Former Electric Light Orchestra members Melvyn Gale, Bev Bevan and Mik Kaminski reunited at Birmingham City University to present Gale’s silver electric cello that toured with ELO in the 1970s to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The one-of-a-kind instrument will be housed in the Richard Tandy Production Suite, which opened last year, and houses instruments and studio equipment used by Tandy, along with a collection of his gold and platinum records.
“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,” said Gale, who played cello for ELO from 1975–1980. “There was no such thing as an electric cello when ELO was performing, so we made one.
“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.”
“It’s wonderful to see Richard’s generous gift of instruments and memorabilia inspiring other music icons to do the same,” adds RBC Principal Stephen Maddock. “They are creating an archive that will benefit future generations of students and fans.
“This cello is a symbol of ELO’s pioneering creativity, fusing classical and pop genres not just in their sound but also with their equipment and instruments. I’m proud that RBC delivers an environment where students can be just as creative and inventive with music, following in the footsteps of Mel and Richard, and scores of other artists from this most musical of cities.”
Tandy, who died in 2024 at the age of 76, also has a scholarship in his name, made possible by a donation from his wife, Sheila, and a fundraising campaign led by ELO founder Jeff Lynne.
