Kelly Groucutt

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Kelly Groucutt
Kelly Groucutt 1979
Kelly Groucutt 1979
Background information
Birth name Michael William Groucutt
Born September 8, 1945 (1945-09-08) (age 62)
Origin Coseley, England
Genre(s) Rock and Roll
Pop
Rock
Occupation(s) Musician, Vocalist
Instrument(s) Bass Guitar
Guitar
Label(s) Jet, RCA
Associated acts Electric Light Orchestra
OrKestra
ELO Part II
The Orchestra
Website http://www.kellygroucutt.com/

Kelly Groucutt (born Michael William Groucutt, 8 September 1945) is a musician who is best known for being the bass player for the band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), between 1974 and 1983. He was born in Coseley, Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.

Groucutt was a member of a band called "Sight and Sound" before being recruited in 1974 for ELO's 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), "Sweet is the Night" (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 & conductor Louis Clark.

Kelly remained with ELO until the onset of the recording sessions for 1983's Secret Messages album. It was at this juncture that Kelly 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 precedings. 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.

He recently married his long time girlfriend Anna-Maria Bialaga and tours as part of a local, little known band called Session 60, as well as taking part in some of the many ELO spin off groups: Orkestra, ELO Part 2, and The Orchestra.


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