ELO landing in Birmingham. It's a shame it's not the final goodbye

By the time Jeff Lynne plays his final concerts he will have reached the age of 77 years old. It's fair to say he deserves a rest after being in the business for sixty years.

Much criticism has been levelled at the choice of venue for their final hurrah, which will be BST at Hyde Park, London on Sunday July 13th. Many felt that the final show should have been staged in Birmingham, which was the birth place of the band. At least a Birmingham concert has now been confirmed, along with one at Manchester Co-op. But is that good enough?

Better than nothing one would suppose, it is a shame. The powers that be are obviously looking at the numbers. The capacity at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham is just shy of 16,000 (why not Villa Park?), whereas the Hyde Park capacity will be over 60,000. The Birmingham and Manchester dates are just about sold out, and personally my preference would have been Birmingham or Manchester, as in my view, Hyde Park is just too big. Yes, the sense of occasion in Hyde Park will be greater, but I have come away from that venue disappointed on more than one occasion for one reason or another. usually because they seem incapable of synching the sound with the picture on the big screens, which so many other venues seem to have little trouble in doing.

Why do I keep going to Hyde Park you may ask. That my friends, is for another blog.

Picture Credit: Mr Torch