0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains some strong language
0:00:08 > 0:00:14BIRDSONG AND BLUESY GUITAR
0:00:14 > 0:00:19BIRDSONG
0:00:21 > 0:00:27PAUL MCCARTNEY: Funny, shy, ever so clever. Great musician.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29And a total twat.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- RINGO STARR:- You know, I've heard some of the end results
0:00:35 > 0:00:37of what he does when he stays up all night.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41The harmonies stack in and, you know, the music is great.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47- BARBARA ORBISON: - He has done Tom Petty
0:00:47 > 0:00:51and he has done Paul McCartney, Roy Orbison, George Harrison.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- TOM PETTY:- But he is a, a great, great artist, you know,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I'm glad you're doing this movie because somebody should.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09- DHANI HARRISON: - He's such a great producer.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10And a complete control freak.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13So he likes to, you know, do it his way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23- JOE WALSH:- He hears the finished thing way before it's done.
0:01:23 > 0:01:31And to have a musician as complete as he is, it's a real rare,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34rare thing.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36ERIC IDLE: He is... I mean, he's a composer.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40But he's a recording artist, you know, that's what he really is.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42He makes his music.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And that's all he does, really, all day, he makes music every day.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48PLAYS UKULELE
0:01:48 > 0:01:50'The first band I loved was the Nightriders.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52'Yeah, Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'I thought they were just absolutely marvellous.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56'They had the brown mohair suits for a start, uh,
0:01:56 > 0:01:58'which convinced me that they were brilliant.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02'So in 1966, uh, when I saw the, the column in the newspaper,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04'in the Birmingham Mail,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08'it said "keen lead guitarist required for Nightriders".
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'I went, "What? That's me."
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'Since I'd seen them, I'd learned how to play.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Oi! 'And I was ready to join, you know.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'I hope I get in this thing cos it's professional
0:02:18 > 0:02:22'and I'd been doing all these horrible little menial jobs,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24'you know, cos I didn't really want to go to work.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26'I wanted to play my guitar.' Hey, Lucy.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'So I've got lovely memories of those days.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:31Ah, that's better.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Oi!
0:02:38 > 0:02:43You have certain styles and certain favourite passages in music that...
0:02:43 > 0:02:47that have tickled you probably since you were an infant.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49And I know that for a fact cos there was a...
0:02:49 > 0:02:51a film called The High And The Mighty that I saw
0:02:51 > 0:02:53when I was probably about...
0:02:53 > 0:02:55I went with my mum and dad to the cinema in Birmingham,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59I would be about five or something and, um, the signature tune in it.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04LUSH STRING ORCHESTRATION
0:03:04 > 0:03:08I remember being knocked out by it. Oh, what a tune that is.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15But I can understand where my taste in...in chords and things come from.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And it comes from a way, way back.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Sort of from being a tiny kid.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24# Da-da. #
0:03:28 > 0:03:32This is my very first guitar that my dad got for me
0:03:32 > 0:03:34for £2 from his friend.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39And, uh, I've had it for all these... I've had it for, uh,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Gordon Bennett, uh, 43 years.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46So, uh, hang on, 40...
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Something like that, a lot.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52And it was kind of hard to play when I first got it.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54But now, as you can see...
0:03:54 > 0:03:59STRUMS AND PLAYS CLASSICAL REFRAIN
0:03:59 > 0:04:01..it plays beautifully, uh, and easily.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03A real old banger.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And this is the guitar that I wrote all my first songs on.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11And, if you come in this way, I'll show you my first studio.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Which is right there.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19And that's called the BNO 2000 Deluxe.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22And what you can do on that is multi-track, even though
0:04:22 > 0:04:24it's only a stereo tape recorder.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28You just bounce from the left to the right and back to the left
0:04:28 > 0:04:29and keep adding instruments as you go.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33And this is how I did... This is how I started out, basically,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35as a songwriter and a producer.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37This taught me how to be a producer
0:04:37 > 0:04:40and this taught me how to be a songwriter. So not bad.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44What first got me interested in music was my dad, really.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48He used to have a great record collection.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54But of all classical music and a lot of these great writers.
0:04:55 > 0:05:02# And you enter sweet desire
0:05:03 > 0:05:05# You took me
0:05:07 > 0:05:11# Whoa-oh, higher and higher, baby
0:05:12 > 0:05:14# It's a living thing
0:05:16 > 0:05:19# It's a terrible thing to lose. #
0:05:23 > 0:05:28It was always like a...a nightmare getting up at like 7:30
0:05:28 > 0:05:32or something to go into the dark and I had to go on the bloody bus.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33Get in, go upstairs on the bus
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and everybody's like coughing up their guts.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38And it's... You can't see through the air
0:05:38 > 0:05:40because everybody smoked in them days.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It was vile, you know? Then you get off the other end
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and you've got to spend eight hours in this place
0:05:45 > 0:05:47where you don't really want to be at all.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50That's why I used to have a guitar stashed somewhere.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53It was so marvellous when I didn't have to go to work that first day
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'and I knew I'd go, all I've got to do is go and practise.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59'And it was just the best fun you could ever have.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00'And get paid for it and all.'
0:06:00 > 0:06:05PERCUSSIVE FINGER-PICKING NUMBER
0:06:09 > 0:06:12'The great thing was that I had a drawer full of money
0:06:12 > 0:06:13'and my mum one day said,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17'"Where the hell did all that money come from in that drawer?"
0:06:17 > 0:06:19'She thought I nicked it or something.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23'I said, "I've earned it, Mum, playing music."
0:06:23 > 0:06:27'"Don't be ridiculous. Where'd you get that from?"
0:06:27 > 0:06:29'She just wasn't a big fan, I guess.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Making their first appearance on our show this week is a great new group
0:06:37 > 0:06:40from Birmingham, The Idle Race.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Well, let's have a word with one of them.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Roger, you've got how many records released now, because it's not
0:06:44 > 0:06:47the same one in America that you have elsewhere, is it?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50We have two, one in America, which is Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54And the song written by Jeff Lynne, our lead guitarist, uh,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56which is called Impostors of Life's Magazine.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Well let's give that a whirl, now, can we?- Yeah, sure.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10# How do you know what you feel is it real, is it real? #
0:07:10 > 0:07:14So in the Idle Race, uh, we finally got a record deal.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17So I wrote this song called Impostors of Life's Magazine.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I can't wait for this thing to arrive in the mail,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22this record I've made and it's going to have my name on the label.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24I'm going, "Whoa, I'm going to be a songwriter!"
0:07:24 > 0:07:28The thing comes and I look at it and I go, "What the hell is that?"
0:07:28 > 0:07:32And it says Impostors of Life's Magazine by G Lynn
0:07:32 > 0:07:36without...without the E on the end, just L-Y-N-N.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39And G, I thought, "Who's that? Gordon?"
0:07:39 > 0:07:41You know, "I don't know any G Lynn around here."
0:07:41 > 0:07:44So I was very, very disappointed, very upset
0:07:44 > 0:07:46cos, you know, it was really my big moment and it,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48it just turned to shit.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55# Impostors of life's magazine. #
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I loved it because we played all the pubs in Birmingham.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00And it was the best apprenticeship,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04if you like, for musicians that you could ever have.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09because you play in a different pub every night, um, or club, or, er,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12the town hall or somewhere, you know, a bit further afield.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16It was quite... We got to be bigger and bigger as we played.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And, um, I loved playing with the Idle Race a lot.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21After four years, I decided I'd join The Move with Bev Bevan
0:08:21 > 0:08:23and Roy Wood.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25We stayed as The Move for a couple of years
0:08:25 > 0:08:28while we made this album called Electric Light Orchestra,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32which is what we decided to call it when me and Roy used to hang out
0:08:32 > 0:08:36at clubs in Birmingham and discussed this group with strings.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40MUSIC: "10538" by ELO
0:08:43 > 0:08:48# Did you see your friend crying from his eyes today... #
0:08:50 > 0:08:53'10538 was the first one I'd ever written that'd gotten in the...
0:08:53 > 0:08:54'in the top ten. So that was a big start.'
0:08:54 > 0:08:56# ..Through the streets and far away. #
0:08:56 > 0:09:00It was odd because I, I wasn't really aware too much of ELO.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04But when I went to the concert, I realised I knew every song.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05It was extraordinary.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07So I sort of did know by, you know, from the radio,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I just didn't put them all together and go Jeff - ELO.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I think it's always a big mistake he left The Idle Race.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17I think that's a much better title for a group.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Roy left after about three months and he never told us he was leaving.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24He just disappeared and had this other group called Wizzard.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27You know, it was a shame at the time,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'but also it proved to be a big opportunity for me
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'because I was now the sole songwriter and the producer.'
0:09:33 > 0:09:35You know, I'd been doing sessions for The Move
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and things before Jeff joined.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38But then he joined The Move as well.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And then they formed ELO and asked me to join.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44# Did you hear what he said?
0:09:44 > 0:09:47# He said they sold me down the river
0:09:49 > 0:09:51# They thought I thought I was a fool... #
0:09:51 > 0:09:55'Usually when I...I start to write a song, a new one, you know,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'you'll be either messing around on the piano or the guitar.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00'And the first thing that comes
0:10:00 > 0:10:03'is really like two or three chords in sequence.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05'You go, "Mm, that's interesting."
0:10:05 > 0:10:11'And you try to work on those two or three chords and sort of stretch
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'it out to a fourth and a fifth and you've got a tune going through it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16'And your little tune's wandering in it
0:10:16 > 0:10:18'and you're going, "Mm, this is good." And it...
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'Some songs can, you can finish them in 15 minutes
0:10:21 > 0:10:24'and some can take three months.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28'You...you never know how it, how a song is going to develop.'
0:10:28 > 0:10:33# ..I'm going to see the world like a rolling stone
0:10:33 > 0:10:37# I'm stepping out
0:10:41 > 0:10:43# I'm going to be somebody
0:10:45 > 0:10:46# Ooh. #
0:10:46 > 0:10:49When the Heartbreakers first kicked up
0:10:49 > 0:10:52I had bought one of those, um, the first ghetto blasters.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55You know, it was a Sony, made out of metal,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58this really industrial ghetto blaster.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04And you couldn't buy many... Cassettes were just becoming a thing
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and there weren't many for sale but they had an ELO one for sale.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09And I bought that.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And I carried it around with me on tour.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And I played it all the time and I really liked it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20And, um, I thought, you know, just what a record maker this guy is.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23They say everyone was borrowing from
0:11:23 > 0:11:26the people they admired.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Um, and so, you know,
0:11:29 > 0:11:34when I heard ELO, it was very what we'd been doing on Sergeant Pepper.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38This sort of - mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm - cellos, you know,
0:11:38 > 0:11:39and the - nn-nn nn-nn nn-nn -
0:11:39 > 0:11:42you know, very much what we'd been into.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Very sort of mathematical strings.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49Um, and so I think the first thing was, "Ooh, that's...
0:11:49 > 0:11:51"I know where he got that from."
0:11:51 > 0:11:56But then you can't resist it. It's just so good.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59You go, "Oh, gosh, bloody good song, wish we'd done that one."
0:11:59 > 0:12:02You know, "God he's got, he's nailed those strings.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04"He's singing it great. That guitar is good."
0:12:04 > 0:12:06# I'll tell you once more
0:12:06 > 0:12:08# Before I get off the floor don't bring me down. #
0:12:20 > 0:12:21LAUGHS
0:12:21 > 0:12:24That was the first time I saw Jeff or met Jeff,
0:12:24 > 0:12:25he was coming out of this big spaceship
0:12:25 > 0:12:28with lots of robots and then we went to his house.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Um, I ended up throwing a dart into his dart board
0:12:31 > 0:12:33and it bounced off and went in my arm.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34So I remember that day.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38You know, if you listen to something like, like Mr Blue Sky,
0:12:38 > 0:12:43you know, I hear it a lot in ads now and, um, or in movies.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And I think it was in a movie I watched recently.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50And it...it was just... It's just amazing, you know.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52And it's...it's not derivative.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58It's... It's not... It's not really coming from anybody but Jeff.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Nobody could do it quite like that.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04I mean I'm a sucker for sort of the hits.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08So Mr Blue Sky is a pretty special song.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11It's probably the one that everyone would choose
0:13:11 > 0:13:13so it's a bit boring to choose it.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16But it's great. I mean, it just works.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17And if you're in the car
0:13:17 > 0:13:22and it's a nice day, it really works.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25# Doo doo ba-ba ba-ba
0:13:25 > 0:13:28# Doo doo ba-ba ba-ba
0:13:28 > 0:13:33# Doo doo ba-ba ba-ba baah baah baaah
0:13:33 > 0:13:40# Baaah baah baaah! #
0:13:43 > 0:13:45METRONOMIC BEAT
0:13:45 > 0:13:49ROCK GUITAR
0:13:49 > 0:13:52You know, I re-recorded all of my old songs.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56They...they just didn't have the sound I remembered or thought
0:13:56 > 0:13:58I'd got on them in the day I did them.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Some of them are like 35, 36 years old, 37.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05So they are quite old, you know,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07and they were made on 16 track or 8 track.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09'It was just nice to have all this facility
0:14:09 > 0:14:12'of Pro Tools and just re-do them
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'all in my own time. And just in the old days
0:14:15 > 0:14:17'I'd have to do them in like six weeks -
0:14:17 > 0:14:19'write it, record it and get in there,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'finish it and be on tour playing them.
0:14:22 > 0:14:28But now I've got time to get them exactly as I really want them.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Luckily, I've managed to do it, I have.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34MUSIC: "Do Ya" by Jeff Lynne
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- OK, that was good, cut them both. - Yeah.- Good, OK.- Two good ones.- Yeah.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47So, anyway, that's that one done.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51I knew I could make them better because I had all these years of experience working with
0:14:51 > 0:14:57George and Paul and Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01And all these fantastic people. I've learned so much working with them, you know.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03I mean, hopefully they learnt a bit working with me too.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08# Well I think you know what I'm trying to say, woman
0:15:08 > 0:15:12# That is I'd like to save you for a rainy day, yeah
0:15:12 > 0:15:15# I've seen enough of the world to know
0:15:15 > 0:15:18# That I've got to get it all to get it all to grow
0:15:18 > 0:15:22# Do ya, do ya want my love?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25# Come on now Do ya, do ya want my face?
0:15:25 > 0:15:26# I need it
0:15:26 > 0:15:28# Do ya, do ya want my mind?
0:15:28 > 0:15:33# All right, yeah! Do ya, do ya want my love?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35# Oh, look out!
0:15:39 > 0:15:42# Do ya, do ya want my love?
0:15:42 > 0:15:45# Do ya, do ya want my love?
0:15:45 > 0:15:49# Oh, oh-h! #
0:16:09 > 0:16:12MUSIC: "Only The Lonely" by Roy Orbison
0:16:12 > 0:16:15# Only the lonely... #
0:16:15 > 0:16:20'Only The Lonely, I suppose, is the first one of those things when I was real young
0:16:20 > 0:16:25'that I heard and thought, "My God, how does that happen? What is that? How does it work?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27"How do all these people know what they're doing?"
0:16:27 > 0:16:31'Seems like hundreds in the studio. Obviously, it doesn't sound that big now,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33'but it still sounds pretty big, I tell you.'
0:16:33 > 0:16:37# There goes my baby
0:16:37 > 0:16:41# And there goes my heart
0:16:41 > 0:16:44# And they're gone for ever
0:16:44 > 0:16:48# So far apart
0:16:48 > 0:16:50# But only the lonely... #
0:16:50 > 0:16:53'It sounds fantastic, and then there's all these other people
0:16:53 > 0:16:59'and strings and backing vocalists and guitar players, drummer.'
0:16:59 > 0:17:01# Only the lonely Dum-dum-dum-dum... #
0:17:01 > 0:17:05'And they're all doing it once in one go. And that to me is like...
0:17:05 > 0:17:11'I never want to have to do that. I don't want to have to set that up, that session, that's not my scene.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'Mine is the opposite to that, you know, I like to do it one at a time.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'But I can still comes out with the same result at the end.'
0:17:17 > 0:17:21We had a telephone call, like, from management.
0:17:21 > 0:17:27And that Jeff Lynne was trying to reach Roy Orbison.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32And so, we allowed the number to be given to Jeff.
0:17:32 > 0:17:39And so, maybe three hours later, the telephone rang and I said, "Hello."
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And nobody said anything.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45I said, "Hello?" and a click.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Then somebody called again. And I knew it was Jeff intuitively.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53And then somebody called again. And I said, "Hello?"
0:17:53 > 0:18:00Then there was a moment of silence and then somebody said, "It's Jeff Lynne. Could I talk to Roy Orbison?"
0:18:00 > 0:18:02And I said, "Yes, he's waiting for you."
0:18:04 > 0:18:07# And the chord we play! #
0:18:07 > 0:18:09THEY LAUGH
0:18:09 > 0:18:13- Thank you and come back next week. - Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16And that was my latest song.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Wonderful as it might be.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Ah-h!
0:18:20 > 0:18:25'Roy Orbison was just astonishing, because...
0:18:25 > 0:18:28'he could just open his... not even open his mouth.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31'You'd stand there by the mic and you'd say, "Has he started yet?"
0:18:31 > 0:18:35'And it'd just come out gradually that he's just pretending to sing it.'
0:18:35 > 0:18:39OK, you don't want me to go... # Still missing you
0:18:39 > 0:18:42# California blue. #
0:18:45 > 0:18:49No, it's really what you hear, you know?
0:18:49 > 0:18:52'And then he'd go, "OK, let's do a take."
0:18:52 > 0:18:55'He'd say, "OK, I think I've got it. Let's try it."
0:18:55 > 0:19:01'And you'd start and you go blam! All the needles would bend and it'd be, like, so loud.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04'It'd be 100 times louder than he was practising it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08'You know, so it always used to take you by a big surprise.'
0:19:08 > 0:19:17# California blu-u-ue. #
0:19:18 > 0:19:24And it was Jeff, really, that got him back and made him comfortable with recording again.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29And really completely revitalised Roy's career.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32And we went to listen to the songs.
0:19:32 > 0:19:39And the first one that Jeff played for Roy was A Love So Beautiful.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42And Roy listening to what Jeff had done to the song.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49And he just started crying. And we had never seen that. I mean, I had been married to Roy for 20 years.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52And then Jeff looking and Jeff not knowing,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56I mean, what to do with Roy just sitting there
0:19:56 > 0:19:59and having tears roll down his face.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04Then the good part came. "Thank God you got it as up tempo."
0:20:04 > 0:20:08# Anything you want, you got it
0:20:08 > 0:20:12# Anything you need, you got it
0:20:12 > 0:20:16# Anything at all, you got it
0:20:16 > 0:20:20# Ba-a-aby
0:20:22 > 0:20:23# Anything you want... #
0:20:23 > 0:20:30And we got out of the tears. But it was just so incredible to see, you know,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Roy always, like, finding...
0:20:34 > 0:20:38He probably listened to something that just totally surprised him,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41that he didn't think Jeff could add to the song, you know?
0:20:42 > 0:20:47George wanted a producer for an album.
0:20:47 > 0:20:53And he hadn't recorded an album for like eight, nine years. He wanted someone to help him
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and he had just really started listening to Jeff's music.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01I think Telephone Line was on.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Although that's an obvious one. But it is a very catchy song.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06And that was on the jukebox for a long time before we met Jeff.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09So we kind of felt we knew him when we did meet him.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11# Hello
0:21:11 > 0:21:13# How are you?
0:21:15 > 0:21:17# Have you been all right
0:21:17 > 0:21:22# Through all those lonely lonely, lonely, lonely nights? #
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- And I think everybody's... - # That's what I'd say... #
0:21:25 > 0:21:31..had an experience where, you know, they've had a bad telephone call with somebody they care about.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35And the way it gets to you. And I think he captured that.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38# Yeah-ah-ah... # 'Dave Edmunds told me that...
0:21:38 > 0:21:40# Hey... #
0:21:40 > 0:21:45'George was looking for me, George Harrison, and would like to work with me on his new album.
0:21:45 > 0:21:52You know, once he decided to do an album and he decided he'd do it with somebody whose music he liked,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54and he got to know Jeff, that whole process happened.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58George wanted to make sure that we were good pals before we stated.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02So we went to Australia to watch the Grand Prix.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Hanging out with George Harrison, you know, and I'm going,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09"This is, like, the best thing. And, of course, when you're with George you can get in anywhere.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12And anything you want. "What would you like?"
0:22:12 > 0:22:16"Can we see the cars and that?" "Yeah, you can have a sit in them."
0:22:16 > 0:22:20You know, in the racing cars in Formula 1. You're going, "Shit, this is brilliant."
0:22:20 > 0:22:24And we'd go there in a helicopter, of course, you don't mess about.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29They worked all day and came out and took a break, played a bit of cricket on the lawn,
0:22:29 > 0:22:34went back in, you know, had dinner, then maybe would go in and hang out and listen
0:22:34 > 0:22:39and then the fun began. But they were very, you know, serious about when they were working,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but unhinged when they weren't, you know.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47'We were great pals for about 16, 17 years.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52'It was a marvellous time just to be working with him then in the studio.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56'And, I mean, I actually literally kept pinching myself.'
0:22:56 > 0:23:02They came from a point of...reference
0:23:02 > 0:23:06that was just too close for them not to hit it off.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10And they loved each other's music.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It was Full Moon Fever time as well, wasn't it?
0:23:12 > 0:23:16That was when Jeff had just done Tom's record.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19And I remember that record playing continuously.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22I still... I love that record, that's one of my favourite records.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25# Oh hey-ho, oh, oh! #
0:23:25 > 0:23:29- Yeah, we should do some of them as well.- Really?- Yeah, maybe just try a moving one.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32- # Hey-ho-ho! # Bluesy, man.- Yeah.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36'At the time, I was renting a house in Beverly Hills.'
0:23:36 > 0:23:42And I was driving down the road on an errand,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47and I pulled up at the light and looked over and there was Jeff.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Somebody kept tooting the horn at me.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54And I looked and it was Tom. Tom Petty. And I'd only met him once before.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57And that was at a concert with Bob Dylan.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02He was backing Bob Dylan, his group, the Heartbreakers, were backing Bob.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07And, erm, he stopped me, I pulled over, I got out and we had a chat.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08And he said...
0:24:08 > 0:24:12"Wow," he said, "We're just playing George Harrison's new album and it sounds fantastic.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18"Do you fancy writing some songs together and see what happens?" I said, "Sure, I'd love to."
0:24:18 > 0:24:21'You know, we played guitars quite a bit, hanging around,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24'and we wrote a couple of songs together, you know.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27'I had one and he helped me finish it off.'
0:24:27 > 0:24:32And the next song we wrote was Free Fallin'.
0:24:32 > 0:24:38And so we had the two songs. It was the Christmas holiday, so there weren't many people around.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42So we called Mike Campbell, cos he had a studio,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46and we went over there and just made those records.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49# She's a good girl
0:24:49 > 0:24:52# Loves her mama
0:24:52 > 0:24:54# Loves Jesus
0:24:54 > 0:24:56# And America too... #
0:24:56 > 0:24:59And he was kind of leaning over the piano as I remember it,
0:24:59 > 0:25:06and he said, "Free falling," you know, and I sang it, but I could only get half the word in.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10# Free... # And then I put in "Free fallin'".
0:25:10 > 0:25:12And he's like, "That's it!"
0:25:14 > 0:25:16# Now I'm free
0:25:20 > 0:25:22# Free fallin'
0:25:25 > 0:25:27# Oh! #
0:25:27 > 0:25:32And so we started work on a couple of songs. We did about two or three to start with.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35And it was... We got on really good as well, no problem.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37We made them in Mike Campbell's garage.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40And that was all thanks to George as well, really, you know.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42MUSIC: "When We Was Fab" by George Harrison
0:25:42 > 0:25:47# Back then, long time ago When grass was green
0:25:47 > 0:25:50# Woke up in a daze... #
0:25:50 > 0:25:53'So when I was working with George on Cloud Nine,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56'we used to hang out every night after the sessions,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58'listen back to what we'd done in the daytime.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01'And George had this idea that...
0:26:01 > 0:26:04He said to me, "You know what, me and you should have a group."
0:26:04 > 0:26:09And, I said, "Wow, that's a good idea. What a smashing thing."
0:26:09 > 0:26:14And I said, "Who, would we have in it? And he said, "Well, how about Bob Dylan?"
0:26:14 > 0:26:18I said, "That's a good idea!" Then I said, "How about Roy Orbison?"
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- He said, "Yeah, that's a good idea." Oh, bollocks! - PHONE RINGS
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Sorry, loves. I've got to turn this off somehow.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30DOG BARKS
0:26:30 > 0:26:31DOOR SLAMS
0:26:34 > 0:26:40So, anyway, this was like... This went on for a few...I suppose, a couple of weeks. And, er...
0:26:42 > 0:26:46..everybody agreed. And then... And I thought "Wow, what about Tom?"
0:26:46 > 0:26:52The Traveling Wilburys came along, so we spent even more time together.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59And I think in the Traveling Wilburys, he's often overlooked.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02His contribution was so huge, you know, it was...
0:27:02 > 0:27:06There couldn't have been a Traveling Wilburys without Jeff.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10My dad had just had dinner with Roy, so it all just kind of worked out.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Bob had the studio, Tom had my dad's guitars, Jeff was doing Tom's record.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15So they all just got together.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19MUSIC: "Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys
0:27:23 > 0:27:26# Been beat up and battered around
0:27:26 > 0:27:30# Been sent up and I've been shot down
0:27:32 > 0:27:36# You're the best thing that I've ever found
0:27:36 > 0:27:39# Handle me with care. #
0:27:39 > 0:27:44'So that's how it happened, and we just got together one day and started jamming around this table.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48'And I remember Bob was a bit late and we were all going, "Ooh, Bob's late."
0:27:48 > 0:27:51'Anyway, the first one George had half written already,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54'and it was called Handle With Care, and that was the first single.'
0:27:54 > 0:27:56They had a lot of fun.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58And they made some great music.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04I think, for George, it was one of the most enjoyable times
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I'd ever seen him have, you know, like, in 30 years.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09He just, he really enjoyed...
0:28:09 > 0:28:10and I guess they all did.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14There's a Roy Orbison number on the first album
0:28:14 > 0:28:17called Not Alone Any More.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23# It hurt like never before
0:28:23 > 0:28:29# So I'm not alone any more... #
0:28:29 > 0:28:34And that was really Jeff and Roy's song.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38I mean, we all contributed a little bit.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41No-one was really happy with it, you know?
0:28:41 > 0:28:45I think we all thought, "Better write another song."
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Well, that is not good enough for Jeff Lynne.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49He came in the next day,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52stripped the song.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56He had the lead vocal and the drums.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00And he completely re-wrote the song
0:29:00 > 0:29:04around this lead vocal that was there.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07And wrote this incredible song, you know?
0:29:07 > 0:29:10And now it's one of my favourite ones on the album.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13And there's nobody that could do that.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15# Well, it's all right
0:29:15 > 0:29:17# As long as you've got somewhere to lay
0:29:17 > 0:29:21# Well, it's all right
0:29:21 > 0:29:24# Every day is just one day. #
0:29:26 > 0:29:28The first album was doing fantastically well.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31It was in the top five and just an amazing reaction.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36People were really loving it. And right then, Roy died.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Very sad. The End of the Line, we did, like,
0:29:39 > 0:29:41a tribute to Roy by doing the video
0:29:41 > 0:29:45with just a rocking chair with his guitar in it.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48And that was our symbol for Roy, you know, and our tribute.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51And it, it's pretty poignant, really.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54And Roy's not with us any more, which is a tragedy.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58- JOE WALSH:- Bands get together
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and there's a magic there.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04And it lasts as long as it lasts.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09But when it's a true band,
0:30:09 > 0:30:13and it's the band's time,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17there's a...
0:30:17 > 0:30:20a magic to it.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24And the Wilburys are truly
0:30:24 > 0:30:28one of those special chemistries,
0:30:28 > 0:30:29making really special music.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32# Even if you're old and grey
0:30:32 > 0:30:34# Well, it's all right
0:30:34 > 0:30:38# You still got something to say
0:30:38 > 0:30:40# Well, it's all right. #
0:30:40 > 0:30:44I think we both loved a lot of the same music.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49We...we discovered that we had both produced Del Shannon.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50# Walk away. #
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Every time, right?
0:30:52 > 0:30:53# Walk away. #
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Yeah, if you think it's a good idea.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56Yeah, let's try that.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58- You know what also might be good? - What?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Hand claps and a bongo.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03- THEY LAUGH - Hand claps and a bongo?
0:31:03 > 0:31:05Shit, I came to the right session!
0:31:05 > 0:31:07- THEY LAUGH - My specialty, man!
0:31:08 > 0:31:10'I think Jeff's...
0:31:10 > 0:31:13'If you want to define his three biggest influences,'
0:31:13 > 0:31:16I think they'd be Del Shannon,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Roy Orbison and the Beatles.
0:31:20 > 0:31:21And maybe in that order.
0:31:21 > 0:31:28# The one who understands what I've gotta do
0:31:28 > 0:31:34# I've gotta find a place to hide with my baby by my side... #
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Who would have thought, yeah, that one day, Del Shannon
0:31:37 > 0:31:39would actually come to my house in Chardon,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43and we'd do a demo together on MY tape recorder?!
0:31:43 > 0:31:46It was fantastic, really. And I was so thrilled to know Del.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49# We've got to keep searching, searching
0:31:49 > 0:31:50# Find a place to hide
0:31:50 > 0:31:52# Searching, searching... #
0:31:52 > 0:31:55GIRLS SCREAM
0:31:55 > 0:31:57I started to take notice of The Beatles in '63.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01It was all a bit wishy-washy before that.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04The '60s really did change things,
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and it WAS the Beatle revolution.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09The Beatles did come along and they represented something
0:32:09 > 0:32:12that just set fire to all these fumes
0:32:12 > 0:32:14that were waiting to be set fire to.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Well, he wasn't there by accident.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22It's a pretty good compliment that The Beatles got back together
0:32:22 > 0:32:24and hired you to be the producer!
0:32:24 > 0:32:26That's...you know,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28I'm sure they could have got anyone they wanted.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33I think it was George who said, "No, we need a producer," you know?
0:32:33 > 0:32:35It could be dangerous just to all go in the studio.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37It could get nasty.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Cos you've got egos, you know, flying around.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Surprisingly(!) HE LAUGHS
0:32:42 > 0:32:44You know, we really got to know Jeff.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48I mean, I got to know him hanging out with him and George,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51but then we really got to know him on Free As A Bird.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54And he was a lifesaver on that.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56And, you know, he put that cassette together.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58And it was a crackly old thing, you know.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00It was a cassette, and you don't use that.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02You normally make your demos on cassettes
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and then make a proper record,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07and get rid of all the crackly and the hiss and everything.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11DEMO CASSETTE PLAYS
0:33:12 > 0:33:18# Free as a bird... #
0:33:18 > 0:33:20You didn't interfere with anything
0:33:20 > 0:33:23but the vocal phrases, cos it's a demo.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Nobody cares about time. And if we were going to work...
0:33:26 > 0:33:28and Jeff is very precise.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30That's one of the things I love about him.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31You know, his stuff just...
0:33:31 > 0:33:35it just rolls out, and there's not a thing wrong.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37You know, you listen to it...
0:33:37 > 0:33:39and then you stop listening to it so precisely,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41and it just rolls over you.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43It's like "Ooh, I love this!"
0:33:43 > 0:33:46MUSIC: "Free As A Bird" by The Beatles
0:33:50 > 0:33:58# Free as a bird... #
0:33:58 > 0:34:01The first afternoon, really, was just banter, you know.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02It was all the three of them.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04They hadn't been in the same room for years.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07And so I'm just sitting there with them
0:34:07 > 0:34:09like, in the club with them, you know.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13And it's just, like, "Wow, I'm in the Beatles club!"
0:34:13 > 0:34:15And it's like...like a club meeting,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17and having a reminisce.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19It was just superb. It was like...
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Hamburg stories, you know,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23all the Liverpool stories.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It was just magnificent.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28And I was just willing just to sit there for ever
0:34:28 > 0:34:29and not ever do a bit of work.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31And just listen to these stories.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34They were the stories you sort of almost knew,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37but these are the real, you know, the real kind of...
0:34:38 > 0:34:42..the real thing, the real, actual, as it really happened.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46So when we came in to do it, erm...
0:34:46 > 0:34:48we had John in the ears, you know.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And we just played along with it. Um...
0:34:53 > 0:34:55I'm not sure how we started it.
0:34:55 > 0:34:56Jeff will remember better.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58I know I played bass!
0:34:58 > 0:35:00It was so hard to do.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02I mean, because, laying that voice in there,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04which has got a piano glued to it,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06was really difficult, you know.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09It was almost...virtually impossible.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12But we got it done somehow.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14And Paul really helped on that,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18because he sort of ghosted John's voice a little bit underneath.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21And, uh, it was, it came back really good in the end.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24For what it started out as, it was amazing.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27So I'm pretty chuffed with it.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31You know, he was just...again, had the right sensibilities.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34He wasn't going to take it somewhere completely different,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and, you know, he had the respect
0:35:37 > 0:35:40for what they wanted to do, obviously.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44And he's told me about, you know, how hard it was.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45And he did a lot of work there.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49And, I'm sure, over to Paul McCartney to explain that.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50That was it.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55We had the cassette of John and we just gradually built it up.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00Did this, did that, put a bit of bass on...guitar.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02George ended up putting the slide on,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05which is like the final icing on the cake.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07We sang.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11But I think for all of us, the most exciting thing was,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14even though John was no longer on this planet,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16here he was in the studio with us.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20And it was very special, you know. All of us, like, "Wow!"
0:36:20 > 0:36:24I mean very...you know, big, big moment.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27I think my dad brought Jeff in and I think that was a big...
0:36:27 > 0:36:29everyone was like, "Whoa, what's going on here?"
0:36:29 > 0:36:31And, you know, he was the only one that could have done that
0:36:31 > 0:36:33at the time, with his meticulous nature.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35And they didn't have Pro Tools.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38There were, you know, aggregate time clocks
0:36:38 > 0:36:41for the John Lennon piano track,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43but then they had to phase out the vocals and fly back in...
0:36:43 > 0:36:45I mean, it was just right down Jeff's street.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Neil Aspinall comes looking for me,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51which was great in itself.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53But he said,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56"Oh, can you come in the studio a sec?
0:36:56 > 0:36:59"Paul and George want you to, want you to check these harmonies
0:36:59 > 0:37:01"they're just doing, they're working out."
0:37:01 > 0:37:05And I thought, "What? ME check 'em?!"
0:37:05 > 0:37:07- "OK, I'll fucking do it!" - HE LAUGHS
0:37:07 > 0:37:09You know, it's quite astonishing, really.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11It's something you'd never expect to happen.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15And there it was, and I was checking them, and they were brilliant.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16The harmonies sounded great.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19We recorded them straight away, and, uh...
0:37:19 > 0:37:23and then the sessions went along really well after that.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26And there was another one that we started working on,
0:37:26 > 0:37:27but George went off it.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32"Fucking 'ell! Fucking rubbish, this is!"
0:37:32 > 0:37:34It was like, "No, George, this is John!"
0:37:34 > 0:37:36"It's still fucking rubbish," you know.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38"Oh, OK then." HE LAUGHS
0:37:38 > 0:37:41So that one...that one's still lingering around,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43So I'm going to nick in with Jeff and do it.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45Finish it, one of these days.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49You know, he always wants the click track.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51He wants the click, and I keep saying,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53"I AM the fucking click!"
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Of course when we got the song finished, I'll never forget,
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Paul came and gave me a big hug and he said,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00"Well done! You've done it!"
0:38:00 > 0:38:02So I was chuffed about that.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03And that's how it went.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10MUSIC: "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" by Electric Light Orchestra
0:38:13 > 0:38:16# Midnight
0:38:18 > 0:38:21# On the water
0:38:24 > 0:38:27# I saw
0:38:29 > 0:38:31# The ocean's daughter... #
0:38:31 > 0:38:34To me, pop is the best genre of all
0:38:34 > 0:38:36because it's got everything.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37It's got everything you need.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39You know, Elvis, The Beatles...
0:38:39 > 0:38:40I mean, everything is in there.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43All these different millions of styles,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and it's just...beautiful, pop music.
0:38:46 > 0:38:52# And I can't get it out of my head
0:38:52 > 0:38:55# No I can't get it out of my head. #
0:38:56 > 0:38:59'We're going to play Electric Light Orchestra
0:38:59 > 0:39:02'from last year. Showdown.
0:39:02 > 0:39:03'Which I thought was a great record
0:39:03 > 0:39:05'and I was expecting it to be number one.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06'And it's a nice group.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08'I call them Son of Beatles,
0:39:08 > 0:39:10'although they're doing things that we never did, obviously.'
0:39:10 > 0:39:17MUSIC: "Showdown" by Electric Light Orchestra
0:39:28 > 0:39:31There aren't any other producers really like him.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36I think he could do whatever he sets his mind to, and...
0:39:39 > 0:39:41..I've always found him very easy to work with.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46And I always enjoy whatever, you know, I hear that he's done.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50STEVE JAY: Some people like to use a specific microphone all the time,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52or a specific instrument.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55I'm not in that school of thought.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59I found that Jeff likes to experiment too.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02You use a room as the echo that you want.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Which is always better than some gadget, you know.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08The natural sound of air moving.
0:40:08 > 0:40:09It's got a magic to it
0:40:09 > 0:40:12that you can't recreate in a box, I don't think.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18You know, every room in his house
0:40:18 > 0:40:20is part of his studio.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24They're all set up.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29The furniture is in a certain place for sound.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33And the living room is not really a living room.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35It's a...it's a recording room, you know?
0:40:37 > 0:40:42And, depending on what idea he's trying to accomplish,
0:40:42 > 0:40:47depends what room you go play in.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49HE STRUMS ELECTRIC BANJO
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Paul actually said to me when I was working with him,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07he said, "Oh, you're very thorough, aren't you?"
0:41:07 > 0:41:09And I think that's a good thing.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12You know, I look after all the little details
0:41:12 > 0:41:15and make sure there's not any little bit of stuff
0:41:15 > 0:41:18that shouldn't be there lurking around.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22I'm just trying to get the best sound I can on all this stuff.
0:41:22 > 0:41:23And, you know, I think...
0:41:26 > 0:41:28..I do try and get different sounds.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Different drum sounds and different...
0:41:30 > 0:41:33I try and make them old-fashioned, you know,
0:41:33 > 0:41:34which is a lot of fun.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Trying to recreate old rooms in new rooms.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40HE STRUMS GUITAR
0:41:44 > 0:41:47I pay attention to things that a lot of people don't.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50That's probably one of the things.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52STEVE JAY: Yeah, Jeff likes to work.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55You know, he likes to work.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Um, and, uh...we're pretty much
0:41:58 > 0:42:01rocking here all the time.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04When I started, there were no rules and regulations.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Nobody cared how loud you had it.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08There wasn't little monitors and people snooping around, going,
0:42:08 > 0:42:10"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
0:42:10 > 0:42:13And people with white coats on. There weren't any of that.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15We come from the same school, you know?
0:42:15 > 0:42:17We're old analogue guys
0:42:17 > 0:42:21trying to figure out the digital world.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23ERIC IDLE: He not interested in fame,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25he's not interested in money, as such.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29You know, he doesn't, he's not, you know...he's...
0:42:29 > 0:42:31he's one of the most BALANCED people.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34You would never think of him as a rock'n'roller.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39I had a hit on Broadway
0:42:39 > 0:42:42and then he had a hit on Broadway but he never went to his.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45HE CHUCKLES And I thought, "That's really kind of cool, you know?!"
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Can we try that once more?
0:42:49 > 0:42:50He blew me away.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53He's doing three albums right now or he...
0:42:53 > 0:42:55He may have finished one of them, I don't know.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56And he was doing show tunes.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01And they were so beautiful, so beautiful.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06Jeff has listened to the, you know, these songs that he likes
0:43:06 > 0:43:09and recreated them and heard them and put that sort of ELO sound on them.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14Just squeeze a bit more, a bit more, uh, into that lead guitar.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16OK.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21# She may be the beauty or the beast
0:43:21 > 0:43:24# May be the famine or the feast... #
0:43:24 > 0:43:27A tiny bit of licence with it.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29You can still find little spaces to put your own little,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31uh, naughty bits in.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35# She may be the mirror of my dream... #
0:43:35 > 0:43:40The first song is called She. It was recorded by Charles Aznavour
0:43:40 > 0:43:42and I loved the... I loved the tune so much.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45I've always loved it ever since I first heard it in the '60s.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46I've done a thicker version of it.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50More of a harmony version, like a lot of backing vocals
0:43:50 > 0:43:51and stuff like that.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53How was that?
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- Nice. - OK, good. Double that, double it.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01And he's got the...a great voice.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05He's got a really beautiful voice, you know, being a singer,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08you know, it's not easy to do what he does.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Got a really classic voice, you know.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15And it's...individual voice, too, it's distinctive.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18You don't... It's nobody else, you know, it's Jeff Lynne.
0:44:18 > 0:44:24# I'm wild again Beguiled again... #
0:44:25 > 0:44:28What motivated me to go in the direction of these tunes was
0:44:28 > 0:44:32just really the fact that I'd been listening to them and only thinking
0:44:32 > 0:44:37about it, never planning on it, you know, but it took me about probably
0:44:37 > 0:44:39three years of just thinking about it to even start doing it.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43And I thought, I've got to try them because now I understand them.
0:44:43 > 0:44:49He obviously loves... all of those songs.
0:44:50 > 0:44:57And has studied the craft of songwriting and understands it.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01And rather than getting...
0:45:01 > 0:45:08some really good session man to come in and play
0:45:08 > 0:45:16and sing over that, uh, he spent a lot of time doing stuff himself.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Uh, a lot of people wish they could do that but they can't.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25That makes it different. That makes it different.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27That feels good, don't it?
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Yeah, that's great.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48# Just running scared Oh... #
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Roy actually told me that this was his favourite one that he ever did.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54It's a wonderful masterpiece of a tune.
0:45:54 > 0:46:00Because it's so simple that it, it almost defies belief.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02# Which one would you choose?
0:46:03 > 0:46:05# Then all at once... #
0:46:05 > 0:46:08It's marvellous, it's like a miniature opera.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10To me, it's like a masterpiece anyway.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12And simplicity itself.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Anyway, Roy was a genius, you know, and, uh,
0:46:15 > 0:46:17fantastic voice and everything.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21I can't really do it justice but I do it as good as I can do it.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23But I can still get up there and hit that note.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26But only if I use a pair of stepladders!
0:46:26 > 0:46:33# You turned around and walked away with me. #
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Songwriter, singer, drummer, guitarist, you know,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43he can do it all.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47He's not bad at all.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Hello, Jeff, how you doing?
0:46:49 > 0:46:50All right.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- Hello, Jeff, how you going? - All right?
0:47:03 > 0:47:05# Have mercy
0:47:05 > 0:47:09# Have mercy, baby
0:47:09 > 0:47:12# Have mercy
0:47:12 > 0:47:15# Mm, have mercy on me
0:47:18 > 0:47:25# Well, I went to see the gypsy to have my fortune read
0:47:25 > 0:47:30# She said, man Your baby's going to leave you
0:47:30 > 0:47:33# Her bags are packed up under the bed
0:47:33 > 0:47:36# I cried, have mercy
0:47:36 > 0:47:40# Have mercy, baby
0:47:42 > 0:47:47# Mm, have mercy, have mercy on me
0:47:49 > 0:47:53# I said, if you leave me, baby
0:47:53 > 0:47:56# Girl, if you put me down
0:47:58 > 0:48:01# I'm going to the nearest river, child
0:48:01 > 0:48:04# And jump overboard and drown
0:48:04 > 0:48:08# Don't leave me, have mercy
0:48:08 > 0:48:10# Have mercy, baby
0:48:13 > 0:48:19# Have mercy, have mercy on me
0:48:21 > 0:48:25# Well now, hey, baby Hey, hey now
0:48:25 > 0:48:27# What you trying to do?
0:48:29 > 0:48:32# Hey, hey, baby Hey, hey now
0:48:32 > 0:48:37# Please don't say we're through
0:48:44 > 0:48:47# I said if you stay, baby
0:48:48 > 0:48:51# I tell you what I'm going to do
0:48:52 > 0:48:56# I'm going to work two jobs Seven days a week
0:48:56 > 0:48:59# And bring my money home to you
0:48:59 > 0:49:03# Well I said, have mercy
0:49:03 > 0:49:06# Have mercy, baby
0:49:08 > 0:49:12# Mm, have mercy Have mercy on me
0:49:15 > 0:49:19# Have mercy, have mercy on me
0:49:24 > 0:49:25# Have mercy
0:49:25 > 0:49:28# Have mercy on me
0:49:31 > 0:49:33# Mm, have mercy... #
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Working together was...was great.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Cos you want someone who can control the situation
0:49:43 > 0:49:45without appearing to.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49And that comes from his character.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53He just is that kind of guy, you know, that he gets things done.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56But you wouldn't know he was pulling the strings.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15Very modest, innocent in some ways.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17At the same time, amazingly accomplished.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24His music certainly hasn't been overlooked because you hear it.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27It's part of the fabric of all our lives.
0:50:27 > 0:50:32But the man himself is very shy and retreating, you know,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35I don't think you ever saw his picture on an album jacket
0:50:35 > 0:50:38or anything back in the ELO days.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42He's a great, great friend.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Jeff will do anything for you if he's your friend.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57He's a wonderfully gifted artist.
0:51:11 > 0:51:17He plays... I don't even know how many instruments he plays.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19But he plays a lot of them.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21He's a true master of what he does.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24And I don't know... Uh, you know,
0:51:24 > 0:51:28it's hard to say it in a way that doesn't sound like it's forced.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32I mean, whatever Jeff does is beautiful.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37You know, he's a very loyal person and as a producer he's
0:51:37 > 0:51:43meticulous, and as a songwriter he's melodic as can be.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56If I hadn't been doing the music, I'd have been really probably
0:51:56 > 0:51:59not very happy cos, I mean, just, all it was, was these black
0:51:59 > 0:52:05mornings, you know, grey skies, raining and freezing cold.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Getting up on the upstairs of the bus.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Going into town, going to work.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13That wasn't really what...
0:52:13 > 0:52:17That didn't have any kind of fascination for me at all.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24So I'm so glad I got into the... into the rock'n'roll music,
0:52:24 > 0:52:26into the pop and rock.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34I had three albums in the Top Ten as a producer in America.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Which is quite an amazing thing, to have three in the Top Ten.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42And I was nominated for Producer of the Year, but didn't get it.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45That's OK, I still did the albums and that,
0:52:45 > 0:52:47that was more fun than getting that.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53# And you really got a hold on me
0:52:55 > 0:52:59- # Doo, doo, doo, doo - Long time ago when we was fab... #
0:53:02 > 0:53:06# Been beat up and battered around
0:53:06 > 0:53:09# Been sent up and I've been shot down
0:53:10 > 0:53:13# You're the best thing that I've ever found
0:53:13 > 0:53:16# Handle me with care... #
0:53:27 > 0:53:33# Free as a bird
0:53:37 > 0:53:41# It's the next best thing to be
0:53:44 > 0:53:48# Free as a bird... #
0:53:52 > 0:53:56# Every time I look into your loving eyes
0:53:59 > 0:54:05# I see a love that money just can't buy
0:54:07 > 0:54:14# One look from you I drift away
0:54:14 > 0:54:22# I pray that you are here to stay
0:54:24 > 0:54:27# Anything you want, you got it
0:54:27 > 0:54:31# Anything you need, you got it
0:54:31 > 0:54:37# Anything at all you got it, baby... #
0:54:37 > 0:54:41HE PLAYS MANDOLIN
0:54:56 > 0:54:59- Hey. Hey! - HE LAUGHS
0:54:59 > 0:55:01'Today's forecast calls for blue skies.'
0:55:11 > 0:55:14# Sun is shining in the sky
0:55:14 > 0:55:17# There ain't a cloud in sight
0:55:17 > 0:55:21# It's stopped raining Everybody's in their play
0:55:21 > 0:55:25# And don't you know it's a beautiful new day?
0:55:25 > 0:55:30# Hey, hey Running down the avenue... #
0:55:30 > 0:55:33One of the great things about getting the job
0:55:33 > 0:55:36was to stop my mum banging up the stairs, running up the stairs,
0:55:36 > 0:55:38shouting, "Hey, come on, you lazy bugger, get up."
0:55:38 > 0:55:41And this would be like at 7:30 or eight o'clock in the morning.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43This one morning she did this.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I said, "Hang on, Mum, before you start,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48"I'm not getting up today or ever again.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50"I'm a professional musician now."
0:55:50 > 0:55:52And you should have seen the look on her face!
0:55:52 > 0:55:54# Where did we go wrong?
0:55:54 > 0:56:00# Mr Blue Sky, please tell us why you had to hide away for so long?
0:56:00 > 0:56:03- # So long - Where did we go wrong?
0:56:23 > 0:56:28# Hey, you, with the pretty face Welcome to the human race
0:56:28 > 0:56:33# A celebration Mr Blue Sky's up there waiting
0:56:33 > 0:56:37# And today is the day we've waited for
0:56:39 > 0:56:42# Mr Blue Sky please tell us why
0:56:42 > 0:56:45# You had to hide away for so long
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- # So long - Where did we go wrong? #
0:57:07 > 0:57:12# Well, I stuck my finger in a woodpecker's hole
0:57:12 > 0:57:15# And the woodpecker said, God bless my soul
0:57:15 > 0:57:19# Take it out, take it out Take it out, take it out. #
0:57:19 > 0:57:21Thank you.