Kelly Groucutt
| Kelly Groucutt | |
|---|---|
Kelly Groucutt in concert at Barcelona on 6 June 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael William Groucutt |
| Born |
8 September 1945 Coseley, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 19 February 2009 (aged 63) Worcester, Worcestershire, England |
| Genres | Pop, rock, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, vocalist |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1960–2009 |
| Labels | Jet, RCA |
| Associated acts | Electric Light Orchestra, OrKestra, ELO Part II, The Orchestra |
| Website |
www |
| Notable instruments | |
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Fender Precision Bass Gibson Grabber Hofner 500/1 Ovation Magnum Ovation acoustic guitars |
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Kelly Groucutt (born Michael William Groucutt; 8 September 1945 – 19 February 2009) was an English musician who was best known for being the bassist and vocalist for the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), between 1974 and 1983. He was born in Coseley, West Midlands.
Groucutt began his musical career at 15 as Rikki Storm of Rikki Storm and the Falcons. He went on to sing with various outfits during the '60s, picking up the guitar as he went along. Groucutt was also a member of a band called "Sight and Sound", and later with a band called "Barefoot".
It was while playing with Barefoot in Birmingham that he was spotted by ELO's Jeff Lynne; and after Lynne, Bev Bevan and Richard Tandy had watched him play, he was invited to join ELO, to replace Mike de Albuquerque, who had recently left the band. Upon joining, he was asked to adopt a stage name because ELO had already had several members named Michael, Mike or Mik; he chose Kelly as being a school nickname. ELO then set off on their Eldorado tour. He assumed lead vocal duties on a few songs and his vocals can be heard on later ELO songs, most prominently is songs such as "Nightrider" (1975), "Poker" (1975), "Above the Clouds" (1976), "Sweet Is the Night" (1977), "Across the Border" (1977) and "The Diary of Horace Wimp" (1979). While he did not perform the operatic vocals in the studio, Groucutt often displayed his vocal talents by replicating them during live performances of "Rockaria!" (1976).
The first Electric Light Orchestra album to feature Kelly on bass guitar and as a backing vocalist was 1975's Face the Music. He continued contributing on the following albums A New World Record (1976), Out of the Blue (1977), Discovery (1979), Xanadu (1980) and Time (1981).
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