| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 13 | |
| ↙Live albums | 4 | |
| ↙Compilation albums | 37 | |
| ↙EPs | 1 | |
| ↙Singles | 45 | |
| ↙Soundtracks | 1 | |
Below is the complete Electric Light Orchestra discography including imports, videos, and hit singles. ELO's back catalogue is unusual since their compilation albums far outweigh their studio output in number, owing to the large number of hit singles primarily written by Jeff Lynne. From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated more combined UK and US Top 40 hits than any other band in the world, and also generated the third most UK and US separate Top 40s.
Contents |
Below is a table outlining ELO's studio album output.
Notes: The peak chart listings are accurate but incomplete because of the limited availability of past chart information regarding other countries. All of the RIAA and BPI certifications and/or re-certifications listed are out of date, the majority being decades old. The fact that some albums are listed as non-certified does not necessarily mean those albums have not reached certification sales levels. Record companies that own the manufacturing and distribution rights to a particular record have to pay the RIAA, BPI and related bodies to research, audit and certify that record, whether it be an album, single or compilation.
| Year | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
AUT [2] |
AUS [3][4] |
GER [5] |
JPN [6][7] |
NLD [8] |
NOR [9] |
NZ [10] |
SWE [11] |
US [12] |
|||
| 1971 | The Electric Light Orchestra (UK) / No Answer (US)
|
32 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 196 | |
| 1973 | ELO 2 (UK) / Electric Light Orchestra II (US)
|
35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 62 | |
On the Third Day
|
– | – | 10 | – | 289 [A] |
– | – | – | – | 52 | ||
| 1974 | Eldorado, A Symphony
|
– | – | 40 | – | 299 [A] |
4 | – | 30 | – | 16 | |
| 1975 | Face the Music
|
– | – | 30 | - | 251 [A] |
11 | – | – | 41 | 8 | |
| 1976 | A New World Record
|
6 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 60 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1977 | Out of the Blue
|
4 | – | 3 | 6 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1979 | Discovery
|
1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1980 | Xanadu
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Time
|
1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 16 | |
| 1983 | Secret Messages
|
4 | 11 | 19 | 6 | 35 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 36 | |
| 1986 | Balance of Power
|
9 | 29 | 49 | 18 | 22 | – | 4 | – | 3 | 49 |
|
| 2001 | Zoom
|
34 | 51 | 49 | 16 | 36 | 46 | 18 | – | 35 | 94 [B] |
|
| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 1974 | The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
|
| 1998 | Live at Wembley '78
|
Live at Winterland '76
|
|
| 1999 | Live at the BBC
|
| Year | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.K. [1] |
U.S. [12] |
|||
| 1976 | Olé ELO | – | 32 | |
| 1977 | The Light Shines On | – | – |
|
| 1978 | Three Light Years | 38 | – |
|
| 1979 | ELO's Greatest Hits | 7 | 30 | |
| 1989 | The Very Best of The Electric Light Orchestra | 28 | – |
|
| 1994 | The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra | 4 | – | |
| 1997 | Light Years, The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra | 60 | – | |
| 2001 | The Ultimate Collection | 18 | – |
|
| 2005 | All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra | 6 | – |
|
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
AUS | AUT | CAN | NLD | FRA | DEU | IRL [21] |
U.S. Bill- board [22] |
U.S. Cash- box |
U.S. Record World |
ZAF | |||
| 1972 | "10538 Overture" | The Electric Light Orchestra / No Answer | 9 | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1973 | "Roll Over Beethoven" | ELO 2 | 6 | 53 | – | – | 26 | – | 22 | – | 42 | 48 | 31 | – |
| "Showdown" | On the Third Day (US versions only) | 12 | – | – | – | 28 | – | – | – | 53 | 51 | – | – | |
| 1974 | "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" | On the Third Day | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| "Daybreaker" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 87 | 61 | – | – | ||
| "Can't Get It Out of My Head" | Eldorado, A Symphony | – | 59 | – | – | 19 | 5 | – | – | 9 | 14 | 23 | – | |
| 1975 | "Boy Blue" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Evil Woman" | Face the Music | 10 | 23 | – | 6 | 20 | 2 | – | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | – | |
| 1976 | "Nightrider" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Strange Magic" | 38 | 85 | – | 20 | – | 10 | – | – | 14 | 15 | 20 | – | ||
| "Showdown" (reissue) | Olé ELO | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 59 | 75 | – | – | |
| "Livin' Thing" | A New World Record | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 1 | |
| 1977 | "Rockaria!" | 9 | 10 | 7 | – | 28 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Do Ya" | – | – | – | – | – | – | 42 | – | 24 | 16 | 25 | – | ||
| "Telephone Line" [C] | 8 | 10 | – | 9 | – | 10 | 32 | – | 7 | 4 | 7 | – | ||
| "Turn to Stone" | Out of the Blue | 18 | 17 | – | 1 | 11 | 9 | 35 | – | 13 | 11 | 9 | 17 | |
| 1978 | "Mr. Blue Sky" | 6 | 87 | – | – | 11 | – | 27 | – | 35 | 27 | 33 | – | |
| "Wild West Hero" | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Sweet Talkin' Woman" | 6 | 38 | 27 | 6 | – | – | – | 6 | 17 | 18 | 23 | – | ||
| "It's Over" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 75 | – | – | – | ||
| The ELO EP | Three Light Years | 34 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | – | – | – | |
| 1979 | "Shine A Little Love" | Discovery | 6 | 14 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 30 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 16 |
| "The Diary of Horace Wimp" | 8 | 48 | – | – | – | – | 52 | 10 | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Don't Bring Me Down" [C] | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | – | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | ||
| "Confusion" [D] | 8 | – | 13 | – | 5 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 47 | – | 10 | ||
| "Last Train to London" [D] | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | 39 | 36 | – | – | ||||
| 1980 | "I'm Alive" [C] | Xanadu | 20 | 27 | – | 7 | – | 9 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
| "Xanadu" (Feat. Olivia Newton-John) | 1 [23] |
2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 20 | ||
| "All Over the World" | 11 | 78 | – | 3 | 11 | 4 | 28 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 8 | – | ||
| "Don't Walk Away" | 21 | – | – | – | – | – | 52 | 7 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1981 | "Hold on Tight" | Time | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | – | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| "Twilight" | 30 | 93 | 15 | – | 32 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 38 | 38 | 39 | – | ||
| 1982 | "Rain Is Falling" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 101 [E] | – | – | – | |
| "Here Is the News"/"Ticket to the Moon" | 24 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 61 | 17 | – | – | – | – | ||
| "The Way Life's Meant To Be" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1983 | "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" | Secret Messages | 13 | 13 | 16 | 4 | 4 | – | 17 | 4 | 19 | 22 | – | 7 |
| "Secret Messages" | 48 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Four Little Diamonds" | 84 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 86 | – | – | – | ||
| "Stranger" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 105 [E] | – | – | – | ||
| 1986 | "Calling America" | Balance of Power | 28 | 47 | 22 | – | – | 10 | 31 | 16 | 18 | 26 | – | – |
| "So Serious" | 77 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| "Getting to the Point" | 97 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1990 | "Destination Unknown" [F] | Afterglow | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2001 | "Alright" | Zoom | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| "Moment in Paradise" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2006 | "Surrender" [G] | A New World Record (30th Anniversary Edition) |
81 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2007 | "Latitude 88 North" [H] | Out of the Blue (30th Anniversary Edition) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Number-one songs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Top-ten hits | 15 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | ||
| Year | Title | Album | US Main' Rock | US Adult Cont' |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | "Xanadu" | Xanadu | - | 2 |
| 1981 | "Hold on Tight" | Time | 2 | - |
| 1983 | "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" | Secret Messages | 19 | 36 |
| "Stranger" | - | 33 | ||
| 1986 | "Calling America" | Balance of Power | 22 | 20 |
| Year | Title | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Discovery | UK Betamax/VHS |
| 1980 | Live at Wembley | Betamax/VHS |
| 1989 | The "Out of the Blue" Tour - Live At Wembley | UK VHS |
| 1990 | Fusion - Live In London | UK VHS |
| 1991 | The Very Best Of ELO | UK VHS |
| 1998 | Out of the Blue Tour: Live at Wembley/Discovery | DVD/VHS |
| 2001 | Zoom Tour Live | DVD/VHS |
| 2005 | Inside the Electric Light Orchestra 1970-1973 | DVD |
| 2006 | Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley (remastered) | DVD |
| 2006 | ELO - Total Rock Review | DVD |
| 2010 | In Performance | DVD |
| 2010 | Live – The Early Years | DVD |
| Book: Electric Light Orchestra | |
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