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All Music Guide:
Kelly Groucutt was one of the longer tenured supporting players in the lineup of the Electric Light Orchestra, serving as the latter group's bassist and one of its most visible singers for almost a decade, from 1974 until 1983. He was born Michael "Kelly" Groucutt in 1945 in Coseley, Staffordshire. Music interested him from an early age, and he started out as a singer at age 15, when he joined his first band. He took up the guitar at 17, and then, at 21, started learning the bass. He passed through several early bands, including Greenwich Village and Marble Arch, and during the early '70s joined Sight & Sound, a pop-oriented progressive rock band that had previously been home to Rick Price of the Move. He later joined ELO, where he was installed not only as bassist but also, for a long time, as co-lead vocalist alongside Jeff Lynne. He cut his first solo album, Kelly (1982, RCA) with assistance from ELO's Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, Louis Clark, and Mik Kaminski. Groucutt's relationship with Lynne and ELO changed markedly in the early '80s, as the leader reduced his role as a singer and eventually took over playing the bass parts himself on their records. Groucutt's relationship with Lynne and the band ended acrimoniously, amid lawsuits over Lynne's plan to disband the group, and he eventually received a settlement.
He pursued a solo career from that point on, under his established name and, for a time, under the group alias "Player," which included his old ELO bandmate Mik Kaminski. Eventually, he and Kaminski began working under the name "OrKestra" performing ELO songs with which they were associated, and cut a pair of albums, Beyond the Dream and Roll Over Beethoven. They also played for a time with Bev Bevan's Electric Light Orchestra Part II in the early '90s, and eventually became full-time members of that band. In addition to his work with them, Groucutt was known for doing one-off one-man shows in the Midlands, in which he performed songs from the '50s and '60s, sometimes as Kelly G or Michael Groucutt. Kelly Groucutt passed away in early 2009, of a heart attack, at the age of 63.
Wikipedia:
Kelly Groucutt (8 September 1945 – 19 February 2009), born Michael William Groucutt, was an English musician who was best known for being the bassist for the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), between 1974 and 1983. He was born in Coseley, West Midlands.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Early career[edit]
Groucutt began his musical career at 15 as Rikki Storm of Rikki Storm and the Falcons. He went on to sing with various outfits during the '60s, picking up the guitar as he went along. Groucutt was also a member of a band called "Sight and Sound", and later with a band called "Barefoot".Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Electric Light Orchestra[edit]
It was while playing with Barefoot in Birmingham that he was spotted by ELO's Jeff Lynne; and after Lynne, Bev Bevan and Richard Tandy had watched him play, he was invited to join ELO, to replace Mike de Albuquerque, who had recently left the band. Upon joining, he was immediately asked to adopt a stage name because ELO had already had several members named Michael, Mike or Mik; he chose Kelly as being a school nickname. ELO then set off on their Eldorado tour. He soon established himself as a fan favourite by taking over lead vocal duties on a few songs as well as gaining a great rapport with live audiences. His distinctive voice can also be best heard on later ELO songs such as "Nightrider" (1975), "Poker" (1975), "Above the Clouds" (1976), "Sweet Is the Night" (1977), "Across the Border" (1977) and "The Diary of Horace Wimp" (1979). While he did not perform the operatic vocals in the studio, Groucutt often displayed his vocal talents by replicating them during live performances of "Rockaria!" (1976).
The first Electric Light Orchestra album to feature Kelly on bass guitar and as a backing vocalist was 1975's Face the Music. He continued contributing on the following albums A New World Record (1976), Out of the Blue (1977), Discovery (1979), Xanadu (1980) and Time (1981).
In 1982 he released his self-titled, solo debut album, Kelly. This album featured fellow ELO members Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, Mik Kaminski and their orchestral co-arranger and conductor Louis Clark. In 2001 this album was remastered for CD.
Groucutt remained with ELO until the onset of the recording sessions for 1983's Secret Messages album. It was at this juncture that he left the band, unhappy with royalty payments during his tenure, and made the decision to sue management and band leader Jeff Lynne. A settlement for the sum of £300,000 was reached out of court prior to proceedings. He is credited with playing bass on Secret Messages, although it has been stated from an official source that he only played on four songs ("Train of Gold" and "Rock n Roll is King" from the single disc release and "No Way Out" and "Beatles Forever" from the original double album).
He took part in some of the many ELO spin-off groups: OrKestra, ELO Part II, and The Orchestra. He toured worldwide with The Orchestra (former members of ELO and ELO Part II) and also took part in tours as part of a local, little known band called Session 60.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Personal life[edit]
In 2006 Groucutt married his second wife, longtime girlfriend Anna-Maria Bialaga. He had four children and two grandchildren.
Groucutt died on the afternoon of 19 February 2009, following a heart attack suffered the previous night.
His widow died on 11 April 2012.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).