From the heart of the country, and the vibrant musical scene that rotated around Britain's 2nd largest city Birmingham, came in the middle of the 1960's a plethora of innovative and creative rock groups. Roy Wood, who together with several well-known Birmingham faces left their respective bands to form The Move (so-named after their musical chairs) with Roy's distinctive song writing style, and the bands unique harmonies. They became regulars on famed British TV show Top of the Pops, having the first ever single to be played on BBC Radio 1. Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Roy's replacement in the Nightriders had established a group of his own, taking his musical vision into psychedelic territories. He was Jeff Lynne and his band were the Idle Race.These two brilliant songwriters were also close friends, and Wood persuaded Lynne to join the Move and disband it in favour of a new project, the Electric Light Orchestra, before a parting of the ways led to Wood forming Wizzard. This book looks at the music recorded by Roy Wood, The Move, early ELO, The Idle Race, and Wizzard, taking in genres including Rhythm and Blues, Psych Pop, Progressive Rock and Glam, as Roy Wood set the musical blueprint for the early 70's.
