Hello ... Hello ... my old friends ... It's great to see you once again! This has been a difficult article to write, evidenced by the fact that what you are now reading is my third edit. Nearly a week has passed since an article was published in
The Birmingham Mail and
The Sunday Mercury sensationally headlined
"Mr. Sue Sky" last Sunday 30th March.
The article centred on the news that lawyers acting for
Jeff Lynne have served a
"notice to desist" upon
Phil Bates due to local promoters in Europe and South Africa erroneously billing the former
Trickster,
ELO Part II and
[The] Orchestra singer/guitarist at times as
ELO or even the
"legendary frontman". The article sparked long debates within
ELO centric Facebook groups and other forums including that of
ELO Beatles Forever. Invariably, Yours Truly KJS has been asked for an opinion on the matter during the week, hence this article for
ELOBF. Hopefully, the dust has settled a little in the last six days enough for my thoughts to be read and considered as what they are - an opinion - and that this causes no further schism in the
ELO fan base between those who support and those who disagree with the output of bands or projects including former members of both
ELO incarnations and, by extension, tribute acts.
 |
| Jeff Lynne [L] and Phil Bates [R] ... |
Jeff Lynne requires no introduction. He was the co-founder of
The Electric Light Orchestra with
Roy Wood and
Bev Bevan, he is the majority composer of their recorded material and he the sole owner of the
Electric Light Orchestra and
ELO brands. As a songwriter and musician, he will recognise that, if successful, people will want to record his songs, copy his arrangements and perform his music live. That is a given.
Jeff is also an artist who is always at home in the studio and is essentially not one for touring. Indeed, it has now been 28 years since the last brief
ELO tour in 1986 to promote
"Balance Of Power" and nearly thirteen [13] years since the curtailment of the
"Zoom Tour Live" shows. Yes, occasionally
Jeff will guest in selected live events, but - as a rule - he is a recording artist first and foremost. And if I were
Jeff, I would of course be annoyed if
anyone else was being billed as
ELO [solely] or even as its
"legendary frontman".
Phil Bates has a unique connection with
ELO. He was a member of
ELO's fellow
Jet Records label mates
Trickster, who also supported
ELO during their legendary
"Out Of The Blue" spaceship themed world tour in 1978. He joined
ELO Part II in 1993 to replace the departing
Pete Haycock and
Neil Lockwood before leaving in 1999, being replaced by
Parthenon Huxley. He returned to the band, now renamed
The Orchestra [former members of ELO & ELO Part II] in 2007 for another four [4] year stint before leaving and forming new
ELO themed projects whilst touring extensively in Europe and, latterly, South Africa.
Phil was also intimately involved with the
Beatles, Blues & Blue Violin [BBBV] project with
Mik Kaminski and
Tina McBain during this time - a fact misreported in the article.
Unfortunately, it is those very connections with
ELO Part II and
The Orchestra as well as
Phil's similar facial appearance to
Jeff [with his permed hair, glasses and beard] that leaves the door open for certain local promoters of his gigs [either through genuine ignorance or as a deliberate marketing ploy to sell tickets] to advertise concerts by
Phil Bates performing the music of
ELO as something else. From a legal point of view, the lawyers representing
Jeff Lynne could, in all probability, only have
Phil Bates in their sights [as an easier target] due to him being perceived as
'guilty by association' with those promoters who were printing and publishing factually incorrect advertising for his concerts.
This writer does not believe that
Jeff Lynne has a problem with the plethora of
ELO related musicians, tribute bands and other artistes who seek to record or perform his music live, as long as they pay their dues and do not make unsubstantiated claims as to their identity or name[s]. This is evidenced by the attendance of members of two UK based
ELO tribute acts at his private
Birmingham Broad Street 'Walk Of Stars' celebration last month.
This writer also does not concur with the newspaper claim that
Phil Bates is a
"copycat" artist. His permed hair is natural, he wears glasses because he has to and he sports a beard for personal reasons. He often covers songs by other artistes during his concerts including, naturally,
The Beatles and others. I met
Phil for the first time in 1993, backstage at
ELO Part II's Wolverhampton Civic Hall gig, and during the ensuing two [2] decades, I can honestly report that he has never stated that he is
Jeff Lynne [or his successor] and that I have never seen any project with the involvement of
Phil Bates billed as
ELO but rather always as
Phil Bates performing the music of
ELO.
So, we have a successful and prolific songwriter and performer in
Jeff Lynne who much prefers the environment of the studio to the stage and
Phil Bates, essentially a musician comfortable on stage [with not a few
ELO connections] who has been incorrectly promoted on certain occasions as being
ELO or the equivalent of
Jeff Lynne.
On one hand, who else can
Jeff Lynne's lawyers focus their attention on - with this controversy - other than
Phil Bates himself? On the other hand, with the best will in the world, how can
Phil Bates prevent the ignorant or the intentional inaccurate promotion of his shows by foreign promoters? I'm sure that
Phil Bates does provide clear communication to local promoters as to who he is [and who he is not]. The same applies to his musical vehicle[s]. Therein lies the frustration, I guess, on both sides.
While
Jeff remains averse to touring, the many
ELO related bands and projects continue to successfully tour and perform his music live - some even with the letters
'ELO' within their name. There remains a paradox created essentially by
Jeff Lynne himself in an industry driven by the desire of the public to see and hear the music of a genius who is happier in his ivory bungalow rather than in the gaze of his many, many fans and admirers. For me, there will always be room for
Phil Bates in the
ELO universe.
But there is also no place for the false promotion of any artiste[s].
Until next "Time" in the ELO [and related] Universe ... KJS ... 05-Apr-2014
