Electric Light Orchestra 

The British art rock/ pop group Electric Light Orchestra, better known as ELO, formed in Birmingham, England in 1971 from the ashes of another U.K. supergroup, The Move. 

Merging classical music and rock, core ELO members Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan turned out a string of hits during the late '70s, charting 17 U.S. Top 40 singles between 1975 and 1981. Their orchestrated, Beatlesque pop won over fans worldwide through nearly two decades of albums and several lineup changes including, most significantly, the departure of Roy Wood after their self -- titled debut album. 

In 1986, vocalist Lynne disbanded ELO, going on to form the Traveling Wilburys with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. He also released a solo album, 1990's Armchair Theatre, but concentrated the better part of the '90s on production work. Following a bit of legal wrangling between Lynne and Bevan, both of whom had equal legal rights to the ELO name, Bevan re -- formed the group (sans Lynne) under the name Electric Light Orchestra Part II.