Fans of the legendary rock group Electric Light Orchestra have identified what they believe is the band’s saddest song.
The Jeff Lynne-fronted group is perhaps best known for their upbeat thrills with the likes of Mr. Blue Sky, Twilight, and Last Train to London offering that feel-good factor with their instrumentals. But Lynne, who also featured as a member of The Traveling Wilbury’s alongside Bob Dylan and George Harrison, has a knack for writing heartbreakers and disguising them with those playful instrumentals. Fans have since taken to the r/ElectricLightOrchestra subreddit and shared their thoughts on what may be the band’s saddest song, Telephone Line.
One fan asked: “Sad songs by ELO. They’re known for all their happy songs, but I wonder if they have some good sad ones as well…” The top reply to the fan’s inquiry listed Telephone Line as the answer, with many agreeing it’s possibly the band’s best heartbreaker. A reply reads: “Telephone Line is pretty sad in a Roy Orbison sort of way – full of heartbreak and melodrama.”
Another added: “For me it’s really the frame of mind you’re in when listening. Balance of Power has what can be sad for me. Getting to the Point, Secret Lives, Sorrow About to Fall, Without Someone, Endless Lies and a couple of others. Not so much the music but the lyrics. Again for me it’s more a frame of mind; at the same time can be upbeat when in a different mindset.”
A third wrote: “Mr. Radio is one that stands out to me in the tone and meaning behind the song. It’s about a guy using the radio to cope with his sadness and loneliness after his wife left him.” A fourth agreed with the choice of Mr. Radio, saying that it has a “parasocial element to it” that feels “progressive” in the “social media age.”
A handful of other song suggestions were made by fans on the forum, with some suggesting there are plenty of sad songs in ELO’s discography. Balance of Power, the band’s 1985 album and last until 2001’s Zoom, was singled out as being an entire collection of sad songs.
One listener wrote: “I’m Steppin’ Out. Shangri-La. Sorrow About to Fall. Pretty much all of Balance of Power.” Another added: “One Summer Dream. Every time I listen to it, I get teary-eyed. Just something about the beginning always sets the mood.”
A third shared: “The orchestral opening of One Summer Dream was part of the opening of last year’s Over and Out tour as Jeff and the rest of the band walked onstage. Hearing it live gave me goosebumps.”
Others were keen to highlight the deep-cut track Bluebird is Dead from Secret Messages. A fan wrote: “Bluebird is Dead, all about a man refusing to believe that his wife/girlfriend is dead while holding her body.”
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