Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of

the Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...

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 ...

and

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCar ...

. Wood formed the Move in 1965, and had hits including " Flowers in the Rain". While the Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleagues

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

and Bev Bevan, founded

(ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success. After increasing tensions, Wood left ELO in 1972 and formed a new group,

, who had seven hits, including Wood's most regularly broadcast song, " I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day". As a songwriter, Wood contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of the Move, ELO and Wizzard. Altogether, he had more than 20 singles in the UK Singles Chart under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits. Wood was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.

Career

Early years

Roy Wood was born on 8 November 1947 in Kitts Green, a suburb of Birmingham, England. For some years the legend persisted that his real name was Ulysses Adrian Wood, until it was revealed that this was probably the result of somebody close to the Move in their early days filling in such names on a 'lifelines' feature for the press as a joke.Van der Kiste, John (2012). ''Roy Wood: The Move, Wizzard and beyond''. KDP. His first group in Birmingham in the early 1960s was the Falcons, which he left in 1963 to join Gerry Levene and the Avengers. He then moved to Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (the band later became the Idle Race). He attended the Moseley College of Art, but was expelled in 1964.

The Move

The Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...

was formed from other Birmingham-based groups, and quickly entered the UK Singles Chart. Their single "Night of Fear" climbed to No. 2 in early 1967. Their third hit, " Flowers in the Rain", was the first song played by

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

at the launch of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

on September 30, 1967, and the band evolved over a three-year period. After the departure of the Move's lead singer Carl Wayne, Wood's influence became more prominent. In 1967, Wood (and fellow Move member Trevor Burton) sang backing vocals on the track "You Got Me Floatin, on

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

's album '' Axis: Bold as Love''. Wood was keen on musical experimentation, and was an early proponent of combining

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and pop music with other styles, such as

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, or the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

sound, and introduced classically styled string and brass sections into the pop record. In early 1972, Wood's composition "Songs of Praise" was shortlisted by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as one of six possible choices for the UK entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1972 The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corpo ...

. When performed by

the New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...

on the

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

vehicle ''It's Cliff Richard!'', the song finished in last place with 3,842 votes. The group included the track on their album '' We'd Like to Teach the World to Sing''. Wood recorded his own version of "Songs of Praise", releasing it on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of his 1973 single, " Dear Elaine".

Electric Light Orchestra

While the Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleagues

and Bev Bevan, founded

(ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success. The original intention was to split up the Move at the end of 1970, but contractual obligations meant that both they and ELO existed together for a year, until the former finally broke up in June 1972. In 2017, the ELO line-up of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, and Richard Tandy were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early ELO concerts and formation of Wizzard

ELO's early live performances were chaotic, due to both poor sound quality of the string instruments competing against the guitars and drums, as well as Wood's constant moving from instrument to instrument during the shows (playing bass, guitar, cello and saxophone). After increasing tensions, Wood left in July 1972 at the start of the second album sessions, following a trip to Italy. He formed a new group,

, which assembled cellists, brass players and a bigger rhythm section, with several drummers and percussionists. Wood emulated the

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

production style of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

while successfully and affectionately pastiching the rock and roll style of the early 1960s. Wizzard had seven UK Singles Chart hits with different songs during this period including two consecutive singles, " See My Baby Jive" and " Angel Fingers" which reached the top of that chart. Meanwhile, he released several solo albums, exploring further musical directions. His 1973 album ''

Boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

'' was an almost entirely solo effort, right down to the sleeve artwork, with Wood playing a wide variety of

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s. A second solo album, ''

Mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

'', released in 1975 and including contributions by

Phil Everly Phillip Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014) was an American musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his older brother Don. Early life Phil was born in Chicago in 1939 to Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (190 ...

and Annie Haslam, was less successful. Wizzard - TopPop 1974 5

Post-Wizzard

By the late 1970s, Wood was appearing less in public; commercial success faded away, and his musical experiments did not always match popular taste, but he remained productive in the studio as musician, producer and songwriter. He was a fan of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, but never succeeded in getting him to adopt one of his compositions. He was a producer for other acts, including for

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

revivalists

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

. In 1976, Wood recorded

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

songs " Lovely Rita" and " Polythene Pam" for the musical documentary ''

All This and World War II All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...

''.

The Wizzo Band and subsequent work

In 1977, he formed Wizzo Band, a jazz-rock ensemble, whose only live performance was a

simultaneous television and radio broadcast in stereo. The Wizzo Band split early the following year after cancelling a nationwide tour. Between 1980 and 1982, Wood released a few singles under his own name and also as Roy Wood's Helicopters, and played some live dates under this name, with a band comprising Robin George (guitar), Terry Rowley (keyboards), Jon Camp (bass) and Tom Farnell (drums). The release of what would have been the last of these singles, "Aerial Pictures", backed with "Airborne", was cancelled owing to the lack of chart success for its predecessors, but both sides appeared for the first time in 2006 on a compilation CD, ''Roy Wood – The Wizzard!''. "Aerial Pictures", using the original backing track, subsequently became a solo single for Carl Wayne, the Move's former vocalist. Wood also made a one-off rock and roll medley single with

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

, Chas Hodges and John Coghlan, credited to The Rockers, "We Are The Boys" (1983), and played a leading role in the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986, on 15 March 1986, which was later partly televised by the BBC. As well as designing the logo, Wood performed in a line-up which also included the Electric Light Orchestra and the Moody Blues. After a hiatus following the release of the album '' Starting Up'' (1987), a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Len Barry Leonard Warren Borisoff (June 12, 1942 – November 5, 2020), known professionally by the stage name Len Barry, was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, record producer, author, and poet. Life and career Born on June 12, 1942, and raised ...

hit " 1–2–3", and a guest vocal appearance on one track on

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

's ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

'', he went on the road with a band billed as Roy Wood's Army. He also wrote and recorded two tracks with Lynne in 1989 ("If You Can't Get What You Want" and "Me and You"), which were never released. His most regularly broadcast song is the seasonal Wizzard single " I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", which remains one of the most played Christmas songs in the UK. In 1995, Wood released a new live version as the 'Roy Wood Big Band', which charted at No. 59, and in 2000 he joined forces with

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Batt created the novelty pop band T ...

and

the Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...

, for a re-working of "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" and the Wombles' hit "Wombling Merry Christmas", together in one song which reached No. 22. Over Christmas 2007, Wood appeared in a catalogue advertisement for Argos, where he played the part of a rowdy neighbour playing guitar along to Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", and the song once again entered the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 16. In the 2010 Christmas special of the ITV comedy ''

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

'', Wood in a cameo role performed his Christmas hit at the Benidorm Palace cabaret theatre. He later performed with Wizzard on the Christmas edition of '' Pointless Celebrities'' in December 2013. Wood formed the Roy Wood Rock & Roll Band for occasional live dates and television performances in the UK. They were the support act for

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

at several UK dates in the weeks leading up to Christmas 2009 and 2011. In December 2018, Wood and his band's touring equipment worth £100,000 was stolen following a ram-raid on a warehouse in Leeds. The police later recovered the van and equipment in

East Ardsley East Ardsley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. East Ardsley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District and sits within the Rhubarb Triangle. Etymology The name ''Ardsley'' is first attested in t ...

Personal life

Wood currently lives in South

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. He voted to

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time awa ...

the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in the 23 June 2016 referendum, and in May 2019 joined the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

. Beforehand, he was a longtime member of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

(UKIP), and expressed interest in standing as a candidate for the party in 2004. Wood has one daughter, named Holly. Wood was engaged to Annie Haslam for four years, which she later described as "four of the funniest years of my life", prior to her own marriage in 1991.

Legacy

The

described Wood in 2008 as being "responsible for some of the most memorable sounds of the Seventies" and "credited as playing a major role in the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

, psychedelic and prog rock movements". In 2008, Wood was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

for his contribution to rock and pop by the

University of Derby The University of Derby, formerly known as Derby College, is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the training of schoolmistresses in 1851. It ...

. In 2015, his long and eclectic career was recognised with the "Outer Limits" award at the Progressive Music Awards in London. Wood was inducted into the

in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.

Discography

Chronological album discography

''For the complete Move discography see The Move Discography''
''For the complete ELO discography see Electric Light Orchestra discography''
''For the complete Wizzard discography see Wizzard Discography''
'' List of songs written by Roy Wood'' * ''

'' (1968) – The Move * '' Shazam'' (1970) – The Move * ''

Looking On ''Looking On'' is the third studio album by the English rock band the Move, released in the UK in December 1970. The album is their first to feature Jeff Lynne, their first containing entirely original compositions, and the first on the Fly l ...

'' (1970) – The Move * ''

Message from the Country ''Message from the Country'' is the fourth and final studio album by the Move, as well as the group's only album for EMI's Harvest Records, Harvest label. It was recorded simultaneously with the first Electric Light Orchestra album, ''The Electri ...

'' (1971) – The Move * '' The Electric Light Orchestra'' (1971) – ELO * '' ELO 2'' (1973) – ELO (although uncredited at the time, Wood played cello and bass on "In Old England Town" and "From the Sun to the World"). * '' Wizzard Brew'' (1973) – Wizzard * ''

'' (1973) – Solo * ''

Introducing Eddy and the Falcons ''Introducing Eddy and the Falcons'' is the second album by the English rock band Wizzard. It peaked at No. 19 in the UK Albums Chart – ten places higher than its predecessor, '' Wizzard Brew''. As with the previous Wizzard album, all songs ...

'' (1974) – Wizzard * ''

'' (1975) – Solo * '' Super Active Wizzo'' (1977) – Wizzo Band * '' On The Road Again'' (1979) – Solo * '' Starting Up'' (1987) – Solo * '' Main Street'' (2000) – Roy Wood & Wizzard (Recorded 1976)

Solo albums

Sources:

Collaboration album

Source:

Charting compilation album

Source:

Solo singles

Source:

Collaboration singles

Source:

Songs recorded and released by other artists

References

External links

* – official site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Roy 1946 births Living people 20th-century English painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century British clarinetists 21st-century British double-bassists 21st-century British flautists 21st-century English saxophonists Alumni of the University of Derby Art rock musicians British bagpipe players English male saxophonists British pop cellists British recorder players British rock cellists Electric Light Orchestra members English cellists English clarinetists English double-bassists English Eurosceptics English horn players English male painters English male singer-songwriters English multi-instrumentalists English oboists English record producers English rock bass guitarists English rock drummers English rock guitarists English rock keyboardists English rock saxophonists Glam rock musicians Harvest Records artists Ivor Novello Award winners English lead guitarists English male bass guitarists British male double-bassists British male oboists Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Progressive rock guitarists Progressive rock keyboardists Renaissance (band) members British rhythm guitarists Rock oboists Sitar players British slide guitarists The Idle Race members The Move members UK Independence Party people Warner Records artists Wizzard members