Jeff Lynne Has 2,000 Cassettes of Unheard ELO Music But No Player
Jeff Lynne says he has a collection of 2,000 cassettes containing unreleased Electric Light Orchestra recordings – but no player with which to listen to them.
He recently released ELO's 14th album From Out of Nowhere, his second since reactivating the band in 2014; and says some of the decades-old material might find its way to the public someday.
“I must have about 2,000 cassettes that I still haven’t listened to for about 20 years,” Lynne told the Daily Star (via Music-News.com). “I haven’t got a cassette player for a start! I would love to check some of those really old ones out because there might be something I really love there now.”
Lynne has a history of collaborating with other artists – most notably in the Traveling Wilburys – but reported that he currently has no intention of sharing ELO duties. “No, it's just been me doing it,” he said. “I haven't really got any plans to work with anybody really; just by myself, doing it, making the album.”
He recently said he’d been surprised to find himself reviving ELO and ending up on tour, but that the experience had been unexpectedly positive. “The crowds have been just beyond belief, beyond what I ever imagined that it would be,” he reflected. “The group is fantastic; they’re all brilliant players. … I hear it later each night, and it sounds really good.” He continued: “I’m having the time of me life. Just because I don’t jump up and down and do somersaults and stuff, it doesn’t mean I’m not having a great time, because I am. It’s trying to recreate the sound that I imagined ELO would have been, forever, really, from day one. It never has been until now. For the last the last five years, it’s been really good.”