Showdown (Electric Light Orchestra song)
Encyclopedia
"Showdown" is a song written by Jeff Lynne
and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra
.
It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest
label.
In the US, the song was included on the album On The Third Day
(1973), however in the UK the song was omitted from the album and would later be featured on their first compilation album, also called Showdown a year later instead. In 2006 the remastered issue of On the Third Day would feature the song on the album on both sides of the Atlantic for the first time.
The song was a change of pace for ELO, with a funk
ier backbeat. It was a favourite record of John Lennon
's at the time, who dubbed them "Son of Beatles" in a US radio interview.
Jeff Lynne
played the lead guitar part using Marc Bolan
's Gibson Firebird
guitar.
An edited instrumental version of the song was included as the B-side to their early hit single "Showdown" in 1973, with the title "In Old England Town". The Moog
intro of the edited version was later sampled and included on Paul Weller
's hit single "The Changingman" as well as the main riff from "10538 Overture
".
Recorded in 1972 this was the opening track of the band's second LP ELO 2, and was one of two songs on the album that featured Roy Wood
on cello
and bass guitar
, the other being "From the Sun to the World". Shortly after recording these tracks Wood abandoned ELO to form Wizzard
and was not originally credited on the LP sleeve. Normally Wood and Lynne co-produced all their collaborations, but it is unknown whether these two tracks had any Roy Wood production involvement.
"A planned concept album entitled The Lost Planet was quietly abandoned and sessions for the second LP proper began May 1972. Two new Jeff Lynne songs, From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town were the first to be recorded and included Roy Wood on bass guitar and cello, but in little more than a month, the co-founder of the ELO concept left the group."
- Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
The song was included in ELO's first 1972 tour playlist, simply titled Jeff's Boogie #2, and had a different set of lyrics. This early live version was filmed by Granada's Set of Six in 1972 and is the only live footage of the original ELO known to exist. These songs were released on a 2006 DVD called ELO - Total Rock Review
.
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
.
It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
label.
In the US, the song was included on the album On The Third Day
On the Third Day
On the Third Day is the third studio LP by Electric Light Orchestra and the first to be recorded without any input from Roy Wood.-Overview:...
(1973), however in the UK the song was omitted from the album and would later be featured on their first compilation album, also called Showdown a year later instead. In 2006 the remastered issue of On the Third Day would feature the song on the album on both sides of the Atlantic for the first time.
The song was a change of pace for ELO, with a funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
ier backbeat. It was a favourite record of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's at the time, who dubbed them "Son of Beatles" in a US radio interview.
Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
played the lead guitar part using Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
's Gibson Firebird
Gibson Firebird
The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present.-History:The Gibson Guitar Corporation released several new styles during the 1950s to compete with Fender's instruments, such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. After success with the Les Paul in...
guitar.
Chart performance
| Chart (1973/1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles |
47 |
| Dutch GfK GfK The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health... chart |
25 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
28 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
12 |
| US Billboard Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
53 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 51 |
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
59 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 75 |
Covers and media use
- Odia CoatesOdia CoatesOdia Coates was an American singer, best known for her work with Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka.-Early life:...
charted in 1975 with her cover. - Candi StatonCandi StatonCandi Staton is an American soul and gospel singer, best known for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and her 1976 disco hit "Young Hearts Run Free". In 2007, Staton was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
covered the song in the seventies. - The song was covered in 1996 by AsiaAsia (band)Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
with would-be ELO Part IIELO Part IIELO Part II were an offshoot band formed by Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan. The band also included former ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and violinist Mik Kaminski for most of its career...
vocalist John PayneJohn Payne (singer)John Payne is a British musician, best known as the lead singer and bassist of Asia from 1992 to 2006 and from June 2007 with ASIA Featuring John Payne....
. The song is included on the Archiva Vol. 2Archiva Vol. 2Archiva Vol. 2 is the second part of a collection of outtakes and previously unreleased tracks by progressive rock band Asia...
compilation album. - In the 1996 comedy movie KingpinKingpin (film)Kingpin is a 1996 slapstick comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray...
, the song was used as background music during a one-on-one bowling tournament. - In the 2007 movie Wild HogsWild HogsWild Hogs is a 2007 comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007, though preview film screenings were held in select areas on February 24, 2007.-Plot:Doug...
the song "Showdown" was used. Shortly after the song stopped playing Ray LiottaRay Liotta[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
stated "At least someone's here to face the music". - The song is featured in both the opening movie and soundtrack of EAElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
's 2009 video game Skate 2Skate 2Skate 2 is a sandbox skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and distributed by Electronic Arts as a sequel to the 2007 game, Skate. Skate 2 was released in January 2009 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.-Plot:...
.
In Old England Town
"In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)" is an Electric Light Orchestra song composed by Jeff Lynne.An edited instrumental version of the song was included as the B-side to their early hit single "Showdown" in 1973, with the title "In Old England Town". The Moog
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
intro of the edited version was later sampled and included on Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
's hit single "The Changingman" as well as the main riff from "10538 Overture
10538 Overture
-Song history:The song, written by Jeff Lynne, was intended to be a B-side on one of The Move's singles. Rick Price of The Move played bass on the track originally but was never credited, apparently with all the overdubs and layers that were added to the track the bass line 'got lost' in the mix...
".
Recorded in 1972 this was the opening track of the band's second LP ELO 2, and was one of two songs on the album that featured Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
on cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, the other being "From the Sun to the World". Shortly after recording these tracks Wood abandoned ELO to form Wizzard
Wizzard
Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
and was not originally credited on the LP sleeve. Normally Wood and Lynne co-produced all their collaborations, but it is unknown whether these two tracks had any Roy Wood production involvement.
"A planned concept album entitled The Lost Planet was quietly abandoned and sessions for the second LP proper began May 1972. Two new Jeff Lynne songs, From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town were the first to be recorded and included Roy Wood on bass guitar and cello, but in little more than a month, the co-founder of the ELO concept left the group."
- Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
The song was included in ELO's first 1972 tour playlist, simply titled Jeff's Boogie #2, and had a different set of lyrics. This early live version was filmed by Granada's Set of Six in 1972 and is the only live footage of the original ELO known to exist. These songs were released on a 2006 DVD called ELO - Total Rock Review
ELO - Total Rock Review
ELO – Total Rock Review is a Band biography DVD released in 2006 regarding the founding of Electric Light Orchestra.The Independent biography traces the foundations of the band through its metamorphosis from The Move in 1970 and later to the point where Roy Wood quit the group leaving Jeff Lynne to...
.
External links
- In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com)