R.I.P. Mike Edwards - E.L.O. Cellist 1948-2010

Mike Edwards, one of the early members of the British rock ensemble, Electric Light Orchestra, died Sept. 3 in an accident.

Mr. Edwards was driving a white van along a countryside road in the southwestern county of Devon when a 700 pound hay bale tumbled down a hill and landed on the windshield of his vehicle, killing him instantly, police said.

He was a particularly eccentric character of the band, who was known for wearing a tailed tuxedo, and playing solo tunes using a grapefruit for a bow.

He also had one particular piece, called the "dying swan," when at the end of his routine, his cello would "explode."

He played with ELO from 1972 to 1974 before becoming a Buddhist, changing his name to Deva Pramada, and making money teaching the cello.

- Washington Post

Electric Light Orchestra - Live/The Early Years DVD

It becomes easy to lose sight that ELO at the heart of it is a simple Rock and Roll band (albeit flavored with violin, Moog synthesizer and 2 cello's) due to the fact of the lush orchestration and attention to detail that Jeff Lynne productions have taken on (and which is why we love them so much) once he was afforded the time needed to exercise perfection.

The band is completely on the money but in very much the Chuck Berry meets Beethoven strain that they created as a group just prior to "A New World Record", Due to copyright terms (I guess Eagle Vision didnt want to spend the extra money) the U.S. release of the ELO Live DVD omits 2 performances of "Roll Over Beethoven" and 1 "Day Tripper" which would have cemented the Berry Beethoven link even further. Great to see the band Rocking Out before things became grander on all scales and I am hoping we get to see some more of post 1976 ELO on video in the future being a fan of the Grand Scale works as well.