Trying to convince the sixth form that ELO are cool
Our sixth form common room was one of the reception rooms in a large house next to our school. As well as being allowed out of school at lunch time, one of the perks of being in the sixth form was a record player in the common room. The dominant genre that was played was heavy metal. I wasn’t particularly a fan, but after a while of listening to AC/DC over and over I began to appreciate the art of a memorable guitar riff.
I was into the sort of music that in America would be called AOR (album or adult orientated rock): Peter Gabriel, Genesis, and of course, ELO. I wanted my peers to like ELO too, but what chance did I have? Then I came across the track Ma Ma Belle which had a heavy guitar sound. One day I got my chance to play it and I put my tape into the tape player. “Listen to this”, I said, and pressed play.
Tumbleweed.
ELO are not cool, but I still like them.
