ELO's electric cello donated to city conservatoire

A silver electric cello that toured with Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) in the 1970s has been donated to a Birmingham music institution by one of the band's former members.

Melvyn Gale, who played cello for the band from 1975 to 1980, gifted the string instrument which he said was just "sitting in a cupboard at home" to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC).

He was inspired to donate the piece after watching RBC students perform a tribute concert to the group's keyboardist Richard Tandy, who died at the age of 76 in 2024.

"There was no such thing as an electric cello when ELO was performing, so we made one," Gale explained.

The ELO cellist, drummer Bev Bevan and violinist Mik Kaminski visited the RBC on 18 March, where they watched current students perform.

"After watching the Richard Tandy tribute concert, I thought the RBC students were so brilliant, and I remembered I had the cello sitting in a cupboard at home," Gale said.

"The Richard Tandy production suite is brilliant. The facilities here are so much more diverse than what I had when I was studying music, and I hope it'll inspire future musicians to be enthusiastic and passionate about what they create."

Tandy was born in Birmingham and joined ELO after the release of the rock group's first album in 1972.

A scholarship at the RBC and a production suite containing some of his instruments, music equipment and memorabilia donated by his family has been set up in his memory.

RBC principal, Stephen Maddock, said the cello was a symbol of ELO's "pioneering creativity" and their fusion of classical and pop genres.

"It's wonderful to see Richard's generous gift of instruments and memorabilia, inspiring other music icons to do the same," he added.

"They are creating an archive that will benefit future generations of students and fans."

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