Entertainment Magazine
After lots of doom and gloom within the music world over recent years, it was amazing how much of a buzz this year's Glastonbury festival seemed to have. Maybe the deaths of great icons like Bowie, Lemmy and Prince has reminded people how special music can be and taught us to enjoy our musical heroes while they're still here. The festival's traditional Sunday afternoon slot has allowed much-loved groups from the past to enjoy an afternoon back in the limelight, and this year it was the turn of Jeff Lynne and ELO. I first heard of Jeff Lynne after he worked with the remaining Beatles on their "reunion" songs 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love', and after years of only knowing 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Don't Bring Me Down', it wasn't until hearing an ELO Best Of compilation that I realised just how brilliant a songwriter Lynne is. With a hint of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine', the stunning 'Showdown' immediately became my favorite ELO track as soon as I heard it. Released in 1973, in the US the song was included on the album 'On the Third Day', while in the UK the song was omitted from this album but later featured on the band's first compilation album, also called Showdown.
