Roy Wood
Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
This article is about the English musician. For other people, see Roy Wood (disambiguation).
Roy Wood
8 November 1946
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- composer
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass
- cello
- saxophone
- oboe
- percussion
- keyboards
1964–present
Wood formed the Move in 1965, and had hits including "Flowers in the Rain". While the Move were still together, Wood, along with his band colleagues Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan, founded Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was later to gain major commercial success. After increasing tensions, Wood left ELO in 1972 and formed a new group, Wizzard, who had seven hits, including Wood's most regularly broadcast song, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday".
As a songwriter, Wood contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of the Move, ELO and Wizzard. Altogether, he had more than 20 singles in the UK Singles Chart under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits. Wood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.[5]
Career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Roy Wood was born on 8 November 1946[6] in Kitts Green, a suburb of Birmingham, England. For some years the legend persisted that his real name was Ulysses Adrian Wood, until it was revealed that this was probably the result of somebody close to the Move in their early days filling in such names on a 'lifelines' feature for the press as a joke.[7][8] His first group in Birmingham in the early 1960s was the Falcons, which he left in 1963 to join Gerry Levene and the Avengers. He then moved to Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (the band later became the Idle Race). He attended the Moseley College of Art, but was expelled in 1964.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Wood currently lives in the former Howard Arms public house in Cubley, Derbyshire.[21][22] He voted to leave the European Union in the 23 June 2016 referendum, and in May 2019 joined the Brexit Party.[23] Beforehand, he was a longtime member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and expressed interest in standing as a candidate for the party in 2004.[24] Wood has one child.
Legacy[edit]
The BBC described Wood in 2008 as being "responsible for some of the most memorable sounds of the Seventies" and "credited as playing a major role in the glam rock, psychedelic and prog rock movements".[1] In 2008, Wood was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution to rock and pop by the University of Derby.[1] In 2015, his long and eclectic career was recognised with the "Outer Limits" award at the Progressive Music Awards in London.[25]
Wood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.[5]
Discography[edit]
Chronological album discography[edit]
For the complete Move discography see The Move Discography
For the complete ELO discography see Electric Light Orchestra discography
For the complete Wizzard discography see Wizzard Discography
List of songs written by Roy Wood