Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood (sometimes erroneously thought to be born as Ulysses Adrian Wood, from an offhand interview comment in the
1960s) (born
8 November 1946 in
Birmingham,
England), is a
songwriter,
guitarist and
multi-instrumentalist.
He was particularly successful in the
1960s and
1970s as member and co-founder of the
bands
The Move,
Electric Light Orchestra and
Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a huge number of
hits to the repertoire of these
groups. Wood was not only known for playing guitar, but also many other instruments, both in the
studio and on the
stage. On some of his
albums he has played every instrument himself.
His first group in Birmingham in the early
1960s was Gerry Levine and the Avengers. Then he went on with
Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (the band later to become
Idle Race, in which his musical partner
Jeff Lynne made his first steps). From this, and a variety of other Birmingham-based groups, the most talented musicians formed
The Move, and Wood became their musical leader. The Move quickly entered the charts, and were famous for spectacular stage shows. After the departure of Move's singer
Carl Wayne, Wood was pushed into the front position. He acquired a wild image wearing some sort of Indian disguise. Since Move members could not agree on the musical direction, and perhaps also because of their weird stage shows, the musical potential of the group was underestimated. Wood therefore developed plans to realize his ambitions in separate projects.
He loved sound experiments, and complex arrangements, and was in this respect one of the most progressive musicians of his time. He was a proponent of combining
rock'n'roll music with other styles, such as
classical music, or the
big band sound. In his bands, string and brass players were integrated members. When The Move was still on tour, he founded, together with his band colleagues
Jeff Lynne and
Bev Bevan, the
Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was later led to big commercial success by Lynne. ELO broadened the basis of a rock band by adding a string section.
ELO's early live performances were chaotic, and after increasing musical and personal differences with Lynne, Wood left and formed a new group,
Wizzard, which assembled cellists, brass players and a bigger rhythm section, with several
drummers and
percussionists. In parallel, he also released several solo albums, exploring further musical directions. His
1973 album,
Boulders, was an almost entirely solo effort, right down to the sleeve artwork. A second solo album
Mustard (1975), including contributions by
Phil Everly and
Annie Haslam, was less successful.
The line-up of albums was always fascinating, because of the large number of instruments Wood, and his band members, were playing. Wood himself is mentioned as singer as well as player of
guitars,
bass guitar,
sitar,
cello,
double bass,
saxophones,
clarinet,
trombone,
tuba,
recorders,
oboe,
French horn,
banjo,
mandolin,
bassoon,
drums,
percussion,
vibraphone,
bagpipes and
keyboards.
As of the late
1970s, Wood appeared less active in public, commercial success faded away, and his musical experiments did not always match the popular taste. However, he remained productive in his studio work as musician,
producer and songwriter. He was a big
Elvis fan, but he never succeeded in getting 'The King' to adopt one of his compositions. However he was untiring as a producer for other acts, most successfully
doo-wop revivalists
Darts.
In 1977 he formed the
Wizzo Band, a jazz-rock ensemble, whose only live performance was a
BBC simultaneous
TV and
radio broadcast in
stereo, and who split early the following year, after cancelling a nationwide tour.
In the early 1980s he released a few singles under his own name and also as The Helicopters, and played some live dates under this name. The release of one of these singles, "Aerial Pictures", backed with "Airborne", was cancelled due 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 former
Move vocalist
Carl Wayne.
Wood also made a one-off rock'n'roll
medley single with
Phil Lynott,
Chas Hodges and
John Coughlan, credited to
The Rockers, "We Are The Boys", which made the Top 100 in late 1983, and played a leading role in the Birmingham Heartbeat children's charity concert, on 15 March 1986. As well as designing the
logo, Wood stole the show in a line-up which also included the Electric Light Orchestra and the
Moody Blues.
After an extended period of hibernation, following the release of the album
Starting Up (1987), a cover version of the
Len Barry hit "1-2-3", and a guest vocal appearance on one track on
Rick Wakeman's
Time Machine album, he went on the road with 'Roy Wood's Army'. Rumours of a new live album, and an album of new studio work, provisionally called "Electric Age", did not materialise. He is also believed to have recorded a couple of tracks with Jeff Lynne around this time, which likewise never saw the light of day.
Altogether he had more than 20 singles in the
UK Top 40 under various guises, including several number one
hits. His most regularly performed and broadcast oldie is the seasonal Wizzard single "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". In 1995 he released a new live version as the 'Roy Wood Big Band', which charted at No. 59, and in 2000 he joined forces with
Mike Batt and
The Wombles, for a re-recording of the song and the Wombles' hit "Wombling Merry Christmas", which reached No. 22.
Most recently, he has formed 'Roy Wood's Rock and Roll Band' for occassional live dates and TV performances in the UK.
Roy Wood is not to be confused with
Ron Wood, guitarist with
The Jeff Beck Group,
The Faces and
The Rolling Stones.
Albums
Boulders (1973) - No. 15
Mustard (1975)
Roy Wood Wizzo Band : Super Active (1977)
On The Road Again (1979), not released in the UK
Starting Up (1987)
Singles
* "When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo" (1972)
* "Dear Elaine" (1973) - No. 18
* "Forever" (1973) - No. 8
* "Goin' Down The Road" (1974) - No. 13
* "Oh What A Shame" (1975) - No. 13
* "Look Thru' The Eyes Of a Fool" (1975)
* "Any Old Time Will Do" (1976)
* "Keep Your Hands On The Wheel" (1978)
* "(We're) On The Road Again" (1979)
* "Rock City" - Helicopters (1980)
* "Sing Out The Old, Ring In The New" (1980)
* "Green Glass Windows" - Roy Wood Helicopters (1981)
* "Down To Zero" (1981)
* "It's Not Easy" (1982)
* "O.T.T." (1982)
* "We Are The Boys (Who Make All The Noise)" - The Rockers (1983)
* "Under Fire" (1985)
* "Sing Out The Old, Ring In The New" - new recording (1985)
* "Raining In The City" (1986)
* "1-2-3" (1987)
Collaboration singles
* "I Never Believed In Love" - Annie Haslam and Roy Wood (1977)
* "Waterloo" (1986) - Doctor & The Medics Featuring Roy Wood (1986) - No. 45
* "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" - Roy Wood Big Band (1995) - No. 59
* "I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Everyday" - Wombles With Roy Wood (2000) - No. 22
*
Roy Wood's websitesee also:
The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, Wizzard
