Time Tour

Electric Light Orchestra -- Time Tour

An in-depth look at the 1981/1982 tour

Comments and Observations

The tour in support of the Time album ran from September 1981 to March 1982. It started with a 39 city tour in the USA for September to November then moved to the UK for early December for at least 11 shows. The band enjoyed a Christmas break for the rest of December and took some time off in January 1982, then finished with a tour of Europe in February and early March. The tour was shorter than previous tours, perhaps reflecting Jeff Lynne's desire to stop touring as much. During the December and January break, Jeff likely wrote some additional songs because it is known that the band took some time while on tour in Holland to record some songs for the Secret Messages album.

This was the first Electric Light Orchestra tour without the cello players, with only Mik Kaminski returning on violin and Lou Clark playing the keyboards to fill in for the missing cellos as well as to supplement Richard Tandy's keyboard playing. Dave Morgan also joined on guitar, backing vocals and occasional vocoder. It is perhaps as a result of the backlash over backing tapes from the Out Of The Blue tour, but the band eschewed backing tapes on this tour, only using them for the Prologue that started the show and the intro for Roll Over Beethoven. And it may be that because the band didn't want to use backing tapes, it required as many as four keyboard players (Tandy, Clark, Morgan and Kaminski) to reproduce the sound from the studio.

Fred the RobotFred The Robot: The stage show featured an R2-D2 type robot on stage as part of the act. The robot, although never known to have been explicitly named on stage, was affectionately called "Fred" by the band and crew. The show would start with a large digital clock reading down to the start of the show. When the clock hit 0:00, the digital readout changed to "ELO" and Fred the robot would roll out onto the darkened stage and a tape of the Time Prologue would play, as if Fred were speaking the robot voice. During this, the band would come onto stage in the dark. This would seque into Twilight when the lights would come up and the audience would see the band performing the song live. Occasionally during the show, Fred would often roll around stage and interact with the band or the audience. During the Roll Over Beethoven finale, Fred would move his arms, as if conducting an orchestra. Finally at the end of the show, after the Roll Over Beethoven finale, Fred would roll back out and a vocoder voice would announce "Thank you and good night from ELO." Unfortunately, as with the spaceship from the Out Of The Blue tour, Fred would often malfunction, and the show would have to go on with an unmoving or missing Fred. Fortunately, on occasions that Fred did malfunction, it did not cause the show to suffer. The band is reported to have paid 5000 British pounds for the manufacture of Fred. What occurred to him after the end of the tour remains a mystery.

The ELO Hits Medley: For the first time, the band played many of their hits as a long medley, rather than individual songs. It's not entirely clear why this was done, but probably because they had more hits than they could conceivably play fully without the show being too long, it was done as a way of providing more songs in a shorter amount of time. The medley was played shortly after the John Lennon tribute and played many of the ELO hits (and a few popular non-hits) in roughly chronilogical release order. The songs performed in the medley varied during the US leg of the tour from the European leg. The medly included the songs (in order) Showdown, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Strange Magic (USA shows only), Wild West Hero (European shows only), Fire On High, Turn To Stone, Standin' In The Rain, Mr. Blue Sky, Sweet Talkin' Woman, Shine A Little Love, Last Train To London, Confusion, Do Ya (European shows only) and Rockaria!. Although Do Ya was excluded from the medley during the US performances, it was performed in full later in the show.

John Lennon Tribute: One of the special performances at the concert was a tribute to John Lennon. Lennon was an influence and idol for Jeff and he had been murdered in December of 1980. The tribute came halfway through the show and featured a medley of Lennon's song's, including a short keyboard intro of Imagine by Richard Tandy; a gentle keyboard version of Nowhere Man (again by Richard); a full version of Across The Universe with Jeff on lead vocals and acoustic guitar and Kelly on soaring backing vocals; and finally a full version of A Day In The Life with Jeff on lead vocals and acoustic guitar. At each show, Jeff introduced it as "our tribute to John Lennon" and afterwards Bev Bevan came out from behind the drums to thank the audience and introduce the ELO Hits Medley (except when Bev was out sick, when bassist Kelly Groucutt did the honors).

Mik's Violin Solo: As in previous tours, violinist Mik Kaminski performed a violin solo during the tour. Like previous tours, this was a mostly improvised performance where the last half of the performance featured the band joining in for a song. This last half, the drums, bass and guitar portion, was a 12-bar blues section, which is quite different from previous performances that usually incorporated classical music pieces, In The Hall Of The Mountain King, Orange Blossom Special or Hungarian Dance No. 5. Several fans claim the 12-bar blues section is a cover of the song Hoochie Coochie Man by Willie Dixon, however the truth is that all 12-bar blues songs are basically the same melody, with the song more defined by the lyrics rather than the melody. Thus the blues section is a standard 12-bar blues more than any particular song. There was no cello solo during this tour because there was no cello player on the tour.

Hall & Oates: The opening band for much of the US leg of the tour was the duo of Hall & Oates. Some reports say that this was a "co-headline" show with Hall & Oates as the first performance, but all known ticket stubs show "Electric Light Orchestra" only. Hall & Oates as an opener proved to be an interesting choice for the show opener, being both a challenge and a potential embarrassment for the band. Hall & Oates had just had a #1 single with Kiss On My List in April 1981 as well as a #5 single with You Make My Dreams in July 1981. During the tour, ELO's Hold On Tight peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October; in November, Hall & Oates took their Private Eyes single to the #1 position. Clearly Hall & Oates were enjoying much greater chart and radio success in the US during the US leg of the tour, yet they were the opener for ELO. Show attendees may have been there to see either ELO or Hall & Oates, but not both. There are some rumored reports that ELO fans got rowdy during the Hall & Oates set and tried to boo them off the stage during their performances, although this remains unconfirmed.
[Editor's Note: A lot of fans are mentioning that several of the USA shows were opened by acts other than Hall & Oates, such as The Michael Stanley Band and Ellen Foley. So the number of shows that Hall & Oates opened may not be as high as previously thought. More research is need for clarity.]

Bev Bevan's Illness: Some time from late February to early March 1982, drummer Bev Bevan became ill with kidney stones and was flown back to England for medical attention. Pete King, the drummer for the British band After The Fire, filled in during these performances. After The Fire was the opening band for some European shows, so it was natural for him to step in and help out. Remarkably a bootleg of the March 3rd Köln performance exists and he clearly did a fine job on drums. The Unexpected Messages book states that Bev was out from February 14 to March 4, however a February 18 performance in Lyon, France exists in which Bev steps out from behind the drums after the John Lennon Tribute and talks to the audience. So it remains unclear how long Bev was away from the stage and Pete King filled in for him, but it is known that Bev was back on stage for the final show in Munich.

Time Tour Video: Rumors have persisted for many, many years of a video recording existing of a UK Time tour performance. Several fans have reported seeing the full concert on UK broadcast TV. However, several official sources also claim that such a recording does not and has never existed. Proof of such a video recording has never surfaced, bootleg or otherwise, but the rumor persists of such a recording. It remains a mystery if such a video actually exists or several UK fans are suffering a mass delusion.

Band and crew members

The band and crew on this tour were:

Jeff Lynne: vocals, guitar
Bev Bevan: drums (except some late February to early March performances due to illness)
Richard Tandy: keyboards
Kelly Groucutt: bass, vocals
Mik Kaminski: violin, keyboards
Lou Clark: keyboards
Dave Morgan: guitar, vocals, vocoder
Pete King: drums (some late February to early March performances only)
Craig Fruin: Tour manager
Brian Jones: Road manager
Phil Copestake: Personal road manager
Rico Miller: Production manager
Richard Erwin: Sound engineer
Steve Cohen: Lighting director
C.J. Patterson: Monitor engineer
Cathy Sanders: 2nd engineer
Dane Tucker: ELO Stage crew
Gene Lucero: ELO Stage crew
Doug Lacy: ELO Stage crew
Luke Zamperini: ELO Stage crew
Ruke Subourne: Head electrician
Dave Olsen: Head carpenter
Don Arden: Business and personal management
Dave Arden: Business and personal management

Tour Dates

This tour ran in from September 1981 to March 1982, with a short break at the end of December 1981 and January 1982.

Date City, Country Venue Opening Act(s) Comments
September 15, 1981 Austin, Texas, USA Frank Erwin Center The Michael Stanley Band
September 16, 1981 Houston, Texas, USA The Summit The Michael Stanley Band
September 17, 1981 Fort Worth, Texas, USA Tarrant County Convention Center The Michael Stanley Band
September 19, 1981 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Alladin Hotel Ellen Foley
September 20, 1981 San Diego, California, USA San Diego Sports Arena Ellen Foley
September 23, 1981 Los Angeles, California, USA The Forum Ellen Foley
September 24, 1981 Oakland, California, USA Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Ellen Foley
September 27, 1981 Denver, Colorado, USA McNichols Sports Arena Ellen Foley
October 1, 1981 Largo, Maryland, USA Capital Centre Ellen Foley
October 2, 1981 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The Spectrum Ellen Foley
October 3, 1981 Boston, Massachusetts, USA Boston Garden Ellen Foley
October 4, 1981 Binghamton, New York, USA Broome County Arena Ellen Foley
October 6, 1981 Uniondale, New York, USA Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum The Michael Stanley Band
October 7, 1981 Hartford, Connecticut, USA Hartford Civic Center Ellen Foley
October 8, 1981 East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA Byrne Meadowlands Arena Ellen Foley
October 10, 1981 Buffalo, New York, USA Memorial Auditorium Ellen Foley
October 11, 1981 Cleveland, Ohio, USA The Coliseum at Richfield Ellen Foley
October 12, 1981 Charleston, West Virginia, USA Civic Center Auditorium Ellen Foley
October 14, 1981 Roanoke, Virginia, USA Roanoke Civic Center Hall & Oates
October 15, 1981 Greensboro, Greensboro, USA Greensboro Coliseum Hall & Oates
October 16, 1981 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Civic Arena Hall & Oates
October 17, 1981 Annapolis, Maryland, USA Naval Academy Hall & Oates
October 19, 1981 Lexington, Kentucky, USA Rupp Arena Hall & Oates
October 20, 1981 Nashville, Tennessee, USA Nashville Municipal Auditorium Hall & Oates
October 21, 1981 Atlanta, Georgia, USA The Omni Coliseum Unknown
October 23, 1981 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA LSU Assembly Center Hall & Oates
October 24, 1981 Mobile, Alabama, USA Municipal Auditorium Hall & Oates
October 25, 1981 Jackson, Mississippi, USA Mississippi Coliseum Hall & Oates
October 26, 1981 Norman, Oklahoma, USA Lloyd Noble Center Hall & Oates
October 28, 1981 Kansas City, Missouri, USA Kemper Arena Hall & Oates
October 29, 1981 St. Louis, Missouri, USA The Checkerdome Hall & Oates
October 30, 1981 Omaha, Nebraska, USA Civic Auditorium Arena Hall & Oates
October 31, 1981 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Saint Paul Civic Center Hall & Oates
November 2, 1981 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA MECCA Arena Hall & Oates
November 4, 1981 Detroit, Michigan, USA Joe Louis Arena Hall & Oates
November 5, 1981 Chicago, Illinois, USA Chicago Stadium -or- Rosemont Horizon (sources contradict) Hall & Oates Fred apparently broke down at this show and the band played around him.
November 6, 1981 Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Riverfront Coliseum Hall & Oates
November 7, 1981 Bloomington, Indiana, USA Assembly Hall (Indiana University) Hall & Oates
December 1, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 2, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 4, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 5, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 9, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 10, 1981 London, UK Wembley Arena Voyager
December 12, 1981 Birmingham, UK National Exhibition Centre Voyager
December 13, 1981 Birmingham, UK National Exhibition Centre Voyager
December 14, 1981 Birmingham, UK National Exhibition Centre Voyager
December 15, 1981 Birmingham, UK National Exhibition Centre Voyager
December 16, 1981 Ingliston, Scotland Royal Highland Showground Voyager
February 4, 1982 Drammen, Norway Drammenshallen After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 6, 1982 Stockholm, Sweden Johanneshovs Isstadion After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 7, 1982 Copenhagen, Denmark Bröndbyhallen After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 10, 1982 Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy Hallen After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 11, 1982 Brussells, Belgium Vorst Nationaal Voyager
February 13, 1982 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Frankfurt Festhalle Messe After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 14, 1982 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Frankfurt Festhalle Messe After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 15, 1982 Strasbourg, France Hall Rhenus After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 16, 1982 Paris, France Parc des Expositions After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 18, 1982 Lyon, France Palais des Sports de Lyon After The Fire
(unconfirmed)
February 19, 1982 Zürich, Switzerland Hallenstadion After The Fire
(unconfirmed) 		Pete King may have replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 20, 1982 Dortmund, Germany Westfalenhalle After The Fire
(unconfirmed) 		Pete King may have replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 21, 1982 Dortmund, Germany Westfalenhalle After The Fire
(unconfirmed) 		Pete King may have replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 23, 1982 Göthenburg, Sweden Scandinavium After The Fire
(unconfirmed) 		Pete King may have replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 25, 1982 Bremen, Germany Stadthalle Bremen After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 26, 1982 Würzburg, Germany Carl-Diem-Halle After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 27, 1982 Kassel, Germany Eissporthalle Kassel After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
February 28, 1982 Berlin, Germany Deutschlandhalle After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
March 2, 1982 Köln, Germany Sporthalle After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
March 3, 1982 Köln, Germany Sporthalle After The Fire
 Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
March 4, 1982 Saarbrücken, Germany Saarlandhalle After The Fire Pete King replaced Bev Bevan on drums during this performance.
March 5, 1982 Munich, Germany Olympiahalle After The Fire Bev Bevan returned to drums on this, the final night of the tour.

Setlist

Based upon limited bootleg material only (there are no official releases from this tour), the setlist shown below is the most consistently known setlist, although variations did occur.

The ELO Hits Medley changed slightly when the tour moved from the USA to the UK, replacing Strange Magic with Wild West Hero and adding Do Ya, which was no longer performed in full near the end of the show. Don't Bring Me Down also expanded with an an audience participation part starting with the UK shows.

In the first few shows of the tour, three fans remember that Jeff Lynne sang Ticket To The Moon as a solo performance just after Yours Truly 2095. This consisted of just him on stage at the microphone (one fan) or a piano (another fan) with a single spotlight on him and no backing band. This remains uncorroborated at this time.

Song Title Arrangement Song comments
Prologue This is not performed live and is a playing tape only. It merges into a live performance of Twilight.
Twilight ... Time album arrangement except a different non-fade ending that uses some descending guitar riffs, no "twilight" vocals, and an abrupt ending. Kelly sings lead on the second half of the first and second verses ("am I awake..." and "inside the image...") and a vocoder is used to sing the main "twilight" lyric of the choruses as well as the "you brought me here..." vocal bridge.
Yours Truly, 2095 ... Time album arrangement, but with several significant changes. It's missing the pinball intro and most of the little twiddly bits. The "I love you, sincerely, yours truly, yours truly" lines are sung by Dave Morgan through a vocoder. Also while Jeff sings the first half of each verse, Kelly Groucutt sings the second half. The fifth verse ("I realize that it must seem so strange...") is not sung at all, but instead Jeff plays a guitar solo. Following the performance of this song, Jeff typically took a few moments to say hello to the audience and introduced the next few songs as "songs you might remember" or "big hits."
Evil Woman ... Face The Music album version, except the third verse and fourth chorus are completely cut. In addition, it also is without the orchestral intro and has a non-fading ending.
Livin' Thing ... A New World Record album version, but with several interesting changes. First, the violin intro is accompanied by piano and drums. Jeff's "taking a dive" lyrics are cut following the first chorus. Kelly Groucutt sings lead on the first half of the third verse as well as all harmony vocals and female vocal bits. And the song has a non-fading end that adds a repeat of the instrumental part following the first and second chorus before the end.
Telephone Line ... A New World Record LP version, except it cuts the telephone tone intro and the last two choruses and it adds a non-fading ending.
From The End Of The World ... Time album arrangement, but with several significant changes. Mainly, the instrumental bridge is very different. It is missing the lead guitar parts, which are instead played on keyboard, and it is extended to almost twice as long compared to the album version. Also, Jeff's backing vocal bits are missing from the bridge. In addition Kelly Groucutt sings the vocal bridge ("I saw you last night..." to "...got to hand it to you"). Finally, the song's ending is changed, with the notes slowly winding down to a finish similar to album.
Here Is The News ... Time album version, but it is missing the short intro and, of course, there are no news announcer bits. Most significantly is that there are no vocals during the choruses or the repeated ending. In addition, there is a different, non-fading ending. This song was only peformed at the USA and UK concerts. For the European shows, it was replaced with The Way Life's Meant To Be, which was the band's latest single.
The Way Life's Meant To Be ... Time album arrangement, but it cuts the orchestral intro and the entire third verse ("as I wander around..."). This song was only played during the European leg of the tour, replacing Here Is The News, as it was the band's latest single.
Mik's Violin Solo This is a mostly improvised violin performances that sometimes included excerpts from Edvard Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King, before the keyboards, drums, bass and guitar joined in for a 12-bar blues song with more improvised violin performance over the blues part.
John Lennon Tribute This is an original live performance only. It is a medley of John Lennon songs, including a gentle keyboard intro of Lennon's Imagine that blends into Nowhere Man. This leads to the full band joining in on Across The Universe where they perform the first two verses and choruses (with Jeff on lead vocal and Kelly and Dave on backing vocal) although the second verse actually mixes lines from the second and third verses of the original Beatles version. This is followed by a performance of the first two verses and the middle instrumental break of A Day In The Life with Jeff on lead vocals. Bev walked out from behind the drums after this performance to greet the audience and introduce the ELO Hits Medley. At the Köln, Germany concert, Kelly did this task as well as thanking Pete King from After The Fire for filling in for an ailing Bev.
ELO Hits Medley This is the start of a lengthy medley of abbreviated ELO hits. In the UK and European leg of the tour, Strange Magic was replaced with Wild West Hero and Do Ya was added.
*
 Showdown ... the first two verses, the first chorus, the guitar solo (with no string interlude), the third chorus and an instrumental ending.
*
 Ma-Ma-Ma Belle ... the first two verses and choruses, before a descending guitar part segues into the next song. Kelly sings lead on the second verse parts.
*
 Can't Get It Out Of My Head ... the first two verses, the first two choruses and the instrumental bridge.
*
 Strange Magic This performance is very short, only using the guitar intro, a single chorus, and part of the repeated ending section. This song was included at the USA performances only.
*
 Wild West Hero This performance only the acappella section ("ride the range..." to "...wish I could be") and the long "wish I was a Wild West Hero" section that ends the song. This song was included at the European performances only.
*
 Fire On High This performance is very short, only using one sequence of each of the main guitar riff sections.
*
 Turn To Stone ... the Out Of The Blue album version, but with the middle part of the song and the third chorus cut. It uses the first half of the second verse (ending with "still glow upon the wall so bright") and goes right to the last half of the third verse (starting with "through all I sit here and I wait"), thus cutting everything in between including the fast vocal bridge.
*
 Standin' In The Rain This is a very short performance using the piano intro, the orchestral "rainy day" part, and a few bits from the song's middle.
*
 Mr. Blue Sky ... the Out Of The Blue album version, but cuts everything between the first chorus and the fifth verse ("Mister blue, you did it right"), then everything is cut after the fifth verse.
*
 Sweet Talkin' Woman ... the Out Of The Blue album version, but only the intro, first two verses and first two choruses and vocoder, followed by a repeat of the "I gotta get back to you" line before merging into the next song.
*
 Shine A Little Love ... the Discovery album version, but missing the choral intro and everything after the second chorus.
*
 Last Train To London ... the Discovery album version, but everything after the first chorus is cut except for an instrumental bridge section.
*
 Confusion ... the Discovery album version, but cuts the second verse and chorus, all the CS-80 keyboard breaks, and the repeated ending is shortened.
*
 Do Ya ... the A New World Record album version, but only the first verse and chorus with an extended guitar intro at the beginning. This song was included at the European performances only.
*
 Rockaria! ... the A New World Record album version, but Kelly sings all the opera bits and the second verse, the bridge part is extended with a piano solo part, and the fourth verse ("now listen here baby she said to me...") is completely cut.
Hold On Tight ... the Time album version, but an additional verse with the keyboard playing the vocal parts is inserted between the third verse (the French verse) and the second chorus. In addition, there are two additional guitar riffs on the intro.
Don't Bring Me Down ... the Discovery album version, but with several significant changes. It uses a longdrum intro to get the crowd worked up. Verse four was replaced with a guitar solo. Verse five was followed with three "I'll tell you once more before I get off the floor, don't bring me down" lines before ending the song and completely cutting the short piano bridge sections. In addition, Kelly sings harmony vocals throughout the song. On the European part of the tour, the band interrupts the song for an audience participation section. For this section, Jeff stops singing on the last part of verse five ("no, no..." to "don't bring me down"), allowing the audience to sing it. Following this last part, Kelly Groucutt tries to get the audience to sing it louder and they play it again. Claiming he was not satisfied with the audience's performance, Jeff (rather than Kelly) again tries to get the audience to sing even louder and the band plays the part again. Satisfied, the song continues with verse five's "no no no no no no no no no no" line. This audience participation section was not done on the USA part of the tour.
Do Ya ... the A New World Record album version, but it cuts the third verse completely and adds additional guitar riffs on the intro and on the song's bridge. Kelly sings lead vocals on the second verse. This song was performed in full only on the USA part of the tour. For the European part of the tour, it was played only in part during the hits medley section.
Roll Over Beethoven ... generally the ELO 2 UK album version but without the mellotron intro and the second half of Beethoven's Fifth symphony cut from the intro. Also, Kelly sings the first chorus and the instrumental jam throughout most of the middle of the song is very differently arranged.
Thank You and Good Night from ELO This is simply a vocoder saying the words "thank you and good night from ELO" while Fred the Robot rolls around the stage, as if the robot is saying good night.

Releases

No performance from this tour has seen official release. Several bootlegs of the various shows exist, all of them including the unique John Lennon Tribute performances except the Lyon, France performance.

The known bootlegs are:

Date Location Source Quality Comments
October 8, 1981 East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA Audience Poor
November 5, 1981 Chicago, Illinois, USA UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
December 1, 1981 London, UK Audience Good This bootleg is missing part of the intro for Last Train To London
December 16, 1981 Ingliston, Scotland Audience Fair This bootleg is missing a porton of Confusion during the ELO Hits Medley, which consists of everything between the the first half of the first chorus and the second half of the second chorus.
February 10, 1982 Rotterdam, Holland UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
February 11, 1982 Frankfurt, Germany Audience Fair This bootleg is cuts the everything after the start of the second verse of Ma-Ma-Ma Belle and the piano intro and the first half of the first verse of Can't Get It Out Of My Head.
February 18, 1982 Lyon, France Audience Fair This bootleg is missing the performance of From The End Of The World, the second half of Mik's Violin Solo (the blues song portion) and the John Lennon Tribute. The piano intro, first verse and first chorus of Can't Get It Out Of My Head in the ELO Hits Medley is also missing.
February 26, 1982 Würzburg, Germany UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
March 3, 1982 Köln, Germany Audience Good This bootleg is missing Mik's Violin Solo. Also, the piano intro and the first line of the first verse of Can't Get It Out Of My Head during the ELO Hits Medley is missing.
March 4, 1982 Saarbrücken, Germany UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
March 5, 1982 Munich, Germany UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
Opening Acts

During the USA leg of the tour, duo Hall & Oates opened many of the shows. Some promotion materials appear to state that the shows were a co-headline act, but always Hall & Oates opened the show and several concert ticket stubs only list Electric Light Orchestra as the act on the bill. Ellen Foley, a former backup singer for Meat Loaf, is known to have opened at least one show in Buffalo, New York.

At the UK shows, a band called Voyager opened all the shows. And for the European shows, After The Fire is presumed to have opened most if not all shows. It was because of this that the After The Fire drummer, Pete King, was recruited to help fill in during Bev Bevan's illness.

Promotions

This section is TBD as more information becomes available.

Photos

ELO in concert in Dortmund
 ELO in concert
 ELO in concert
 Fred the Robot
 Backstage pass for UK tour
ELO in concert in Dortmund ELO in concert ELO in concert Fred the Robot Backstage pass for UK tour
Ticket stub for September 16, 1981 show
Ticket stub for September 16, 1981 show 		Ticket stub for September 20, 1981 show
Ticket stub for September 20, 1981 show 		Ticket stub for October 2, 1981 show
Ticket stub for October 2, 1981 show 		Ticket stub for October 7, 1981 show
Ticket stub for October 7, 1981 show 		Ticket stub for October 19, 1981 show
Ticket stub for September 16, 1981 show Ticket stubs for September 20, 1981 show Ticket stubs for October 2, 1981 show Ticket stubs for October 7, 1981 show Ticket stub for October 19, 1981 show
Ticket stub for November 5, 1981 show Ticket stub for December 2, 1981 show
Ticket stub for December 2, 1981 show 		Ticket stub for December 12, 1981 show
Ticket stub for December 12, 1981 show 		Poster for the February 11, 1982 show Ticket stub for February 14, 1982 show
Ticket stub for November 5, 1981 show Ticket stubs for December 2, 1981 show Ticket stub for December 12, 1981 show Poster for the February 11, 1982 show Ticket stub for February 14, 1982 show
Poster for the February 26, 1982 show Time tour t-shirt front Time tour t-shirt front Time tour t-shirt front
Time tour t-shirt back 		Time tour t-shirt front
Time tour t-shirt back
Poster for the February 26, 1982 show Time tour t-shirt front Time tour t-shirt front Time tour t-shirt front and back Time tour t-shirt front and back
Time tour t-shirt front for October 10 show Time tour t-shirt back for October 10 show Time tour t-shirt front
Time tour t-shirt back 		Time tour t-shirt back Time tour t-shirt front
Time tour t-shirt front and back for October 10th show in Buffalo, New York Time tour t-shirt front and back Time tour t-shirt front Time tour t-shirt front
Tour program front cover Tour program page 1 & 2 Tour program page 3 & 4 Tour program page 5 & 6
Tour program page 7 & 8 Tour program page 9 & 10 Tour program page 11 & 12
Tour program page 13 & 14 Tour program page 15 & 16 Tour program page 17 & 18 Tour program front cover
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

Below are fan comments from fans who attended shows on this tour.

Just to let you know, the venue for the [Scotland concert] was the Royal Highland Showground. This is now the Royal Highland Centre. I remember that there was warning on the back of the ticket about unauthorised filming of the event and there were rumours in the queue about a video being released of the shows. There was also no camping allowed in the grounds. It was -15c with a good covering of snow. Young and silly, but not stupid enough to camp out in the snow. Ended up wandering the streets of Edinburgh until our train back to Aberdeen. Thanks for the posting. It has brought back a lot of good memories.
-Steven Smith
I attended the September 17, 1981 "Time" concert in Ft. Worth, Texas. The venue was the "Tarrant County Convention Center" near downtown Ft. Worth. It was a sweltering weekday evening. I don't believe there was an opening act. In the darkened arena, Fred the Robot did "Prologue" with a vocoder voice. The band members came on stage while it was dark, then the lights burst on at the first drumbeat of "Twilight". The stage was synthesizer heavy, with, I think, at least 4 operating positions. Jeff Lynne commented something about this being a new tour. Jeff Lynne did "Ticket to the Moon" solo on a piano with just the spotlight on him. I do remember there was a John Lennon/Beatles tribute performed during which the BIC lighters came out across the audience.
-Bob in NY
I attended the show in Buffalo, New York at the old War Memorial Auditorium (torn down just last summer). I was 15 and it was my first "big" concert. We came down from Canada on a party bus. I remember lots of liquor bottles rolling around the bus and the customs officials barely making their way a third of the way down the aisle to ask if we were all Canadian citizens. I don't remember an opening act but I do remember the clock counting down and Fred the robot front and center for the beginning of Twilight. We had tickets at the side of the stage and I was amazed at how skinny Jeff was in person and how he smoked liked a fiend when off at the side of the stage. The hits melody and Don't bring me down were the highlights for me. Jeff acknowledged the Canadian fans and apologized for not making it up across the border for this tour - but promised next time for sure.
-Brian Galley
I was at the Elo show in St. Paul Mn. on Oct. 31st 1981. Hall and Oates was the first band and the venue was the St. Paul Civic center. Great show but I remember being somewhat dissapointed with the "medley" portion of the show. Kelly was wearing a one piece gold jump suit.
-Mike (?)
I saw Fred when ELO performed at the Chicago stadium. My friends and I had mildly enjoyed Hall and Oates, and we were psyched for the bigger event. After Hall and Oates left the stage there was a break. The break seemed to be really long. Finally the lights dimmed again and some sound started to rush through the air. "Fred" made his approach to the center of the stage, then stopped. It was quite obvious that poor Fred had broken down. The lights dimmed again and there was a flurry of activity on the stage. The lights were restored and Fred took this opportunity to fail yet again. My memory, after near thirty years, is somewhat faulty, but I believe that there were three false starts. Eventually Fred was ignored and the band just went ahead and did the show.

Regardless of that technical failure, my friends and I all agreed that he was really cool and his failure had not detracted from the show. I watched most of that show from the first balcony and then went down to stand directly in front of the stage. I still mark that night as one of the highlights of my enjoyment of ELO.
-C J Elonich in Illinois

Here's what I remember about the one and only ELO concert I attended:

It was (of course) the "Time" tour. I believe it was Halloween night, 1981. I saw them at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The opening act for ELO was Hall and Oates. It seemed quite extraordinary at the time, because they had already had recent and big chart success and on the radio. So to see them as an opener was unusual. And really, they'd had a lot more recent hits at the time. Regardless, I was not there to see Hall and Oates, and simply had to sit through that show until my purpose for being there . . . -to see ELO- was realized.

I also remember the ticket prices were extraordinarily cheap for what we were seeing . . . even in 1981. It cost $10.75 to see this show containing two major acts! I was a college student at the time, and had all my old concert ticket stubs thumb tacked to the bulletin board in my dorm room for all to see.

After Hall & Oates finished, the stage hands were cleaning up and arranging the stage for ELO. Things started winding down a little bit, then suddenly a digital display dropped down from the light racks above, lit up "5:00", and began counting down. As the time got down to about 0:30, the house lights started to go down. When it hit 0:00, above the roar of the crowd you heard the Prologue music, then Fred started zipping around on stage reciting the lyrics. Then finally there were some light flashes and ELO started playing. I don't remember seeing Fred for the rest of the show.

A couple of other memories about this show: I recall them getting into some kind of instrumental at one point, that was not anything I was aware of them having recorded at the time. It was a little jazzy/bluesy, and I found it interesting because it was a musical type I hadn't heard ELO play before on any of their records.

And finally, at his time it was less than a year after the murder of John Lennon. Jeff acknowledged Lennon's influence on his music, and then they played "Imagine".

It was a cool show!
-Robert Drumm

I was at the Stockholm show of the Time tour, on February 6, 1982. The venue was an ice hockey arena called Johanneshovs Isstation and I went there with my older brother. It was my first big concert, I was twelve years old and pretty psyched up about even being there. I can't remember if After The Fire actually played support band but I do remember the big clock before ELO didn't count down properly so my brother and I were busy trying to figure out when the concert would actually start. Fred the robot apparently had a good night though and did the intro and the outro. I'm also pretty sure they played "Here Is The News" and not "The Way Life's Meant To Be" which is what it says in the setlist table. "News" was my favourite track of the Time album and I thought it was really cool to hear it live. It was only the second show after the UK tour so I guess maybe they hadn't changed the setlist yet. (Then again, it was 28 years ago so I might not remember correctly.) Funnily enough, just like Brian Galley, I remember thinking Jeff Lynne looked really skinny. He always looked bigger on the album covers. Maybe it's his big hair. Kelly Groucutt (RIP) really seemed to enjoy himself on stage and did most of the interaction with the audience. Bev Bevan came out from behind his drumkit and greeted the audience before the medley, so apparentely he hadn't come down with kidney stones yet. All in all it was a great concert and it's a shame there isn't a proper recording from the tour.
-Mattias Ekstam
I was at the 11/7/1981 show in Bloomington, Indiana. The show was at Indiana University's Assembly Hall. Hall & Oates were the openers. I was probably one of the few people there to see both bands. There was definitely a contingent to see one or the other. Hall & Oates were great, but I loved ELO. I just remember what an odd pairing that was at the time. And, like you mentioned, many people did believe Hall & Oates were the headliners at that time and left the show when their set was over. I remember thinking that those that left were fools. I have seen hundreds of concerts over the years and that one always ranks up there as one of the coolest because of the lineup and the timing of it.
-Joe Hale
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If you attended one or more performances from ELO's Time tour, send in your name, the date/venue, and your comments and I will add them to this page. I will only add your comments with your explicit permission.

Song Comments

Prologue (Time Tour)
"The live set of the [Time] gigs [included] 'Countdown' which was a counting by the fans when the digital clock above the stage run down to zero and the letters E.-L.-O. were blinking. Pre-recorded tapes were only used for the Prologue and the 5th Symphony of Roll Over Beethoven."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

Twilight (Time Tour)

Yours Truly, 2095 (Time Tour)

Evil Woman (Time Tour)

Livin' Thing (Time Tour)

Telephone Line (Time Tour)

From The End Of The World (Time Tour)

Here Is The News (Time Tour)
"[The live Time tour set included] Here Is The News or when it was the new single [in Europe] they played The Way Life's Meant To Be instead."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

The Way Life's Meant To Be (Time Tour)

Mik's Violin Solo/12-Bar Blues (Time Tour)
"Mik's Solo - In The Hall Of The Mountain King (as part of the solo, not played on every gig) melted into the solo theme he played at that time: Hoochie Coochie Man."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)
Editor's Note:It has been confirmed that the song played is not Hoochie Coochie Man, but rather a standard 12 bar blues song.

Tribute To John Lennon (Time Tour)
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. It was played during the Time tour in honor of John Lennon, who has been assasinated the year previous.

"On Across The Universe and A Day In The Life Jeff changed to [play an] acoustic guitar. Imagine and Nowhere Man were performed by Richard on his keyboards."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

ELO Hits Medley #1 (Time Tour)
This song was performed as one long medley of ELO hits during the USA leg of the Time tour. All songs were performed only in part and tended to blend together. Songs include:

The UK and European performances were similar, but replaced Strange Magic with Wild West Hero and addedDo Ya between Confusion and Rockaria!.

"In the USA they played Strange Magic instead of Wild West Hero [and] Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

ELO Hits Medley #2 (Time Tour)
This song was performed as one long medley of ELO hits during the UK and European leg of the Time tour. All songs were performed only in part and tended to blend together. Songs include:

The USA performances were similar, but Strange Magic was replaced with Wild West Hero and Do Ya was not included in the medley as it was played in full later in the show..

"In the USA they played Strange Magic instead of Wild West Hero [and] Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

Hold On Tight (Time Tour)

Don't Bring Me Down (Time Tour)
On the UK and European performances of Don't Bring Me Down during the Time tour, the band with the exception of Bev's drumming, paused at the end of the fifth verse for an audience participation section. This was not done during the USA performances of during the tour and the song was played straight through.

Do Ya (Time Tour)
"In the USA they played... Do Ya as another encore in its full version. On Do Ya, by the way Jeff played the heaviest guitar riff he ever played on it."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

Roll Over Beethoven (Time Tour)
"Pre-recorded tapes were only used for the Prologue and the 5th Symphony of Roll Over Beethoven."
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 Unexpected Messages)

"On Roll Over Beethoven [in concert] we used to do verse and verse about; someone does a verse and gets a rest on the next one."
Kelly Groucutt (March 3, 2006 - Guitar & Bass magazine)

This page is intended to be a complete record of information on the Electric Light Orchestra Time 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
September 2010