Corporate EntertainmentIn the ever-changing world of popular music, certain characters remain constant. Though always present in many different guises, is a man whose appearance is as colourful as his music … Roy Wood!
In 1966, Roy, Carl Wayne, Bev Bevan, Ace Kefford, and Trevor Burton formed The Move.
The band was one of the Sixties’ most legendary and notorious bands.
Their first single, ‘Night of Fear,‘ immediately landed the band in the Top 5. A further nine Top 20 hits followed over the next five years all written by Roy.
Their hit ‘Flowers In The Rain‘ was the first ever record to be played on Radio One.
The Move’s No. 3 hit, ‘Fire Brigade,’ was followed by their chart-topping masterpiece, ‘Blackberry Way‘. Personnel changes within the band led to Roy’s teaming up with Jeff Lynne.
The Electric Light Orchestra
Whilst The Move continued to record four more hit singles and two albums, the ‘Electric Light Orchestra’ was born to accommodate Roy’s burning desire to create pop songs with heavily classical overtones.
ELO’s first single, the spine-tingling “10538 Overture” entered the charts as The Move’s final offering, “California Man“, left the Top 10. The latter was one of rock’s finest moments, making a fitting farewell for a great band.
After co-writing and co-producing the first ELO album and taking the adventurous unit on the road, Roy decided to look elsewhere for a fresh challenge and a new direction.
Wizzard
Woody seemed to have heard the band’s sound in his head and interpreted it so boldly and literally with a visual image of wildly multi-coloured hair, face paint, and a dress sense that made Ziggy Stardust look subtle!
Debuting in the charts at No. 4 with ‘Ball Park Incident‘, Wizzard followed up with two No. 1’s in ‘See My Baby Jive‘ and ‘Angel Fingers‘.
However, the one hit that has probably played on every radio station and in every household every year for the past 50 years is the Christmas classic ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’.
Roy Wood has won many awards including:
- Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song Collection
- Kerrang Songwriter Award
- Rock Radio’s Classic Songwriter Award
- Mojo Honours List
- Classic Songwriter Award
The Degree of Honorary Doctor of Music was conferred upon Roy in January 2008 from The University Of Derby, and his own star on The Birmingham Walk Of Stars in 2010.
In 2017 Roy Wood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.
