Jeff Lynne and the Beatles

Jeff Lynne is an English rock musician who is best known for his involvement in Electric Light Orchestra; he is also notable for his work and production with other artists including Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. He has collaborated on various projects with former members of the Beatles.

The Beatles were a major influence on Lynne. In 1968, while performing with the Idle Race, he met The Beatles during the making of The White Album. Years later he admitted, "To be in the same room as the four of them caused me not to sleep for, like, three days." The original aim of Electric Light Orchestra was to take up "where the Beatles had left off, and to present it on stage." John Lennon praised the group, calling them the "sons of the Beatles".

Critics often compared Electric Light Orchestra to The Beatles, and they were often criticised for "ripping off" the band. Lynne admitted that he "was very influenced by the Beatles' sound of '68 and '69. That has obviously been a big influence on the way [he] looked at songwriting" and said that being compared with The Beatles was the "ultimate compliment".

Lynne worked with Harrison very closely in the late 1980s. In 1986 he remixed a previously released song of Harrison's, "That's The Way It Goes". He also co-produced two new Harrison songs, "Zig Zag" and "The Hottest Gong In Town", which would respectively be released in 1988 and 1992. In 1987 he co-produced Cloud Nine, Harrison's first album since 1982's Gone Troppo. Before the release of "This Is Love", the third and final single from Harrison's highly acclaimed album, the record company asked for a B-side for the song. Deciding he needed help, Harrison gathered some of his musician friends, eventually resulting in the formation of the Traveling Wilburys. Lynne was a member of the supergroup along with Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. Harrison and Lynne contributed to the writing of all Wilburys tracks including "Handle with Care", "Wilbury Twist" and "End of the Line". In 1989 Lynne produced "Cheer Down", a song Harrison contributed to the soundtrack to Lethal Weapon 2 and released as a single to promote the film.

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