“Kind of scary”: Why Jeff Lynne disliked playing stadiums during ELO’s breakthrough tour
Jeff Lynne never really saw himself stepping into the stereotypical rockstar shoes. To him, that would mean shifting his priorities and doing things she didn’t really care for, like looking “the part” or frequently heading to nightclubs, which never really seemed that appealing. Instead, he enjoyed scurrying away in the studio, working on the one part that made him feel most alive—making music.
While it’s not uncommon for musicians to share Lynne’s distaste for the typical rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, his approach meant he rarely had to compartmentalise himself or his artistry, enabling him to immerse himself in the art of musical creativity as naturally as breathing. This would lead to the kind of intuition that made him creatively proficient in almost any situation, but it also meant he knew the exact moments when inspiration struck the most.
Although it became one of his biggest and most career-defining songs, it makes sense why ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ gained the popularity that it did. Not only is it extremely accessible with nods to various nostalgic influences, but it also epitomises the always-on approach Lynne held close, or the natural instinct he already had for making hits based on some of the most basic concepts.
The song came to him once when he had been in the Switzerland mountains, surrounded by clouds and mistiness—the complete antithesis of ‘Mr. Bluesky’. Everything felt dreary and bogged down by the haze until one day, seemingly miraculously, it all cleared, leaving what Lynne described to Rolling Stone as “this enormous view forever, and the sky was blue”.
While the song effectively wrote itself from then on out, Lynne was already playing to large audiences for the Out of the Blue promotional run, but it wasn’t going very well, mainly because the equipment and sound dynamics in the venues weren’t conducive to an enjoyable audience or listening experience. “I think the biggest crowd was 83,000. It was fun, but kind of scary as well,” he recalled.
“I’d think, ‘I hope the Beatles are on afterwards — otherwise we’re gonna get murdered,'” he continued. Adding: “The concerts were horrible. I couldn’t hear the strings, and half the time, you had to turn them off because they used to run around while they played them.” While it’s unlikely the shows were as bad as Lynne remembers them to be, it also seemed like these experiences reminded him of his position as the quintessential not-rockstar, even in an industry that told him to be otherwise.
In the same interview, he remembered being “reluctant” to be a “real” rockstar, suggesting it was because he was “shy” and loved to be in the studio at all hours. However, these traits undoubtedly paid off, as they enabled him to focus on his craft with more dedication than those who were constantly out partying—like that one kid in school who’s branded an outsider because he chose to study instead of hit the town.
In Lynne’s case, however, it was never really about getting ahead, at least not like that. Being a music devotee was in his blood, and even beyond Electric Light Orchestra with projects like The Traveling Wilburys, his intuition made him stand out among the rest with ideas that transitioned good music into lasting, timeless compositions that epitomised an entire era and then some.
