Kelly Groucutt

Kelly Groucutt (born Michael William Groucutt; 8 September 1945 – 19 February 2009) was an English musician best known as the bassist and secondary vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982.

Groucutt was born in Coseley, West Midlands. He began his musical career at 15 as Rikki Storm of Rikki Storm and the Falcons. He sang with multiple outfits during the 1960s, 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".

While playing with Barefoot in Birmingham, 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 asked to adopt a stage name because ELO had already had several members named Michael, Mike or Mik; he chose Kelly (a school nickname). ELO then set off on their Eldorado tour. The first Electric Light Orchestra album to feature Groucutt on bass guitar and as a backing vocalist was Face the Music (1975). He assumed lead vocal duties on one or two album tracks typically, and his vocals can be heard on later ELO songs, most prominently on songs such as "Nightrider" (1975), "Poker" (1975), "Down Home Town" (1975), "Above the Clouds" (1976), "Across the Border" (1977), "Night in the City" (1977), "Sweet is the Night" (1977) and "The Diary of Horace Wimp" (1979). Groucutt often displayed his operatic vocal talents during live performances of "Rockaria!" (1976), though these were not performed in the studio.

Groucutt continued contributing on the albums A New World Record (1976), Out of the Blue (1977), Discovery (1979), Xanadu (1980), Time (1981), and the early sessions for Secret Messages (1983). By Time, Groucutt's role in the band was reduced by Lynne from co-lead vocals to backing vocals exclusively.

In 1982, he released his self-titled, debut solo 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, the album was remastered for CD.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.