There will be no electric applause, dazzling lights or dizzying orchestras for Electric Light Orchestra this fall since the band has canceled its 25-date tour due to lackluster ticket sales.
The trek would have marked the U.K. band's first return to North American shores in 17 years (see "Rewired Electric Light Orchestra Hitting The Road"), so, expecting a healthy turnout, management booked 12 of the band's shows in arenas that seat over 15,000 people. The concerts sold poorly, however, even in major cities, according to the band's publicist.
This could largely be due to the general lack of interest in the band's new album, Zoom, which failed to zoom up the charts, landing in the Billboard 200 for just two weeks, and then quickly falling off. To date, the record has sold a mere 52,000 copies since its June 12 release, according to SoundScan. And it didn't help that former ELO member Bev Bevan recently played band material with his new group, ELO II.
Craig Fruin, manager for ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, said in a statement that ELO had planned to stage a "grand spectacle" using a "massive stage and light show" which had to be staged in major venues. Fruin said the tour was canceled because doing the show wasn't "logistically or economically possible in this marketplace at this time."
