Melvyn Gale (born 15 January 1952) is an English

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Career

Born in London, Gale attended the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

. He played his first professional concert with the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

Orchestra in 1970. He also played with the Bolshoi and Rambert Ballet companies, the London Youth Symphony Orchestra, and various West End shows. He was a cellist for the

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

from 1975, replacing Mike Edwards. He is also a pianist, performing piano on " Wild West Hero" as well as occasionally live on "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the A-side and B-side, B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to be a ...

". In 1979, he appeared in the ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

'' music video playing alongside the rest of the classic line-up (

Mik Kaminski Michael Kaminski (born 2 September 1951) is an English musician. He played violin in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1973 and 1980 and toured with the band from 1981 to 1986. He was a member of Electric Light Orchestra Pa ...

on violin and close friend

Hugh McDowell Hugh Alexander McDowell (31 July 1953 – 6 November 2018) was an English cellist and member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and related acts. Career McDowell started playing the cello at the age of four-and-a-half; by the age of 10, he ...

on cello) for the last time. He remained with the group until he and McDowell were dismissed via letter 1980. Gale and his friend Frank Wilson built a recording studio in 1979. On 12 April 1980, their first album was released under the name Wilson Gale & Co. and was titled ''Gift Wrapped Set''. The album was recorded at

Ramport Studios Ramport Studios was a recording studio in south London's Battersea district, built by the Who in 1973. History Originally called "The Kitchen" and later renamed Ramport Studios, the recording studio was initially built as a private studio for ...

and was released on

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot (band), Riot, Magnum (band ...

. Gale ran a company which manufactured CDs and vinyl records for 18 years.

References

External links

Biography of Gale

Biography of ELO
1952 births Living people Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British rock cellists British pop cellists Electric Light Orchestra members Male actors from London English pianists English classical cellists English classical pianists British male classical pianists Musicians from London English cellists English classical musicians {{cellist-stub