Keyboardist Richard Tandy, a longstanding member of Electric Light Orchestra and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee with them, died today (May 1st) in England at age 76.
ELO co-founder Jeff Lynne, who brought Tandy to the band shortly after their debut album was released in 1971, announced Tandy's death on social media. He writes, "It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of my long-time collaborator and dear friend... He was a remarkable musician and friend and I’ll cherish the lifetime of memories we had together."
Born in Birmingham, England on March 26th, 1948, Tandy had played in bands with Lynne as far back as 1964, when they were in a group called The Chantelles. A few years later, he briefly joined Lynne in The Move, the band that evolved into ELO, near the end of its existence. He stayed with ELO until it split in 1986. He was initially their bass player, but soon switched to keyboards and occasional guitar.
Tandy continued to work on many of Lynne's productions, playing on songs by George Harrison and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. He also contributed to Lynne's solo effort Armchair Theatre. He can be seen on the video for The Traveling Wilburys’ “She’s My Baby,” running near the car while talking with Jeff.
He was a member of a reunited ELO that toured in 2000 and 2001 and joined Jeff Lynne's ELO, as it's now called, in 2015. He remained a member up to his death.
Tandy played on all but two of ELO's 15 album's, their self-titled debut (a.k.a. No Answer) and the first Jeff Lynne's ELO album, 2015's All Alone in the Universe, on which Lynne plays virtually everything.
Check out the original announcement of his passing here, courtesy of Jeff Lynne's Official Instagram.
Despite this news, 'Jeff Lynne's ELO' is still scheduled to play Amercian Airlines Center in Dallas on October 18th. We will keep you posted.