Rock legend with biggest Christmas single of all time reveals he’s working on first album in 14 years

HE'S the brains and dependable down 1 of the astir celebrated Christmas songs ever.

And with 4 weeks to spell until December 25, Wizzard rocker Roy Wood has fixed fans an aboriginal acquisition by revealing he's moving connected his archetypal caller medium successful 14 years.

The 78-year-old, who founded legendary prog set Electric Light Orchestra, delved into his archives past week and discovered unreleased worldly helium deems worthy of a caller LP.

In an exclusive interrogation with The Sun connected behalf of SPAR, Roy said: "I was going done immoderate tracks and I managed to find astatine slightest 8 tracks that are each unfinished and ne'er been heard.

"And I'm going to get down and get them finished and get a caller album. You know, I deliberation it's astir apt astir time.

"It's astir clip I wasn't rather truthful lazy and did it."

Roy's past merchandise was the 2011 record, Music Book, a treble medium enactment retired connected EMI.

It was an amalgamation of caller versions of songs he'd recorded earlier and a mates of caller tracks.

He continued: "I've benignant of neglected the euphony a bit.

"I deliberation it inactive sounds rather fresh, you know. It's strange. I didn't really play it and think, well, I amended re-record that, you know, it sounds each right.

"I'll astir apt adhd a fewer much modern quirks to it but isolated from that, it's each right.

"I effort not to beryllium fashionable due to the fact that I don't cognize what fashionable is arsenic acold arsenic songwriting is concerned. I conscionable bash immoderate comes retired of my head, whether it's whether it's successful manner oregon not."

Roy is besides successful the process of putting unneurotic a caller orchestra, the sanction of which is tightly nether wraps until afloat backing has been secured.

If it comes to fruition next year, the concealed task volition coincidentally coincide with ELO's farewell circuit which includes a immense amusement astatine Hyde Park successful July.

Roy recruited his the Move bandmate Jeff Lynne to ELO successful 1970 arsenic the thought for a much progressive radical mixing classical and stone instruments took hold.

They released their self-titled debut successful 1971 and scored their archetypal apical 10 deed with grounds opener 10538 Overture.

Partway done the penning process for medium two, Roy departed on with keyboard subordinate Bill Hunt and cello subordinate Hugh McDowell, and went connected to signifier Wizzard, who are champion known for I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.

While reports of a feud betwixt Roy and Jeff circulated for years aft the split, they stay bully friends and stood enarthrosis to enarthrosis erstwhile ELO was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame successful 2017.

So volition Roy, who discontinue touring himself aft the coronavirus pandemic owed to diabetes, rejoin the set for a last hurrah adjacent year?

He said: "I mean, if they asked me, I would. Yeah. But I mean, I haven't been approached yet.

"I mean, I wouldn't blasted them if they didn't.

"When I near a batch of the property tried to marque retired that maine and Jeff had a fallout and everything, but we didn't. We ne'er did. But I near done unit from the management, really.

"That was the main crushed I left. And I near portion it was inactive each close to bash truthful and earlier it each got dodgy oregon nasty. And truthful maine and Jeff are inactive friends.

"But past erstwhile I left, Jeff picked up the shot and ran with it, you know, and did a large job."

ELO has gone connected to merchantability much than 50 cardinal records and been sampled by countless acts including The Pussycat Dolls connected their way Beep.

Though Roy is synonymous with Christmas, helium wasn't a peculiarly large instrumentality of the festive play erstwhile helium wrote his seasonal anthem.

He's warmed to it successful the 50 years since, however, and this twelvemonth he's backing SPAR'S SPARaoke run to springiness shoppers the accidental to triumph their buying and a afloat Christmas luncheon for free.

All they person to bash is loop retired his deed successful store for a accidental to win.

The euphony prima besides visited 1 store to stone retired to the opus with unit successful a amusive caller video.

"The thought of radical doing their shopping, past grabbing a mic to sing on with my opus benignant of appealed to me," said Roy.

"It's similar due festive, you know. It's good.

"There's radical doing their buying and singing on to the track. Then each of a abrupt I look astir the backmost of the shelves and articulation successful with them. So it benignant of melds into maine and the set singing it live, you know, connected the stage. And it works truly well."