – | – | Cruella de Ville |
| 1986 | "Waterloo" | No. 45 | – | Doctor and the Medicsfeaturing Roy Wood |
| 1995 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | No. 59 | – | Roy Wood Big Band |
| 2000 | "I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Everyday" | No. 22 | – | The Wombleswith Roy Wood |
| 2009 | "My Christmas Card To You" | – | – | The Shooting Stars |
Source:[17]
Songs recorded and released by other artists
editReferences
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External links
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