Last Train to London
"Last Train to London" | ||||
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![]() UK single | ||||
Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
from the album Discovery | ||||
A-side | "Confusion" (UK) | |||
B-side | "Down Home Town" (US) | |||
Released | 9 November 1979 (UK) January 1980 (US) | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Studio | Musicland Studios, Munich, West Germany | |||
Genre |
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Length | 4:31 | |||
Label | Jet | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
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Discovery track listing | ||||
9 tracks
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Music video | ||||
"Last Train to London" on YouTube | ||||
"Last Train to London" is a song from the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the fifth track from their album Discovery.
The song was released in 1979 in the UK as a double A-side single with "Confusion". It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] However, in the US the two songs charted separately, with "Confusion" in late 1979 followed by "Last Train to London" in early 1980. It peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
Background
There was a certain period when it seemed we spent years on trains going back and forth from Birmingham to the various TV and radio stations in London.
— Discovery remaster (2001), Jeff Lynne
Critical reception
Billboard described the song as having a "catchy pop melody with Beatlesque vocal qualities and a smooth layered sound."[3] Cash Box said that the song has "a frothy pop melody" and "a bouncy R&B-tinged rhythm line," making it sound somewhat like Heatwave's 1977 single "Boogie Nights."[4] Record World said that "The electronic dance beat and lilting vocals are as timely as they are engaging."[5]
Something Else! critic S. Victor Aaron found it to be "more formulaic" than "Shine a Little Love", the other "disco thumper hit from Discovery."[6]
Personnel
According to JeffLynneSongs.com[7]
- Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer
- Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
- Richard Tandy – grand piano, synthesizer, electric piano, clavinet
- Kelly Groucutt – bass, vocals
Additional personnel
Chart history
| Certifications
|
Cover versions
- In 2002 British girl group Atomic Kitten sampled the hook of the song in their single "Be with You". The song was released as a double A-side with the song "The Last Goodbye". The single peaked at No. 2 in the UK.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. 1 December 1979. p. 52. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 December 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 1 December 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Aaron, S. Victor (14 February 2011). "Guilty pleasures: Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra". Something Else!. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Jeff Lynne Song Database - Song Details". www.jefflynnesongs.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Enter Electric Light Orchestra in the Search by Artist field, then click Search.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 8, 1980" (PDF).
- ^ "British single certifications – ELO – Confusion/Last Train To London". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ Van der Kiste, John (2017). Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song.
External links
- Review at allmusic
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- Bev Bevan
- Roy Wood
- Richard Tandy
- Mike Edwards
- Wilfred Gibson
- Hugh McDowell
- Mike de Albuquerque
- Colin Walker
- Mik Kaminski
- Kelly Groucutt
- Melvyn Gale
- The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer)
- ELO 2 (Electric Light Orchestra II)
- On the Third Day
- Eldorado
- Face the Music
- A New World Record
- Out of the Blue
- Discovery
- Time
- Secret Messages
- Balance of Power
- Zoom
- Alone in the Universe
- From Out of Nowhere
- The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
- Live at Wembley '78
- Live at Winterland '76
- The BBC Sessions
- Live at the BBC
- Electric Light Orchestra Live
- Wembley or Bust
- Xanadu
- Showdown
- Olé ELO
- The Light Shines On
- Three Light Years
- The Light Shines On Vol 2
- ELO's Greatest Hits
- A Box of Their Best
- Four Light Years
- Afterglow
- ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. 2
- The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra
- Strange Magic
- Light Years
- Definitive Collection
- Friends & Relatives
- Flashback
- The Ultimate Collection
- The Essential Electric Light Orchestra
- All Over the World
- Ticket to the Moon
- The Essential Electric Light Orchestra (2 CD Edition)
- Mr. Blue Sky
- "10538 Overture"
- "Mr. Radio" (withdrawn)
- "Roll Over Beethoven"
- "Showdown"
- "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"
- "Can't Get It Out of My Head" / "Illusions in G Major"
- "Boy Blue" / "Eldorado"
- "Evil Woman"
- "Strange Magic"
- "Nightrider"
- "Strange Magic"
- "Livin' Thing" / "Fire On High"
- "Rockaria!"
- "Do Ya"
- "Telephone Line" / "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)"
- "Turn to Stone" / "Mister Kingdom"
- "Mr. Blue Sky" / "One Summer Dream"
- "Sweet Talkin' Woman"
- "Wild West Hero"
- "It's Over"
- "Shine a Little Love"
- "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
- "Don't Bring Me Down"
- "Confusion"
- "Last Train to London"
- "I'm Alive"
- "Xanadu" (with Olivia Newton-John)
- "All Over the World"
- "Don't Walk Away"
- "Hold On Tight"
- "Twilight"
- "Here Is the News" / "Ticket to the Moon"
- "Rain Is Falling"
- "The Way Life's Meant to Be"
- "Rock 'n' Roll Is King"
- "Secret Messages"
- "Four Little Diamonds"
- "Stranger"
- "Calling America"
- "So Serious"
- "Getting to the Point"
- Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley (1980)
- Fusion – Live in London (1990)
- Zoom Tour Live (2001)
- ELO – Total Rock Review (2006)
- Live: The Early Years (2010)
- Jeff Lynne's ELO: Live in Hyde Park (2015)
- Wembley or Bust (2017)
- Louis Clark
- Dave Morgan
- Gregg Bissonette
- Matt Bissonette
- Marc Mann
- Rosie Vela
- Discography
- Members
- Song list
- The Move
- Wizzard
- ELO Part II
- The Orchestra
- Violinski
- Earthrise
- L.E.O.
- Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO
Category
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