Richard Tandy, the keyboardist for the British rock band Electric Light Orchestra, died. His riffs helped define the group’s futuristic blend of Beatles-esque pop and orchestral orchestration, which rocketed them to global stardom in the 1970s. He was 76.
Jeff Lynne, the band’s frontman and leader, confirmed his death via a social media post. Mr. Lynne, who referred to Mr. Tandy as his “longtime collaborator,” did not specify when he died or the reason of death.
Mr. Tandy, who was born on March 26, 1948, in Birmingham, England, first became acquainted with E.L.O. when he played the harpsichord in a band with Bev Bevan, who would later become the drummer.
He joined E.L.O. following the publication of its first album in 1972, originally playing bass guitar before becoming the group’s keyboardist after another founding member left.
Despite changing configurations, Mr. Tandy remained a core band member alongside Mr. Lynne and Mr. Bevan until the band split in 1986. The band went on to sell over 50 million albums, five of which reached the Billboard Top 10.
Mr. Tandy’s riffs, which he played on a variety of keyboard instruments including the clavinet (an electronic clavichord) and the Minimoog synthesizer, served as the foundation for some of E.L.O.’s most well-known tunes.
Mr. Tandy’s “funky clavinet riff that duels with the group’s vocals during the chorus,” in addition to gospel-styled female backing vocals, made “Evil Woman,” one of the group’s best-known songs, “a multi-textured feast of pop hooks,” according to Donald A. Guarisco of All Music Guide. Another of the band’s most popular songs, “Mr. Blue Sky,” incorporated Mr. Tandy’s riff and synthesized voices.
While Mr. Lynne, the frontman, was the driving force behind E.L.O., Mr. Tandy was an important collaborator, co-arranging several of the group’s string sections.
“Tandy was crucial in ELO’s creation of a realm where rock and classical music could exist together,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, into which E.L.O. was inducted in 2017, said on social media on Tuesday. According to Mr. Lynne, Mr. Tandy’s surviving family includes his wife Sheila.
Richard Tandy Was a Key Member of ELO Until Its Dissolution in 1986
Up to the band’s 1986 dissolution, Richard Tandy made significant contributions to Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Tandy was the only other original band member to rejoin Lynne when the group was revived in the 2000s. Other well-known songs by the trio included “-trange Magic,” Mr. Blue Sky, Xanadu, Hold on Tight, Livin’ Thing, and Can’t Get It Out of My Head.
In 1985, Richard Tandy Founded the Tandy Morgan Band
Dave Morgan and Martin Smith, who had previously worked with ELO on live shows, joined Richard Tandy in forming the band in 1985. In the same year, the band released Earthrise, a concept album.
A remastered version of the album was released on CD by the Rock Legacy label in 2011, almost thirty years after it first appeared, introducing Tandy’s musical pursuits to a new generation of listeners with improved sound quality and accessibility.
Richard Tandy Had Two Marriages
Cleo Odzer’s close friend Carol Cookie was the first wife of Richard Tandy. However, a number of disagreements led to the divorce of the couple. Later on, he wed Sheila, his second wife.
Throughout his life, Tandy lived in a variety of places, including Birmingham, France, and Los Angeles. He relocated to Wales in the early to mid-2010s, where he still plays with his band ELO and continues to follow his musical dreams and give back to the community.
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