On The Third Day Tour

Electric Light Orchestra -- On The Third Day Tour

An in-depth look at the 1973/1974 tour

Comments and Observations

The tours in support of the On The Third Day album (as well as the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album) ran from November 1973 to September 1974 with a Christmas break in late December and January and another break in June and July while recording for the Eldorado album. Generally the tour consisted of a North American tour in November and December 1973, a UK tour in February and March 1974 (with a few European dates included), another North American tour in April and May 1974, and a few European dates around August and September 1974 to promote the new live album. As with other tours, the tours weren't specifically billed as the "On The Third Day" tour, but more of a general tour to promote whatever the band's latest works happen to be. Many shows on the tour featured at the back of the stage a large neon light bulb with the ELO logo in the middle.

Band Member Changes: The tour was bookended by three significant personnel changes. Because cellist Colin Walker had left the band in late summer 1973 following the ELO 2 tours, the On The Third Day album had been recorded in late 1973 with Mike Edwards as the sole cellist in the band. In fact, with the release of Showdown in September 1973, the band was still without an additional cellist and the Showdown promotional material features sound engineer Rick Pannell as the stand-in (but not real) cello player while the On The Third Day album credits the totally fictional Ted Blight as the band's additional cello player. So it was in November of 1973, just in time for the band's North American tour in support of the On The Third Day album that cellist Hugh McDowell rejoined the band. He had previously left the Electric Light Orchestra in July 1972 to join Roy Wood's Wizzard (along with Bill Hunt); there was a bit of an acrimonious relationship between the two bands because of the circumstances around Roy's leaving ELO and taking band members with him. However, with ELO in dire need of a cello player, they were willing to overlook any hard feelings and let Hugh join the band again.

In addition, violinist Wilf Gibson left the band (supposedly fired) halfway through the sessions for On The Third Day and violinist Mik Kaminski was brought into the band to finish the album. His appearances on the On The Third Day tour were his first live appearances with the band. In early appearances, he even imitated Wilf by wearing a cape on stage. He would be with the band throughout their "classic" period of the late 1970s and would continue off and on until 1986.

Meanwhile at the other end of the tour, after the recording of the Eldorado album in the summer of 1974 and the European dates to promote the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach, bassist Mike deAlbuquerque left the band, which paved the way for Kelly Groucutt to join the band shortly afterward. As far as can be determined, Mike deAlbuquerque's last thing ever with the band was the Szene '74 German TV recording on October 11, 1974.

The Exploding Cello: Mike Edwards had quickly become known as the wacky frontman of ELO by wearing strange outfits and acting the clown on stage. It was during this tour that he first performed his famous "exploding cello" bit where he would mime Le Cygne (popularly known as The Dying Swan) by Camille Saint-Saλns on stage (with cellist Hugh McDowell playing the actual tune offstage) by running various citrus fruit along the cello strings. At the end of the performance and with the press of a button, the cello would explode. This zany visual spectacle thrilled audiences, even if sometimes the exploding mechanism failed to operate properly and Mike had to take bows for a performance he didn't give. This was not done at all shows, especially given the hit-or-miss explosion of the cello (and the danger to Mike). Mike was apparently not much of a fan of it, given that the device would explode right in front of him and he didn't really trust it. Details are still unclear exactly when and where it was done, but it is known to have been done during the On The Third Day tour and some of the early Eldorado tour performances. Unfortunately, no known visual or audio record of this performance, bootleg or otherwise, is known to exist.

Do it with the Light on. posterPromotion: The fall 1973 part of the tour in the USA (at the very least) was promoted with the "Do it with the Light on" campaign by United Artists. Several promotional items were created, including a light switch cover with the band's name and the "Do It With The Light On" slogan. The slogan is, of course, a double entendre encouraging listeners to have sex ("do it") with the lights switched on (or the Electric Light Orchestra on the record player). Note the capitalization on "Light" only.

Promoting the Singles: During the tour, the singles Showdown and Ma-Ma-Ma Belle were released. In the UK, Showdown fared well, reaching #12 in November of 1973, and Ma-Ma-Ma Belle did mediocre, reaching only #22 in April 1974. In the USA, despite the steady touring and good show attendance, the singles did poorly with Showdown only reaching #51. It is curious that the Ma-Ma-Ma Belle single released in the USA in February 1974 was a total failure, yet when the band was enjoying sell-out shows in May of 1974, the single's B-side, Daybreaker which was being performed on the tour, reached #87 in the charts.

The Night The Light Went On In Long BeachThe Live Long Beach Album: The band felt that they were neglecting the European market, thus they released the live The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in August 1974 in several European countries. The album was a recording of a sell-out May 12, 1974 performance in Long Beach, California. This album has a bit of a curious history. For it's initial release, edits and studio overdubs were done to beef up the sound (and correct errors!). It did not include the full concert as it excluded Ma-Ma-Ma Belle as well as the On The Third Day suite of songs (and the unconfirmed cello solo). Several songs were extracted from the concert (often in edited form) and were used as B-sides for several ELO singles in 1975 and 1976. The performance of The Beatles' Daytripper was edited and issued as a 1974 single in Germany to promote the then current tour. The band naturally praised the album on initial release, but within a few years were disparaging the album as poorly done. Although the performance was respectable, the sound was muddy and not very good. In fact, apparently the tapes used for the pressing of the vinyl were clearly marked as "Rough Mix - Do Not Use", however, an error was made and this wrong tape was used. So it was in 1985 that the correct tape was used, yielding a much better sound quality, several curious edits, a whole new cover and a slight parenthetical retitle to The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach); this new version was released in the UK, Holland, Japan and Hong Kong. It is this version, with a whole new mastering, that was released on CD in 1998. There are unconfirmed reports that ELO management were so upset with the sound quality of the original LP that they filed suit against the production company, however, this did not stop ELO management from using these recordings for single B-sides as late at July 1976.

Spoken Introduction: The The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach albums include a spoken introduction of an as yet unidentified person stating: "Good evening. From Birmingham, London and Oxford England, please welcome the Electric Light Orchestra!" A recording of this is heard on a bootleg recording from September 27, 1974. As these European concerts were actually to promote the release of the live album in Europe, this recording was clearly used for all those shows. What remains unclear is whether these shows used a recording from the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album or if all shows from the On The Third Day tour used this same recording and the Long Beach introduction was a recording as well.

Television Appearances: An April 2, 1974 performance (broadcast April 15) of the unidentified songs were filmed in Philadelphia for The Mike Douglas Show, although they are likely mimed only performances. This show is unreleased in any form and it is not bootlegged. There was also a November 20, 1973 recording for the USA TV show The Midnight Special in the Burbank, California of the songs Showdown, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle and Bluebird Is Dead that are mimed. These are also unreleased, however a bootleg recording of Showdown from a September 17, 1976 rebroadcast exists as a bootleg. Records indicate that the band also recorded a performance for The Midnight Special on May 7, 1974; however, details about this appearance are unclear and the veracity of it remains in question.

On April 20, 1974, right in the middle of the tour, ELO made an appearance on the ABC music show In Concert. The band mimed to the album recordings of New World Rising, Dreaming Of 4000 and the then new single Ma-Ma-Ma Belle. This was clearly a pre-recorded appearance as the band was heavily on tour at the time the show was aired. It may have been recorded many months prior or even just after completion of the On The Third Day album as it features the unusual live appearance of Dreaming Of 4000 and a newly joined violinist Mik Kaminski is imitating recently departed violinist Wilf Gibson and is wearing a cape on stage. This show is sometimes incorrectly known as Don Kirshner's In Concert due to confusion with his series a year later, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

Headliner or Opener: The band had not reached superstar status yet, so at most shows they were the opening band of other, better known bands. In other cases, they were the headliner band. Details remain a little unclear as to which shows they opened and which they headlined, but it is likely that they were the opening band for shows with The Edgar Winter Group and Wishbone Ash as they were more commercially successful at this time.

Band and crew members

The band and crew on this tour were:

Jeff Lynne: vocals, guitar
Bev Bevan: drums
Richard Tandy: keyboards
Mike deAlbuquerque: bass, vocals
Mik Kaminski: violin
Mike Edwards: cello
Hugh McDowell: cello
Don Arden: Business and personal management
Rick Pannell: sound engineer

Other crew is uncertain, although probably Jake Commander, Brian Jones and Phil Copestake were involved as engineers or technicians as they were known to be good friends with the band and involved in most of their tours. Don Arden's son, Dave Arden also helped manage and tour with the band on later tours, however, it's unclear if he was involved with this tour at all.

Tour Dates

This tour ran in from October 1973 to May 1974, with a short break in January, followed by another break from June to August 1974 to record the Eldorado album, then some European shows in August and September 1974. The latter was actually to promote the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album as well as the On The Third Day album.

In several interviews, the band speak of neglecting the European market on tour, which is the primary reason the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album was released there. Some sources also list some European shows in early December 1973, but ELO were touring America at this time, so these may actually be cancelled dates.

Date City, Country Venue Headliner/Opening Act(s) Comments
October 23, 1973 Detroit, Michigan, USA Masonic Auditorium Foghat, Robin Trower
October 30, 1973 Washington DC, USA Constitution Hall Unknown
November 2, 1973 Montreal, Quebec, Canada The Forum The Edgar Winter Group (headliner)
November 3, 1973 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Civic Arena The Edgar Winter Group (headliner)
November 5, 1973 Toronta, Ontario, Canada Maple Leaf Gardens The Edgar Winter Group (headliner), James Montgomery Band
November 7, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri, USA Fox Theatre Joe Walsh (headliner)
November 8, 1973 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Unknown Unknown
November 9, 1973 Ellensburg, Washington, USA Central Washington State College Wishbone Ash (headliner)
November 10, 1973 Salem, Oregon, USA Armory Wishbone Ash (headliner)
November 11, 1973 Seattle, Washington, USA Seattle Center Arena Wishbone Ash (headliner)
November 12, 1973 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada PNE Gardens Unknown
November 14, 1973 Los Angeles, California, USA Hollywood Palladium Blue Φyster Cult
November 16, 1973 Denver, Colorado, USA Regis College Unknown
November 17, 1973 San Luis Obispo, California, USA Cal Poly State University Elvin Bishop Band
November 18, 1973 Tempe, Arizona, USA Feyline Fields War, ZZ Top, Blue Φyster Cult, Hans Olsen
November 19, 1973 Fresno, California, USA Selland Arena Foghat, Humble Pie
November 20, 1973 Burbank, California, USA The Midnight Special TV show taping N/A Technically this is not a tour performance.
November 22, 1973 San Diego, California, USA JJ's Ballroom Unknown
November 23, 1973 San Francisco, California, USA Winterland Sha Na Na, James Montgomery Band
November 24, 1973 San Francisco, California, USA Winterland Sha Na Na, James Montgomery Band
November 25, 1973 Memphis, Tennessee, USA Ellis Auditorium North Hall Unknown
November 26, 1973 Atlanta, Georgia, USA Unknown Unknown
November 28, 1973 Shreveport, Louisiana, USA Unknown Unknown
November 29, 1973 Mobile, Alabama, USA Municipal Auditorium Wishbone Ash (headliner)
November 30, 1973 Jacksonville, Florida, USA Unknown Unknown
December 1, 1973 (cancelled) Palm Beach, Florida, USA Paramount Theatre Unknown
December 2, 1973 Tampa, Florida, USA Curtis Hixon Hall Wishbone Ash (headliner)
December 4, 1973 Detroit, Michigan, USA Masonic Auditorium B. B. King, Average White Band
December 7, 1973 Cleveland, Ohio, USA Public Hall Beach Boys, Linda Rondstadt
December 8, 1973 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA Franklin and Marshall College Mayser Center
December 9, 1973 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA Northampton Community College Elf
December 11, 1973 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Civic Arena Johnny Winter
December 14, 1973 Washington, DC, USA T. P. Warner Theatre Grin
December 15, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Shubert Theatre Unknown
December 16, 1973 Trenton, New Jersey, USA Trenton State College Return to Forever
January 25, 1974 London, UK Golders Green Hippodrome Unknown This concert was recorded by the BBC for radio broadcast. It may have been recorded without an audience and fake applause was added in post production. It was recording to promote the band's upcoming UK tour and did not feature the full setlist from the tour.
February 1, 1974 Uxbridge, UK Brunel University Unknown
February 2, 1974 Sheffield, UK Sheffield University Unknown
February 3, 1974 Coventry, UK Coventry Theatre Unknown
February 9, 1974 Canterbury, UK University of Kent Unknown
February 16, 1974 London, UK Drury Lane Theatre Royal Unknown
February 17, 1974 Birmingham, UK Hippodrome Unknown
February 18, 1974 Manchester, UK Free Trade Hall Unknown
February 21, 1974 Middlesbrough, UK Civic Hall Unknown
February 22, 1974 Newcastle, UK Newcastle Polytechnic Unknown
February 23, 1974 Southport, UK Floral Hall Unknown
February 24, 1974 Glasgow, UK The Apollo Unknown
February 26, 1974 Bristol, UK Colston Hall Unknown
March 2, 1974 Chatham, UK Central Hall Unknown
March 4, 1974 Barcelona, Spain Unknown Unknown
March 5, 1974 Madrid, Spain Unknown Unknown
March 7, 1974 Folkestone, UK Leas Cliff Hall Unknown
March 8, 1974 Nottingham, UK Trent Polytechnic Unknown
March 9, 1974 Leeds, UK Unknown Unknown
March 10, 1974 Croydon, UK Fairfield Hall Unknown
March 12, 1974 Essex, UK Southend Cliffs Pavilion Unknown
March 13, 1974 Aberystwyth, UK Aberystwyth University Unknown
March 15, 1974 London, UK Royal Holloway College Unknown
March 17, 1974 Liverpool, UK Empire Theatre Unknown
March 19, 1974 Portsmouth, UK Guild Hall Unknown
March 29, 1974 Detroit, Michigan, USA Michigan Palace Unknown
March 30, 1974 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Massey Hall Al Stewart
March 31, 1974 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The Spectrum Al Stewart
April 1, 1974 Staten Island, New York, USA Wagner College Unknown
April 2, 1974 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Mike Douglas TV show taping N/A Technically this is not a tour performance.
April 3, 1974 New York, New York, USA Avery Fisher Hall Steely Dan
April 4, 1974 Camden, New Jersey, USA Camden Community College Unknown
April 5, 1974 Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA Wilkes College Unknown
April 6, 1974 Westbury, New York, USA Westbury Music Fair Renaissance
April 7, 1974 Rochester, New York, USA Monroe Community College Unknown
April 9, 1974 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Stanley Theatre Spooky Tooth
April 10, 1974 Parsippany, New Jersey, USA Joint In The Woods Unknown
April 11, 1974 Westbury, New York, USA Westbury Music Fair Renaissance
April 12, 1974 Baltimore, Maryland, USA East Wind Ballroom Unknown
April 13, 1974 Columbus, Ohio, USA Veterens Memorial Auditorium Unknown
April 14, 1974 Louisville, Kentucky, USA Louisville Convention Center Unknown
April 15, 1974 Chicago, Illinois, USA Auditorium Theatre Suzi Quatro, If
April 16, 1974 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Orpheum Theatre Unknown
April 17, 1974 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Orpheum Theatre Unknown
April 18, 1974 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA Mary E. Sawyer Hall Unknown
April 19, 1974 Bloomington, Indiana, USA Indiana University Assembly Hall The Edgar Winter Group (headliner), The James Gang
April 20, 1974 Port Chester, New York, USA Capitol Theatre Return to Forever
April 21, 1974 Washington, D.C., USA J.F.K. Auditorium Unknown
April 22, 1974 Atlanta Georgia, USA The Electric Ballroom Unknown
April 23, 1974 Atlanta Georgia, USA The Electric Ballroom Unknown
April 25, 1974 Nashville, Tennessee, USA Mother’s Music Emporium Unknown
April 26, 1974 Kansas City, Missouri, USA Cowtown Ballroom Suzi Quatro
April 27, 1974 Wichita, Kansas, USA University of Kansas Unknown
April 28, 1974 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Unknown Unknown
April 29, 1974 Austin, Texas, USA Municipal Auditorium Unknown
May 1, 1974 Tucson, Arizona, USA Community Center Unknown
May 3, 1974 Santa Barbara, California, USA UCSB Robertson Gym Elvin Bishop Band, Dan Hicks
May 4, 1974 Santa Monica, California, USA Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Elvin Bishop Band This was a sell-out concert.
May 5, 1974 Phoenix, Arizona, USA Celebrity Theatre Unknown
May 6, 1974 Phoenix, Arizona, USA Celebrity Theatre Unknown
May 7, 1974 Burbank, California, USA The Midnight Special TV show taping N/A Technically this is not a tour performance.
May 8 or 9, 1974 Fresno, California, USA Unknown Unknown
May 11, 1974 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Aladdin Theatre Unknown
May 12, 1974 Long Beach, California, USA Long Beach Auditorium Maggie Bell This is the concert recorded for the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album. It was a sell-out concert.
May 16, 1974 Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Terrace Ballroom Elvin Bishop Band
May 17, 1974 Seattle, Washington, USA Moore Theatre Unknown
May 18, 1974 Spokane, Washington, USA Kennedy Pavilion Unknown
May 19, 1974 Sacramento, California, USA Civic Auditorium Unknown
May 23, 1974 El Paso, Texas, USA Civic Center Steve Miller Band, James Cotton Band
May 24, 1974 Dallas, Texas, USA Aragon Ballroom Unknown
May 25, 1974 Tampa, Florida, USA Florida State Fairgrounds Leon Russell, War, Dr. John, others
May 27, 1974 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA St. Bernard Civic Center Climax Blues Band, Sutherland Bros.
May 29, 1974 Madison, Wisconsin, USA Dane County Coliseum Three Dog Night
June 15, 1974 Malvern, UK Malvern Winter Gardens Unknown
June 22, 1974 Oxford, UK Oxford University Unknown
August 15, 1974 Bilzen, Belgium (CANCELLED) Unknown Unknown This performance, announced as part of the "Jazz Bilzen" festival, was cancelled.
August 30, 1974 Aarau, Switzerland Saalbau Aarau Unknown
September 25, 1974 Frankfurt, Germany Unknown Black Oak Arkansas, Heavy Metal Kids
September 27, 1974 Heidelberg, Germany Rhein-Neckar Halle Humble Pie
September 28, 1974 Dortmund, Germany Westfalenhalle Humble Pie, Black Oak Arkansas
October 11, 1974 Hamburg, Germany Szene '74 TV show taping N/A Technically this is not a tour performance.

Setlist

The setlist for these shows is a bit difficult to pin down. There are actually several different sources for the concerts, but there is no single complete source. Therefore the setlist shown below is pieced together from multiple sources. In truth, it very likely varied slightly from show to show with the running order being occasionally switched or various songs added or dropped from the setlist from show to show.

The opening song for all shows was Daybreaker. This instrumental song was originally written for a Birmingham Town Hall performance, but it turned out to be a useful and powerful tune to open the show. It is perhaps on its strength as a unique and powerful song that it charted (as the B-side of Ma-Ma-Ma Belle) in the US Billboard singles chart at #87 in May of 1974 while the band was touring the US.

The song Do Ya, which was a Move number written by Jeff Lynne and played in full during the ELO 2 tour, was relegated to a medley of sorts with 10538 Overture only starting with this tour. Actually, it wasn't a medley at all, but simply the main guitar riff from Do Ya being played between the second and third choruses of 10538 Overture. Interestingly it was dropped altogether during the 1975 Eldorado tour, then brought back as a proper medley with 10538 Overture again in 1976, then back in full in 1977 when the band re-recorded the song.

The performance of Showdown featured a very lengthy guitar and string jam at the end of the song. Curiously, this jam was edited in parts down to 8:23 for the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in release in 1974, then edited even further down to 6:54 for the 1985 reissue of the concert. A bootleg audience recording from a Germany concert reveals the full extend of the jam, taking the song to over ten minutes. The live in-the-studio performance for the Szene '74 program included the non-fading seque at the end of the main song, but stopped and did not include this long jam; this was probably done only because it was to be for TV broadcast and they didn't feel the jam was necessary.

There are numerous reports of Mike Edwards performing his exploding cello and citrus-fruit rendition of Le Cygne (with Hugh playing the actual tune backstage) during some shows on this tour, particularly at the end of the On The Third Day and beginning of the Eldorado tour. Unfortunately no audio or video evidence of this performance exists. Details are hazy as there seems to be only anecdotal evidence that it was ever done beyond a few shows in the USA and possibly the UK. If there were any other cello solos done on the On The Third Day tour other than the exploding cello version of Le Cygne, then that is currently unknown.

This tour is also believed to feature the first known use of the In The Hall Of The Mountain King and Great Balls Of Fire combination. For the purposes of this page, they're not really considered a medley as the songs are both performed in full, but where one ends, the other begins so there is a connection in that regard. Certainly a very string heavy version of Great Balls Of Fire was used in the first ever 1972 ELO tour and an early version of In The Hall Of The Mountain King was used on the 1973 ELO 2 tour. As details on the ELO 2 tour are extremely limited at this time, it is unknown if Great Balls Of Fire was used on the ELO 2 tour or if these songs were used with any sort of connection as they were used on the On The Third Day tour.

The August and September tours of Europe were apparently part of a package tour with several other bands. As this tour was in support of the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach release in Europe, it included a shorter setlist that mimicked the songs on the album, except they replaced 10538 Overture with the recent single, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle. The On The Third Day suite of songs and any sort of cello solo were completely excluded, bringing the show to only an hour long to leave time for the other bands.

Song Title Arrangement Song comments
Daybreaker This is the On The Third Day album arrangement, but there is a long keyboard and string intro and the ending is slightly extended, adding the same keyboard part from the beginning of the song and a new finish.
Showdown This is the standard single arrangement except everything after the "Y'know I need you child" is cut and replaced with a lengthy guitar outro. The guitar outro runs about 6 full minutes!
Daytripper N/A This is a classically tinged version including the following bits in order: Daytripper, an excerpt of Handel's Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (Sinfonia Of Act 3 From Solomon), more of Daytripper, a short guitar riff from the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, an excerpt of Mozart's Piano Sonota In C-Major (First Subject), and finally a return to Daytripper and a long jam part.
Le Cygne N/A No known recording of this performance is known to exist. It was known to have been performed, with the exploding cello bit, at only some shows, although it remains unclear which shows on this tour it was used. It likely was not at all shows.
On The Third Day Suite This is basically side 1 of the On The Third Day album with a different arrangement. Jeff Lynne typically introduces the song on stage as simply "On the Third Day" only. These songs were excluded from the August and September 1974 shows.
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 Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe This is the same arrangement as the On The Third Day album version except the humming part just before the first vocal line is played on guitar instead of hummed and the interlude part at the end of the song is played on violin.
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 Bluebird Is Dead This is the same arrangement as the On The Third Day album version.
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 Oh No Not Susan This is the same arrangement as the On The Third Day album version.
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 New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise This is the same arrangement as the On The Third Day album version except the very end is slightly extended and different.
10538 Overture 10538 Overture is the same basic arrangement as the Electric Light Orchestra/No Answer version except it includes a section of the Do Ya between the second and third choruses and there is a big keyboard part added to the long instrumental ending. This song was excluded from the August and September 1974 shows.
Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special N/A This is an unnamed solo piece written by Mik that merge's with Orange Blossom Special when the drums, bass and keyboards join in. The violin solo part is improvised by Mik and varied from show to show.
Ma-Ma-Ma Belle This is the Ma-Ma-Ma Belle single arrangement; Jeff sings all lead vocals on the first part of the tour, but at some point (probably the beginning of the North American leg of the tour in March 1974) Mike deAlbuquerque sings lead on the "ma-ma-ma belle" parts on the choruses with Jeff singing the "or I will get you" (and similar) parts on the choruses; the end has an additional chorus and a lengthy instrumental part running slightly over a minute before a big ending.
In The Hall Of The Mountain King This is the On The Third Day album arrangement except it ends before the slow down part, has a unique ending that merges with the start of Great Balls Of Fire.
Great Balls Of Fire N/A This is the heavy cello riff version.
Roll Over Beethoven This is the full ELO 2 version of the song (not the Electric Light Orchestra II extended version), with bassist Mike De Albuquerque singing lead on the choruses. In addition, a whirling piano part was inserted in the fourth verse following the "She dance like a spinnin' top" line.

Releases

Several performances from this tour have been released over the years, although they have been spotty releases.

The most notable is the The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album released in European countries (most commonly available in Germany) from the May 12, 1974 Long Beach California concert. This album was plagued by poor sound quality and was not particularly well recieved. It was remixed, reedited and rereleased in 1985 with a new cover and parenthetically retitled to The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach). This mix was released on CD in 1998 and the performance of Great Balls Of Fire was extracted and issued on the 2000 Flashback set. In addition, edited versions of several songs were also released on singles-- Daybreaker was released on the B-side of the Nightrider single in the UK (March 1976); Daybreaker with a late fade-in and early fade-out was released on the second issue Showdown single in the USA (July 1976); 10538 Overture was released with no changes on the B-side of the Evil Woman singles in the UK (January 1976) and USA (October 1975); Showdown with an early fade the cuts most of the guitar jam at the end was released on the B-side of the Strange Magic single in USA (June 1976); and probably most notable, Daytripper with several edits throughout the song was released as the A-side of single in Germany in August 1974 (with the another edit version of Daybreaker on the B-side).

There was a BBC transcription peformance on January 25, 1974 at the Golders Green Hippodrome in London that, while broadcast on the BBC radio on February 2, 1974, was initially not officially released. However, it was commonly available in the 1970s on the Wholly Edison bootleg where it was falsely credited as being from the imaginary "St. Sodium Glutamate Aquarium". The Wholly Edison bootleg also excluded Mik's Violin Solo. It was also released on a bootleg CD in the 1990s called Rockaria Ouverture, which once again missed Mik's Violin Solo, but correctly identified the date and venue for all tracks except Ma-Ma-Ma Belle which was once again credited to the imaginary "St. Sodium Glutamate Aquarium". Finally, the concert got an official release on 1999's Live At The BBC collection (Eagle Records EAMCD097)-- this time it included the elusive Mik's Violin Solo but excluded the performance of Ma-Ma-Ma Belle and some of Bob Harris' announcement of the tour. In reality, this concert appears to have fake applause added between the tracks. It also does not include the band's full setlist, excluding 10538 Overture and Roll Over Beethoven which were not performed. It is believed that this performance, which may not have even had a full audience present, was only recorded ot promote ELO's tour of the UK, beginning in February.

A peformance at Brunel University in Uxbridge, West London was filmed on February 1, 1974. Select tracks from this performance were released in 2010 on the Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD, which incorrectly gives the performance dates as "1973" only. It's not entirely clear why only a handful of songs were released on the DVD as it is known that much more was performed. Tracks on the release include: King Of The Universe with the uncredited ending of New World Rising edited on to the end; Ma-Ma-Ma Belle; In The Hall Of The Mountain King and Great Balls Of Fire.

Also released on the Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD was an October 11, 1974 live-in-the-studio (without an audience) performance for the German TV show Szene '74. On the DVD, it gives the TV show as Rockpalast which was the name that Szene '74 was changed to in later years and under which the concert was rebroadcast. The performance appears to be complete, although it is the abbreviated setlist from the recent European tour as it excludes the On The Third Day suite of songs, the cello solo, and 10538 Overture. The performance of Showdown is also abbreviated, cutting the extended outro. The DVD also includes a vintage interview with the band, although they are joking so much during the interview that the interviewer often seems unclear how to respond.

Only one audience recording bootleg is known to exist, from a September 27, 1974 concert in Eppelheim, Germany. It is incomplete, excluding part of Daytripper.

The known bootlegs are:

Date Location Source Quality Comments
January 25, 1974 London, UK (The Hippodrome) Monitor Excellent Mostly released on the Live At The BBC album, although this excludes Ma-Ma-Ma Belle which is available from bootleg sources of the radio broadcast.
September 27, 1974 Eppelheim, Germany Audience Fair Missing part of Daytripper.

Headlining/Opening Acts

There is currently incomplete information on headlining or opening acts for this tour. It is known that ELO was the opening act for The Edgar Winter Group and Wishbone Ash on some shows as they had not quite reached superstar status by this tour. For other shows, it's not entirely clear if they were the opener or the headliner. They appears with a wide variety of acts, including Linda Rondstadt, Steve Miller Band, Al Stewart and Sha Na Na.

For the August and September European shows, they were apparently part of a package tour with several other rock bands, including Black Oak Arkansas and Humble Pie. Although unconfirmed, it is believed that ELO were the headline act in the booking package.

Promotions

At several shows (only where it was probably feasible), the band used a neon sign in the shape of a lightbulb with the ELO logo in the middle of it. This was typically hung behind the band while performing.

United Artists, at least in North America, launched a campaign in late 1973 with the slogan "Do it with the Light on." This was used not only to promote the On The Third Day album, but also the tour. It appeared in print media (posters, ads, etc.) and several interesting promo items (a lighted sign, light switch cover, etc.).

More detail will be provided as it is found.

Photos

Jeff Lynne on tour Tour poster for December 8, 1973 show Ticket stub for February 18, 1974 show Ticket stub for April 6, 1974 show Ticket stub for April 29, 1974 show
Ticket stub for April 29, 1974 show
Ticket stub for April 29, 1974 show
Jeff Lynne on tour Tour poster for December 8, 1973 show Ticket stub for February 18, 1974 show Ticket stub for April 6, 1974 show Ticket stubs for April 29, 1974 show
Ticket stub for May 5, 1974 show The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach LP (Germany 1974) The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach) LP (UK 1985) The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach) CD (UK 1998) Wholly Edison bootleg LP
Ticket stub for May 5, 1974 show The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach LP (Germany 1974) The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach) LP (UK 1985) The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach) CD (UK 1998) Wholly Edison bootleg LP
Live At The BBC CD (UK 1999) Daytripper German 7-inch single (WB 16 456) 10538 Overture (Live) on B-side of Evil Woman UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 764) Daybreaker (Live) on B-side of Nightrider UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 769) Showdown (Live) on B-side of Strange Magic UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 779)
Live At The BBC CD (UK 1999) Daytripper German 7-inch single (WB 16 456) 10538 Overture (Live) on B-side of Evil Woman UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 764) Daybreaker (Live) on B-side of Nightrider UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 769) Showdown (Live) on B-side of Strange Magic UK 7-inch single (Jet JET 779)
10538 Overture (Live) on B-side of Evil Woman USA 7-inch single (United Artists UA-XW 729-Y) Daybreaker (Live) on B-side of Showdown USA 7-inch single (United Artists UA-XW 842-Y) Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD Fall 1973 USA tour poster
10538 Overture (Live) on B-side of Evil Woman USA 7-inch single (United Artists UA-XW 729-Y) Daybreaker (Live) on B-side of Showdown USA 7-inch single (United Artists UA-XW 842-Y) Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD Fall 1973 USA tour poster
No other photos from this tour are currently available. If you have any to share, please contact me at the email address at the bottom of this page.

Fan Comments

Enter comments only about this tour. (Inappropriate comments will be removed.)

Song Comments

Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe (BBC January 25, 1974)

Bluebird Is Dead (BBC January 25, 1974)

Oh No Not Susan (BBC January 25, 1974)

New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise (BBC January 25, 1974)

Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special (BBC January 25, 1974)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. This is an instrumental cover of the Johnny Cash song, mainly showcasing the rock and roll violin.

"Talking of Mik, the [Live At The BBC CD] sleeve fails to credit him as the writer of his solo piece, even though it is introduced as being by the star violinist!"
Rob Caiger (July 19, 1999 - Showdown mailing list)

Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (BBC January 25, 1974)
"The [1999 Live At The BBC] CD manages to leave off three tracks from those originally broadcast by the BBC - Ma Ma Ma Belle (from Golders Green Hippodrome) and 10538 Overture / Do Ya (from Portsmouth)."
Rob Caiger (July 19, 1999 - Showdown mailing list)

In The Hall Of The Mountain King (BBC January 25, 1974)

Great Balls Of Fire (BBC January 25, 1974)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. It's a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song.

Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe (Brunel University February 1, 1974)
The Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD actually cuts the very end of this performance and attaches the end of Ocean Breakup Reprise, giving the illusion that this is the only song performed.

Bluebird Is Dead (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

Oh No Not Susan (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise (Brunel University February 1, 1974)
On the Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD, the very of Ocean Breakup Reprise is edited on to the end of King Of The Universe thus most of the On The Third Day suite of songs is cut, including all but 10 seconds of Ocean Breakup Reprise.

Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

Great Balls Of Fire (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

Unknown Titles (Brunel University February 1, 1974)

Daybreaker (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

Daybreaker (Long Beach Single Version)
This version is the same as the original The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach LP version, but it cuts the introduction to the band and the spooky, discordant keyboard, string and drum intro, starting immediately at the beginning of the main riff (at the [1:26] mark on compared to the original LP version). It also fades at the song's end so that it just misses the final keyboard part and the drum crash that ends the song.

Daybreaker (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Daybreaker is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that it has an added eight second violin solo added in at the [2:56] mark. The sound is mixed to better sound quality. Jeff's "thank you" to the audience at song's end is on the 1985 LP version, but is missing from the 1998 CD remaster/reissue.

Showdown (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
From [3:55] to the end of the song, there is an extended guitar/keyboard/violin instrumental jam that was previously heard on the ELO II tour as the last part of From The Sun To The World (Boogie #1) that was released on the E.L.O. Live at the BBC CD. The original performance of this song is over 10 minutes long and remains unreleased.

Showdown (Long Beach Single Version)
This version is the same as the original The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach LP version, but it fades early.

Showdown (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Showdown is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that a minute and a half of keyboard, guitar and violin solo is cut. The cut is from [4:46] to [6:25] from the original mix. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Daytripper (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. This is a cover of the Beatles song (and more!). This medley includes Daytripper from [0:00 to 2.06], an excerpt of Handel's Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (Sinfonia Of Act 3 From Solomon) from [2:06 to 2:32], more of Daytripper again from [2:32 to 4:07], a short guitar riff from the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction from [4:07 to 4:18], an excerpt of Mozart's Piano Sonota In C-Major (First Subject) from [4:18 to 4:49], and the remainder [4:49 to 6:40] is Daytripper. The opening guitar riffs from the TV show Bonanza can be heard from [5:13 to 5:20] as it's is played over the closing of Daytripper. Curiously, the actual Beatles song title is listed as two words, Day Tripper, but every reference to the Electric Light Orchestra version lists it as one word, Daytripper.

"Daytripper [is] a mixture The Beatles song with quotations from Handel's Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (Sinfonia Of Act 3 From Solomon), Mozart's Piano Sonota In C-Major (First Subject), a few bars of the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction bass riff and the title theme of the TV series Bonanza played by Jeff on the guitar."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

"[ELO] released a live version of The Beatles' Day Tripper in 1974."
Kristofer Engelhardt (1998 - Beatles Undercover)

Daytripper (Single Version)
This version is the same as the original The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album, but it includes several edits throughout to shorten the song to be more friendly for radio.

"In some European countries a special edited version of Daytripper was lifted from the album as a single."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

Daytripper (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Daytripper is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that some of the vocals are mixed out near the end of the song, including Jeff's shouting just before the Bonanza guitar riff and all the repeating "daytripper, yeah" parts after the [5:35] mark. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

Bluebird Is Dead (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

Oh No Not Susan (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

10538 Overture (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
The opening guitar riff from Do Ya is played from [2:50 to 3:31] with a beautiful orchestral accompaniment.

"Material from this [The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach] LP has appeared on the B-sides of the last three UK singles, and the live 10538 Overture (with its teasing, truncated Do Ya riff in the middle) is the American B-side of Evil Woman."
Joel Bellman (December 1976 - Trouser Press #17)

10538 Overture (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of 10538 Overture is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that fifteen extra seconds of 10538 Overture guitar riffs are added in at the [4:36] mark. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. Orange Blossom Special is an instrumental cover of the Johnny Cash song, mainly showcasing the rock and roll violin playing. The Mik's Solo portion is a Mik Kaminski original.

Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that there are some extra bits of Jeff introducing Mik Kaminski are added in where Jeff says, "Mik Kaminskiiii! He's gonna do a solo for us." Also added is Jeff acknowledging Mik by once again shouting "Mik Kaminski" at the song's end. Also note that on the 1998 CD version of The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach), Jeff's intro to Mik's solo is attached at the end of 10538 Overture. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
"Also found on the second side of On The Third Day is the ELO treatment of a genuine classical piece by Edvard Grieg, In The Hall Of The Mountain King. (This furnished the lead-in for a rousing version of Great Balls Of Fire in their stage act at the time.)"
Joel Bellman (December 1976 - Trouser Press #17)

In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of In The Hall Of The Mountain King is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that there are some very dramatic changes to the mix. First off, from [2:24] to the end of the song, Richard Tandy's keyboards are mixed down to near silence and the guitars are brought up in the mix. Also minute and twelve seconds of violin and guitar solo are added at the starting at the [3:00] mark. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Great Balls Of Fire (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. It's a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song.

"This is a live version. I don't remember where it was recorded, but it's Rock and Roll."
Jeff Lynne (2000 - Flashback)

Great Balls Of Fire (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Great Balls Of Fire is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that there is an extra ten seconds of violin solo added into the instrumental bridge following the first guitar solo. Also, about five seconds of crowd noise is cut off at the song's end. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Roll Over Beethoven (Long Beach May 12, 1974)

Roll Over Beethoven (Remix Version) (Long Beach May 12, 1974)
This remix version of Roll Over Beethoven is different from the original 1974 The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach album in that a piano and guitar solo between the second verse and second chorus is cut, thus running the verse and chorus together. This cut bit runs from [3:04] to [4:08] on the original mix. The sound is mixed to better sound quality.

Le Cygne (On The Third Day Tour)
This song, popularly known as The Dying Swan, was used for the infamous exploding cello performance. Cellist Mike Edwards played the song on stage by rubbing various citrus fruit across the bows. In reality, Hugh McDowell was backstage playing the real song so Mike was simply miming the song. At the end of the solo, Mike would press a button and the cello would explode. (Unfortunately, the explosion device didn't always work and Mike had to take bows for a cello played by Hugh!). The band no longer performed this song after Mike Edwards left the band in December of 1974. Unfortunately, no known recording of the exploding cello is known to exist, bootleg or otherwise.

The classical piece, Le Cygne (The Swan in English), is the thirteenth movement of Camille Saint-Saλns' The Carnival of the Animals. The cello and piano piece was used for an interpretive dance called The Dying Swan that is based upon a Tennyson poem of the same name. Because of this popular dance, Le Cygne is more popularly known as The Dying Swan.

"Great Balls of Fire and Roll Over Beethoven (and this is really where they pick up the Deep Purple crowd) become a searing sonic backdrop for a series of acrobatics, and pile into an overkill crescendo that ends only when Edwards' cello literally explodes in his hand."
Richard Cromelin (December 7, 1974 - The Gastonia Gazette)

"On stage [Mike Edwards] played The Dying Swan, by rolling an orange down the bridge of his cello. With his 'Exploding Cello' he also was sure of applause and attention. Mike played a feigned solo, for which Hugh McDowell was responsible backstage. When Mike pressed a button his cello exploded and fell apart. Sometimes however the impact was so strong, that Mike toppled from his chair and the rest of E.L.O. was really worried about Mike's health. On other occasions, the exploding cello didn't work at all. Mike kept pressing the button, but the cello didn't explode. So the fans finally gave Mike an applause for a solo played by Hugh McDowell."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

Daybreaker (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Showdown (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Daytripper (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Mik's Violin Solo/Orange Blossom Special (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Great Balls Of Fire (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

Roll Over Beethoven (Szene '74 - October 11, 1974)

This page is intended to be a complete record of information on the Electric Light Orchestra On The Third Day tour. If you notice any errors or omissions (which there are many), please contact me at elofan@juno.com and let me know. I strive for accuracy.

Robert Porter
May 2012