A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.

Legal status[link]

In most countries one becomes liable to be taxed in that country if one is resident there. For taxation, residence is often defined as spending six months (or some other period) in any one year in the country, and/or having an abiding attachment to the country, such as fixed property.

UK rules[link]

A very simplified 'rule of thumb' is that under UK law a person is "tax resident" if that person visits the country for 183 days or more in the tax year or for 91 days or more on average in any four consecutive tax years.^[1] The reality of the matter is far more complex and unclear.

U.S. rules[link]

Under the Internal Revenue Code, the income of a U.S. citizen is taxable without regard to the citizen's place of residence, and, significantly, without regard to where the income is earned or produced. U.S. citizens can eliminate tax liability only by both moving abroad and renouncing citizenship, but if they continue to earn money inside the United States, they will still be liable for taxes as if they were guest workers.

The process of renunciation requires the citizen to appear at a U.S. embassy or consulate, prove that another citizenship has already been obtained (so that the renunciation will not make one a stateless person), and sign various documents stating he or she is of good mental health, is acting without force or duress, and realizes that the renunciation is irrevocable. The State Department then reviews the documentation and may decide to bar the person from entering the United States - even for visits. This decision is based upon whether the person renouncing is not doing so for tax reasons alone. For the purposes of the IRS, the effective date of the renunciation becomes the final day that income taxes are due -- assuming that all U.S. assets are liquidated and have left U.S. jurisdiction. See also Reed Amendment (immigration).

An immigrant who has been granted permanent resident status in the United States is generally treated as a citizen for tax purposes unless his or her residency lapses. An immigrant not legally admitted for permanent residence (such as a guest worker) becomes liable for U.S. taxes if he or she spends more than 122 days in the year in the United States.

Famous tax exiles[link]

• Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker spent 1979 in Australia to avoid taxation on their previous year's income.^[2]
• David and Frederick Barclay live on Brecqhou, one of the Channel Islands, located just west of Sark, and give their address as Avenue de Grande-Bretagne, Monte-Carlo.^[3]
• Stelios Haji-Ioannou who was quoted as saying: "I have no UK income to be taxed in the UK." Source: David Leigh, Monday, July 10, 2006, The Guardian.
• Noël Coward left the UK for tax reasons in the 1950s, receiving harsh criticism in the press.^[4] He first settled in Bermuda but later bought houses in Jamaica and Switzerland (in the village of Les Avants, near Montreux), which remained his homes for the rest of his life.^[5]
• During the early 1970s The Rolling Stones became tax exiles. Their experience inspired the title to their famous album Exile on Main St. According to Comcast Music, "The British rockers have managed to pay just 1.6% tax on their earnings of £242million over the past 20 years." ^[6]
• Cat Stevens became a tax exile within the first years of the 1970s, moving to Brazil. The result of this was the creation of his album Foreigner, the title song referring to his self-imposed move to South America.
• In 1978, the members of the band Pink Floyd spent exactly one year outside of the United Kingdom, also for tax reasons.
• In 1968, Shirley Bassey started living as a tax exile, and currently lives in Monte Carlo.
• David Bowie moved to Switzerland in 1976, first settling in Blonay and then Lausanne in 1982.^[7]
• Michael Caine moved to the United States in the late 1970s to avoid the 83% tax on top earners that existed in Britain at the time. He spent several years in the United States before returning to Britain.^[8]
• Bad Company moved to Malibu, California, in 1975 to avoid what Mick Ralphs described as “ridiculously high tax in England”.^[9]
• Jethro Tull band moved to France, also from Britain, in 1973, and while there, attempted to produce a new double album, but abandoned the effort.
• Rod Stewart left Britain for Los Angeles in 1975 because 83% of his income was going in tax. The title of Stewart's 1975 album Atlantic Crossing is a reference to his repatriation in the U.S.
• Tom Jones also moved to Los Angeles for tax purposes following the election of Harold Wilson as British prime minister in 1974, who put income tax up to 83% for top earners.

In popular culture[link]

• "The Tax Exile" was the title of a 1989 novel by Guy Bellamy.
• In various versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, the rock star Hotblack Desiato is reported as "spending a year dead for tax reasons".
• Also in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the character of Veet Voojagig "was finally sent into tax exile, which is the usual fate reserved for those who are determined to make a fool of themselves in public."

See also[link]

• Tax haven
• Perpetual traveler
• Tax exporting

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

The First Night in Exile-This painting comes from a celebrated series illustrating one of Hinduism’s great epics, the Ramayana. It tells the story of the prince Rama, who is wrongly exiled from his father’s kingdom, accompanied only by his wife and brother.

Dante in Exile.

Exile means to be away from one's home (i.e. city, state or country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. It can be a form of punishment and solitude.^[1]

It is common to distinguish between internal exile, i.e., forced resettlement within the country of residence, and external exile, deportation outside the country of residence.^{[citation needed]} Although most commonly used to describe an individual situation, the term is also used for groups (especially ethnic or national groups), or for an entire government. Terms such as diaspora and refugee describe group exile, both voluntary and forced, and government in exile describes a government of a country that has been forced to relocate and argue its legitimacy from outside that country.

Exile can also be a self-imposed departure from one's homeland. Self-exile is often depicted as a form of protest by the person that claims it, to avoid persecution or legal matters (such as tax or criminal allegations), an act of shame or repentance, or isolating oneself to be able to devote time to a particular thing.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."

For individuals[link]

Exiled heads of state[link]

In some cases the deposed head of state is allowed to leave into exile following a coup or other change of government, allowing a more peaceful transition to take place. Examples include:^[2]

Avoiding tax or legal matters[link]

A wealthy citizen who departs from a former abode for a lower tax jurisdiction (a "tax haven") in order to reduce his/her tax burden is termed a tax exile.

In some cases a person voluntarily lives in exile to avoid legal issues, such as litigation or criminal prosecution. An example of this was Asil Nadir, who fled to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for 17 years rather than face prosecution in connection with the failed £1.7 bn company Polly Peck in the United Kingdom.

Avoiding violence or persecution, or in the aftermath of war[link]

Examples include:

• Iraqi academics asked to return home "from exile" to help rebuild Iraq in 2009.^[3]
• Jews who fled persecution in Nazi Germany and Arab countries.^[4]
• People undertaking a religious or civil liberties role in society may be forced into exile due to threat of persecution. For example, nuns were exiled following the Communist coup d'état of 1948 in Czechoslovakia.^[5]

For groups, nations and governments[link]

Nation in exile[link]

When large groups, or occasionally a whole people or nation is exiled, it can be said that this nation is in exile, or Diaspora. Nations that have been in exile for substantial periods include the Jews, who were deported by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 597 BCE and again following the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in the year AD 70. Many Jewish prayers include a yearning to return to Jerusalem and the Jewish homeland.

After the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, and following the uprisings (like Kościuszko Uprising, November Uprising and January Uprising) against the partitioning powers (Russian Empire, Prussia and Austro-Hungary), many Poles have chosen – or been forced – to go into exile, forming large diasporas (known as Polonia), especially in France and the United States.The entire population of Crimean Tatars (200,000) that remained in their homeland Crimea was exiled on 18 May 1944 to Central Asia as a form of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment on false accusations. At Diego Garcia, between 1967 and 1973 the British Government forcibly removed some 2,000 Chagossian resident islanders to make way for a military base today jointly operated by the US and UK.

Since the Cuban Revolution over one million Cubans have left Cuba. Most of these self-identify as exiles as their motivation for leaving the island is political in nature. It is to be noted that at the time of the Cuban Revolution, Cuba only had a population of 6.5 million, and was not a country that had a history of significant emigration, it being the sixth largest recipient of immigrants in the world as of 1958. Most of the exiles' children also consider themselves to be Cuban exiles. It is to be noted that under Cuban law, children of Cubans born abroad are considered Cuban Citizens.

Government in exile[link]

The journey of a modern hero, to the island of Elba (1814), showing Napoleon I, sword broken, being exiled to Elba at the close of the War of the Sixth Coalition

During a foreign occupation or after a coup d'état, a government in exile of a such afflicted country may be established abroad. One of the most well-known instances of this is the Polish government-in-exile, a government in exile that commanded Polish armed forces operating outside Poland after German occupation during World War II. Other examples include the Free French Forces government of Charles De Gaulle of the same time, and the Central Tibetan Administration, commonly known as the Tibetan government-in-exile, and headed by the 14th Dalai Lama.

Exile in drama, literature, and the arts[link]

In Greek tragedy[link]

Jason and Medea, by John William Waterhouse, 1907

To wander away from the city-state (the home) is to be exposed without the protection of government (laws), friends and family. In the ancient Greek world, this was seen as a fate worse than death. Euripedes’ Medea–because of her actions (both in Iolcus and Corinth)-made herself and her family (including Jason) exiles in Corinth. She talks of her exiled state in Corinth: 'I, a desolate woman without a city... no relative at all'. Jason justifies his marriage, to a Corinth royal family member, as an attempt to better this situation: 'When I moved here from the land of Iolkos... what happier godsend could I have found than to marry the king's daughter, poor exile that I was... that I should bring up our children in a manner worthy of my house, and producing brothers to my children by you, I should place them all on level footing'.

Euripides likens all women's position to exile; in their having to leave home to serve their husbands. So Medea was doubly in exile, both in the ordinary sense, as a non-Greek foreigner, and as a woman. In the same speech, Medea talks of her status as 'a foreigner [falling] in the city['s ways]' and, on being married, 'we come to new behaviour, new customs'.

The theme of exile also appears in Euripedes The Bacchae when Dionysus sends Agave and her sisters into exile. Dionysus: 'With your sisters you shall live in exile' and later Agave laments: 'Farewell my city...show us the way Asian women, show us the way to bitter exile'.

From the Bacchae:

Dionysus: All foreign lands now dance to his [Dionysus's] drum.

Pentheus: That is why they are foreign and we're not.

Television[link]

Avatar: The Last Airbender: "Prince Zuko declared self-exile himself and until fight his father throne, during and final of season 3 "

Film[link]

Star Wars original trilogy: "Obi-Wan Kenobi in late and final years as exile since end of prequel trilogy."

See also[link]

• Ban
• Defection
• Deportation
• Exiles by nationality
• Ostracism - procedure under the Athenian democracy
• Penal transportation
• Petalism
• Refugee
• Right of asylum (political asylum)
• Scouts-in-Exile

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Famous Exiles - slideshow by Life magazine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Exiles

Look up exile in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2009)

Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx performing at the Bowery Poetry Club as part of the Captain Beefheart tribute Best Batch Yet (7 June 2011)
Background information
Born	(1944-10-09) October 9, 1944 (age 67) Trenton, New Jersey, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, dance, funk, funk rock, art rock, hard rock, new age
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, musical arranger,
Instruments	Vocalist Piano, Guitar
Years active	1961–present
Labels	ZE Records, Epic, Arista, RCA, Private Music, EMI,
Associated acts	Labelle, Material, The Talking Heads, Zero Cool, Mosaic, Daughters of Soul

Nona Hendryx (born October 9, 1944 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.

Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art rock, and World music.

Biography[link]

Early career[link]

Hendryx was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1944 where she met fellow New Jersey native Sarah Dash and later met Philadelphia born singers Patricia Holte. After a short-lived tenure as a member of the Del-Capris, Hendryx and Dash formed a singing group with Holte once the lead singer of a girl group in Philadelphis called The Ordettes. In 1961, Cindy Birdsong, from Camden, New Jersey became the fourth member of the group, who became the 'Bluebelles' and signed their first deal with Newtown Records.

After the release of their debut hit, 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", their name altered again to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Hendryx's husky alto differed from Dash's sharp soprano, LaBelle's mezzo-soprano and Birdsong's second soprano. During this tenure, the group became known for their emotional live performances and their renditions of classic standards such as "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Over The Rainbow"and "Danny Boy". The group often found themselves competing against girl groups such as The Chantels, Shirelles and The Supremes. In 1967, Hendryx, LaBelle and Dash were shocked to discover that Birdsong, had secretly joined the Supremes after Florence Ballard was ousted from the group by Motown. Different members of the group were in touch with Birdsong over the years. Birdsong's relationships with the Bluebelles healed and they came together again for the ceremony when the group won an R&B Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Labelle[link]

For the next three years, the group struggled to compete against the changing musical landscape for which their girl group sound had fallen out of favor with popular audiences. In 1971, they moved to England, where they had a cult fan base, and on the advice of Vicki Wickham, changed their name to Labelle and ditched the dresses and bouffant wigs for jeans and Afros. Releasing transitional albums including 1971's Labelle and 1972's Moon Shadow, the group recorded material unheard of for an black, all-female group included matters of sexual and political affair. The transition was hard for lead singer LaBelle, who was a fan of the group's early-era ballads, but she eventually gave in. Member Dash remained neutral throughout the tenure of the group. Shortly after releasing Labelle, the group became the opening act for The Who, whose producer Kit Lambert had produced the group's Warner debut. They also opened for Laura Nyro during that same time and sang backup on her album, Gonna Take a Miracle.

After the release of Moon Shadow, Hendryx became the chief songwriter for most of the group's records while LaBelle and Dash occasionally wrote their own material. After successfully opening for The Rolling Stones during the group's American tour in 1973, the group released Pressure Cookin', where they once again adopted a new look as "glam rock, space-age divas". As a songwriter Hendryx subsequently wrote powerful ballads ("You Turn Me On" and "Nightbird" from Nightbirds, "Going Down Makes Me Shiver" from Labelle's final album, Chameleon), and a wealth of more uptempo numbers ("Space Children," "Messin' With My Mind," "Gypsy Moths," and "Who's Watching the Watcher"). Her themes were unconventional, diverse, and often experimental. Her composition "A Man In A Trenchcoat (Voodoo)" from Chameleon also marked Hendryx's first time singing lead vocal on an album. In 1974, the group hit gold with the release of Nightbirds following the release of the smash hit, "Lady Marmalade". In her memoir Don't Block The Blessings, Labelle frontwoman Patti LaBelle attributed the band's 1976 breakup to musical and personal tensions within the group. Labelle, Dash, and Hendryx all embarked on solo careers; Wickham stayed on with Hendryx to manage her solo career.

Solo career[link]

Nona Hendryx appearing at 2009 Pop Conference, Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington. (6 April 2009)

In 1977, Hendryx released her first solo album – a self-titled collection. A blend of soul and hard rock, it contained notable standout tracks such as "Winning" – later recorded by Santana – and the haunting ballad "Leaving Here Today". It quickly disappeared from the shelves, and Hendryx was dropped from Epic. Subsequently, she recorded four singles for Arista (London), which also escaped chart success. She did find success doing session work during this period, most notably providing background vocals for Talking Heads and touring with them, appearing first at the major Heatwave festival in August 1980. She contributed to the song "Checkmate" on Dusty Springfield's, It Begins Again album (the first of Springfield's comeback attempts) in 1978.

In the early 80's, Hendryx fronted her own progressive art-rock group, Zero Cool, which included guitarist Naux (China Shop, Richard Hell), Bassist Michael Allison (Darshan Ambient), guitarist Kevin Fullen and drummer Jimmy Allington. Simultaneously, she sang with experimental funk group Material, achieving a giant club hit with "Busting Out." She had two other major club hits soon after: a dance remake of The Supremes' "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart," and – in a lead vocal guest spot for the Cage – "Do What You Wanna Do." Material also produced her second eponymous album, Nona, in 1983. The hip, contemporary dance sound of this album proved to be more charts-compatible, with the disco music times, and the single "Keep It Confidential" becoming a modest R&B hit, and a remix of "B-boys" finding major success on the dance charts. "Transformation" became a Hendryx staple, and was later covered by Fierce Ruling Diva. Another particularly noteworthy track on the album is the ballad "Design For Living," which featured guests Laurie Anderson, Gina Shock of The Go-Go's, Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson, Tina Weymouth of Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads, Nancy Wilson of Heart, and former bandmate Patti LaBelle.

In the mid-1980s, Hendryx was recruited by RCA to record songs for various soundtracks, including: the theme for Moving Violations; "I Sweat (Going Through the Motions)," a commercial hit for Hendryx from the Jamie Lee Curtis film Perfect; and "Transparent" from the Eddie Murphy vehicle, Coming To America. Her album The Art Of Defense was released in 1984.

In 1985, Hendryx wrote and recorded "Rock This House" with Keith Richards, from her album The Heat. The song was nominated for a Grammy award. The same year, the MTV broadcast of the video "I Need Love" stirred some controversy for featuring drag queens, and it was quickly removed from MTV's playlist as a result.

Her biggest commercial success came with 1987's single "Why Should I Cry?", a top 5 R'n'B hit (also reaching #58 on the Billboard 100). The accompanying album, Female Trouble, boasted an impressive list of contributors, including Peter Gabriel and Prince ("Baby A Go Go"). Around this time, she became a member of the Black Rock Coalition, founded by Vernon Reid of Living Colour.

Hendryx took a detour from commercial music with Skin Diver, a new age record produced with long-time Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann. The album was generally greeted with positive feedback from critics, but was commercially unsuccessful. The title track did attract some attention, as did "Women Who Fly", which was later covered by Jefferson Starship.

In addition to the duet-album with Billy Vera (You Have to Cry Sometime) and a couple of compilation-only tracks, Hendryx has recorded more than five albums worth of music, but has been unable to release any of it due to lack of interest from major and independent record labels. Her Epic, RCA and EMI albums have long been out of print and have only recently attracted the attention of specialist reissue labels, but a Best Of album titled Transformation was released in 1999 by Razor & Tie. Her 1977 debut solo album was issued for the first time on CD by the T-Bird imprint of the UK reissue label Cherry Red in the fall of 2010. UK R&B reissue label Funky Town Grooves released The Heat on CD in late 2011, which included three bonus tracks. Funky Town Grooves has announced plans to release both Nona and The Art of Defense in early 2012. Each CD is to include seven bonus tracks.

Hendryx has also dabbled in acting. She wrote and performed the theme for Landlord Blues (1987), while also having a small part in the film as attorney Sally Viscuso. She played herself in the late-90's Pam Grier series Linc's, and at the end of the show accompanied herself on the piano for "Lift Every Voice." Most recently, she appeared in the third season of The L Word, which closed with Grier, Hendryx, and the trio BETTY singing a cover of the Hendryx track "Transformation."

She remains in high demand for musical collaborations, both for her vocals and her songwriting. One of her early collaborations was with Jerry Harrison's (Talking Heads) The Red and The Black album 1981. In 1992, she recorded a duet with Billy Crawford, "Urgently In Love,".d. In 1998, she performed in the video of the huge rap hit "It's a Party" with Bounty Killer. She has also written songs for Dusty Springfield and Ultra Nate, and produced albums for Lisa Lisa and The Bush Tetras. Other artists with whom she has recorded with over the years include: David Johansen, Yoko Ono, Cameo, Talking Heads (3 albums), Garland Jeffreys, Dan Hartman, Afrika Bambaata (performing a duet of "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" with Boy George), Canadian band Rough Trade, Curtis Hairston, and Graham Parker on the hit single, "Soul Christmas."

In the beginning of the current decade, Hendryx was asked to appear on two of Paul Haslinger's albums; two tracks for which she sang lead vocals – "Higher Purpose" and "Beginning to End" -were featured on the soundtrack for the Showtime series Sleeper Cell.

Later career and Labelle reunions[link]

Hendryx with Gary Lucas, Nina Persson and others at the Best Batch Yet tribute to Captain Beefheart

Currently, Hendryx is still touring and has written music for the theatre, songs for the play with music Blue. Recently. Sandra St. Victor (The Family Stand) recruited daughters of famous African American soul/blues icons – including Lalah Hathaway, Simone, Indira Khan, and Leah McCrae – together with "spiritual daughters" Joyce Kennedy, Caron Wheeler, and Nona, to form the group Daughters Of Soul, which has enjoyed much success, especially on the European tour circuit.

She also formed her own record label with Bobby Banks, Rhythmbank, in 2005, signed and released several EP's & CD's, Sleeper Cell (the Showtime original TV series) and a gospel CD by protege Najiyah Threatt.

Since the breakup of Labelle, Patti, Sarah, and Nona have reunited on occasion. These reunions include Patti LaBelle's "Live In New York" video, the dance hit "Turn It Out" from the soundtrack To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), and two television specials. In January 2006, Labelle again reunited to record "Dear Rosa," a tribute to civil rights leader Rosa Parks. Labelle also performed the theme song for the soundtrack for the film Preaching to the Choir, with Nona being the composer of the film's soundtrack. In late 2008, Labelle released their comeback album, Back to Now, and went on a successful concert tour that carried through the spring of 2009.

Speaking in April 2009 to noted UK soul/R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, Hendryx discussed the background to Labelle reuniting for Back To Now: "Well, there were lots of ongoing times when we'd discussed doing it. And a lot of it was really down to the fact that the fans were DEMANDING that we did it! But, rather than just going back and doing what we'd done in the past, we did want to be able to make an album of new music before coming back out together. And it was really once we'd recorded the song 'Dear Rosa', together that Patti finally became convinced that yes, we should make a new record and then go out and tour behind it. So I'd say basically our reunion was down to two things - pressure from the fans; plus Patti hearing a sound again that she loved and hadn't heard for many years."^[1]

Hendryx has also authored a children's book, called The Brownies.

On May 27, 2010, Hendryx performed selections from a sci-fi musical she is co-writing with Charles Randolph-Wright, Skindiver. The surprise show was at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC and sponsored by Arena Stage. Hendryx & Wright presented two late night staged readings of Skindiver at Arena Stage in 2011.

Activism[link]

Nona Hendryx was one of the first artist to agree to perform for the first New York City GMHC, Dance-a-thon created to raise funds to support people living with HIV AIDS. This led other artists to give their time and talent to the organization eventually raising millions of dollars, educating millions and contributing to the search for a cure for AIDS In 2001 she discussed her bisexuality in an interview with The Advocate magazine^[2] and has become a gay-rights activist over the years. In summer 2008, she joined Cyndi Lauper on her True Colors tour, raising awareness of discrimination and the LGBT community.^[3]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Nona Hendryx, 1977, Epic
• Nona, 1982, RCA Records (R&B #25, Pop #83)
• The Art of Defense, 1984, RCA (Pop #167)
• The Heat, 1985, RCA
• Female Trouble, 1987, EMI (R&B #30, Pop #96)
• Skin Diver 1989, Private Music
• You Have To Cry Sometime (with Billy Vera) 1992, Shanachie
• Mutadis, Mutandis, 2011

Compilations[link]

• Transformation – The Best Of Nona Hendryx 1999, Razor & Tie
• Rough & Tough 2001, EMI (Basically, a repackaged version of 1987's "Female Trouble" album with 2 extended/dance mixes added)

Singles[link]

• "Everybody Wants To Be Somebody", 1977, Epic
• "You're The Only One That I Ever Needed", 1979, Arista Records
• "Love It", 1979, Arista
• "Snakes Alive", 1979, Arista
• "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart", 1980, Barclay
• "Busting Out", 1980, Island Records
• "Holiday", 1980, Island Records
• "Do What You Wanna Do", 1982, Metropolis
• "Do What You Wanna Do", 1982, Hot Tracks Remix, 1983
• "Keep It Confidential", 1983, RCA (R&B #22, Club #25, Pop #91)
• "Keep It Confidential", 1983, Hot Tracks Remix, 1983
• "Transformation", 1983, RCA (R&B #40)
• "B-Boys", 1983, RCA (Club #25)
• "I Sweat (Going Through The Motions)", 1984, RCA (R&B #28)
• "To The Bone", 1984, RCA
• "Heart of a Woman", 1984, RCA
• "If Looks Could Kill (D.O.A.)", 1985, RCA (R&B #71)
• "I Need Love", 1985, RCA (R&B #68)
• "Baby Go-Go", 1987, EMI (R&B #60)
• "Why Should I Cry?", 1987, EMI, (R&B #5, Club #6, Pop #58, UK #60^[4])
• "Winds Of Change (Mandela To Mandela)", 1987, EMI
• "SkinDiver", 1989, Private Music Records
• "Women Who Fly", 1989, Private Music Records
• "Urgently In Love", (with Billy Crawford), 1992
• "It's a Party", (with Bounty Killer), 1998

Film / Television / Theater / Radio[link]

• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, 1978, Cameo in finale, MCA, film
• Playback '78, (Interview) 1978, Radio
• Interchords, (Interview) 1978, Radio
• Heartbreakers, 1984 (song "Transformation")
• Landlord Blues, 1987, Composer (Music Score) / Vocalist, Title Track / Acting as attorney "Sally Viscuso" film
• Gospa, (Composer) 1995, MCA film
• People: A Musical Celebration, (composer) 1996, TV
• Blue, (Composer) 2001, Theater
• On the One ... aka Preaching to the Choir , 2005
• The L Word, season 3 episode 8 (as herself) 2006, TV
• Preaching to the Choir, a.k.a. On the One, 2006, (Composer) Film: USA
• The Who's Tommy ("The Acid Queen") 2008, Theater, Ricardo Montalbán Theater, Los Angeles

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nona Hendryx

• Official Homepage
• Nona Hendryx interview at Allaboutjazz.com

v t e Labelle Patti LaBelle Nona Hendryx Sarah Dash Cindy Birdsong Sundray Tucker Studio albums Over the Rainbow Dreamer Labelle Moon Shadow Pressure Cookin' Nightbirds Phoenix Chameleon Back to Now Live albums Sweethearts of the Apollo The Bluebelles on Stage Other albums Gonna Take a Miracle (Laura Nyro ft. Labelle) Singles "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" "Down the Aisle" "You'll Never Walk Alone" "Danny Boy" "All or Nothing" "Over the Rainbow" "I'm Still Waiting" "Take Me for a Little While" "Morning Much Better" "If I Can't Have You" "Mr. Music Man" "Lady Marmalade" "What Can I Do for You?" "Messin' with My Mind" "Far As We Felt Like Goin'" "Get You Somebody New" "Isn't It a Shame" "Turn It Out" "Roll Out" "Superlover" Related topics Discography Albums Songs Members Book:Labelle

Jeff Lynne
Lynne on 7 September 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Lynne
Also known as	Otis Wilbury/Clayton Wilbury[1]
Born	(1947-12-30) 30 December 1947 (age 64) Shard End, Birmingham, England
Genres	Progressive rock, pop rock, symphonic rock, art rock, pop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, cello, ukulele, percussion
Years active	1966–present
Labels	United Artists, Jet, Harvest, Epic, SonyBMG, Reprise
Associated acts	Electric Light Orchestra, Traveling Wilburys, The Idle Race, The Move, George Harrison, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Olivia Newton-John, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan
Website	ftmusic.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gibson Hummingbird Yamaha CS-80 Polymoog

Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra. He was later a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. Lynne has produced recordings for artists such as The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison, Dave Edmunds, Del Shannon and Tom Petty. He has co-written songs with Petty and also with George Harrison, whose 1987 album Cloud Nine was co-produced by Lynne and Harrison. Among the many compositions to his credit are such well-known hits as "Livin' Thing", "Evil Woman", "Turn to Stone", "Do Ya", "Xanadu", "Strange Magic", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Telephone Line", "Shine a Little Love", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Hold On Tight", "All Over the World", and "Don't Bring Me Down".

In 2008, The Washington Times named Lynne the fourth greatest record producer in music history.^[2]

Musical career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1963, Jeff Lynne, Robert Reader and David Walsh formed a group using little more than Spanish guitars and cheap electrical instruments to produce music. They were originally named "The Rockin' Hellcats" before changing to "The Handicaps" and finally to "The Andicaps". They practised at Shard End Community Centre and performed weekly. However, in 1964, Robert Reader and David Walsh left the band and Lynne brought in replacements. At the end of 1964, Lynne decided to leave the band to replace Mick Adkins of the local band "The Chads".^[3]

In 1966, Lynne joined the line-up of The Nightriders as guitarist. The band would soon change their name to The Idle Race, a name allegedly given to them sarcastically by his grandmother Evelyn Lynne who probably disapproved of pop music as not being a proper job. Despite recording two critically acclaimed albums with the band and producing the second, success eluded him. In 1970, Lynne accepted a lifeline from friend Roy Wood to join the line-up of the more successful band The Move.

The Electric Light Orchestra: 1970–86[link]

Lynne contributed many songs to The Move's last two albums while formulating, with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan, a band built around a fusion of rock and classical music. This project would eventually become the highly successful Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Problems led to Wood's departure in 1972, after the band's eponymous first album, leaving Jeff Lynne as the band's dominant creative force. Thereafter followed a succession of band personnel changes and increasingly popular albums: 1973's ELO II and On The Third Day, 1974's Eldorado and 1975's Face the Music.

By A New World Record, Lynne had almost developed the roots of the group into a more complex and unique pop-rock sound mixed with studio strings, layered vocals, and tight, catchy pop singles. Jeff Lynne's now almost complete creative dominance as producer, songwriter, arranger, lead singer and guitarist could make ELO appear to be an almost solo effort. However, the ELO sound and the focus of Lynne's writing was also shaped by Louis Clark's and Richard Tandy's co-arranging, under Jeff's direction (notably the large string sections), Bev Bevan's drumming, and Richard Tandy's integration of the Moog, harmonium, and Mellotron, with more novel keyboard technology, gave Jeff's songs a more symphonic sound.

The pinnacle of ELO's chart success and worldwide popularity was the expansive 1977 double album Out of the Blue, which was largely conceived in a Swiss chalet during a two-week writing marathon.^[4] The band's 1978 world tour featured an elaborate "space ship" set and laser light show. In order to recreate the complex instrumental textures of their albums, the band used pre-recorded supplemental backing tracks in live performances. Although that practice has now become commonplace, it caused considerable derision in the press of the time.^[5] Jeff Lynne has often stated that he prefers the creative environment of the studio to the rigours and tedium of touring.

In 1979, Lynne followed up the success of Out of the Blue with Discovery, which held No. 1 in the UK for 5 weeks. The album is primarily associated with its two disco-flavoured singles ("Shine a Little Love" and "Last Train to London") and with the title's word play on "disco" and "very".^[6] However, the remaining seven non-disco tracks on the album reflected Lynne's range as a pop-rock songwriter, including a heavy, mid-tempo rock anthem ("Don't Bring Me Down") that, despite its use of a drum loop, could be considered the antithesis of disco. In an April 2008 interview, Lynne fondly recalled his forays into dance music:

I love the force of disco. I love the freedom it gave me to make a different rhythms across it. I enjoyed that really steady driving beat. Just steady as a rock. I’ve always liked that simplicity in the bass drum.^[6]

In 1979, Lynne rejected an offer for ELO to headline the Knebworth Concert in the UK, allowing Led Zeppelin to headline instead.

In the absence of any touring to support Discovery, Lynne had time to contribute five tracks to the soundtrack for the 1980 movie musical Xanadu. The score yielded a pair of top-40 singles, with the title track "Xanadu" reaching number one in the UK. Nevertheless, Lynne was not integrated into the development of the film, and his material subsequently had only superficial attachment to the plot. Xanadu performed weakly at the box office (although it later has experienced popularity as a cult favourite). Lynne subsequently disavowed his limited contribution to the project,^[7] although he later re-recorded the title song (with his lead vocal) for the 2000 box set Flashback. In 2007, the film was loosely adapted into a successful Broadway musical, incorporating almost all of the songs from the original film, and also using two other ELO hits: "Strange Magic" and "Evil Woman".

The 1980s[link]

In 1981 Lynne took the band in a somewhat different direction with the science-fiction themed album Time, reaching number one for two weeks in the UK, producing the second Top 3 single in less than two years. The strings were still featured, but with heavily synthesised textures. Following a marginally successful tour, Lynne kept this general approach with 1983's Secret Messages and a final contractually-obligated ELO album Balance of Power in 1986. Lynne discusses the contractually-obligated nature of the final albums on the short interview included with the 'Zoom' DVD. ELO now had only three remaining official members (Lynne, Bevan and Tandy), and Lynne began devoting more time to producing.

During his time in the Electric Light Orchestra, Lynne did manage to release a few recordings under his own name. In 1976, Lynne covered The Beatles songs "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Nowhere Man" for All This and World War II. In 1977, Lynne released his first solo single, the disco-flavoured "Doin' That Crazy Thing"/"Goin' Down To Rio". Despite ELO's high profile at that time, it received little airplay and failed to chart. In 1984 Lynne and ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy contributed two original songs "Video!" and "Let It Run" to the film Electric Dreams (they also provided a third song, "Sooner or Later", which was released as the b-side of "Video!"). Lynne also wrote the song "The Story of Me," which was recorded by the Everly Brothers on their comeback album EB84.

Even before the official end of ELO, Lynne began his move toward focusing almost exclusively on studio production work. Lynne produced and wrote the 1983 top-40 hit "Slipping Away" for Dave Edmunds and played on sessions (with Richard Tandy) for Edmunds' album, Information. Lynne also produced six tracks on Edmunds' follow-up album in 1984, Riff Raff.

In contrast to the dense, boomy, baroque sound of ELO, Lynne's post-ELO studio work has tended toward more minimal, acoustic instrumentation and a sparse, "organic" quality that generally favours light room ambience and colouration over artificial reverb, especially on vocals. Lynne's recordings also often feature the jangling compressed acoustic guitar sound pioneered by Roger McGuinn and a heavily gated snare drum sound.

Lynne's influence by the Beatles was clearly evident in his ELO work and the connection to the Beatles was strengthened when Lynne produced George Harrison's Cloud Nine, a successful comeback album for the ex-Beatle, released in 1987, featuring the popular singles "Got My Mind Set on You", "When We Was Fab" (where Lynne played the violin in the video), and "This is Love", two of the three songs co-written by Lynne.

Jeff Lynne's association with Harrison led to the 1988 formation of the Traveling Wilburys, a studio "supergroup" that included George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison (as well as Lynne himself), and resulted in two albums (Vol. 1 and Vol. 3), both co-produced by Lynne. In 1988 Lynne also worked on Roy Orbison's album Mystery Girl co-writing and producing Orbison's last major hit, "You Got It", plus two other tracks on that album. For Rock On!, the final Del Shannon album, Jeff Lynne co-wrote "Walk Away" and finished off several tracks after Shannon's death.

In 1989, Lynne co-produced Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty, which included the hit singles "Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down", and "Runnin' Down a Dream", all co-written by Lynne. This album and Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 both received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year in 1989. The Traveling Wilburys won a Grammy for "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal" that year.^[8] Lynne's song "One Way Love" was released as a single by Agnetha Faltskog and appeared on her second post-ABBA album, Eyes of a Woman. Lynne co-wrote and produced the track "Let It Shine" for Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson's first solo album in 1988. Lynne also contributed three tracks to an album by Duane Eddy and "Falling In Love" on Land of Dreams for Randy Newman.

The 1990s[link]

In 1990, Lynne collaborated on the Wilburys' follow up Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and shortly after that released his first solo album Armchair Theatre, with old friends George Harrison and Richard Tandy featuring the singles "Every Little Thing" and "Lift Me Up". The album received some positive critical attention but little commercial success. Lynne also provided the song "Wild Times" to the motion picture soundtrack Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991.

In 1991, Lynne returned to the studio with Petty, co-writing and producing the album Into the Great Wide Open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which featured the singles "Learning to Fly" and "Into the Great Wide Open". The following year he produced Roy Orbison's posthumous album King of Hearts, featuring the single "I Drove All Night".

In February 1994, Lynne fulfilled a lifelong dream by working with the three surviving Beatles on the Anthology album series. At George Harrison's request, Lynne was brought in to assist in reevaluating John Lennon's original studio material. The songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" were created by digitally processing Lennon's demos for the songs and overdubbing the three surviving band members to form a virtual Beatles reunion that the band had mutually eschewed during Lennon's lifetime. Lynne has also produced records for Ringo Starr and worked on Paul McCartney's Grammy nominated album Flaming Pie.

Lynne's work in the 1990s also includes production of a 1993 album for singer/songwriter Julianna Raye entitled Something Peculiar and production or songwriting contributions to albums by Roger McGuinn (Back from Rio), Joe Cocker (Night Calls), Aerosmith (Lizard Love), Tom Jones (Lift me Up), Bonnie Tyler (Time Mends a Broken Heart), the film Still Crazy, Hank Marvin (Wonderful Land and Nivram), Et Moi (Drole De Vie), and the Tandy Morgan Band (Action).

In 1996, Lynne was officially recognised by his peers when he was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Contributions to British Music" for a second time.

The 2000s[link]

Following legal action to get the ELO name back^[9] from Bevan's touring group ELO Part II, Lynne released a new album in 2001 under the ELO moniker entitled Zoom. Although the album featured guest appearances by Ringo Starr, George Harrison and original ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy, with Lynne multi-tracking a majority of the instruments and vocals. The album received positive reviews but had no hit singles. Despite bearing little sonic relationship to the halcyon ELO days of the late 1970s, it was marketed as a "return to the classic ELO sound"^[10] in an attempt to connect with a loyal body of fans and jump-start a planned concert tour (with Lynne and Tandy as the only returning original ELO members). While a live performance was taped at CBS Television City over two consecutive nights and shown on PBS (with subsequent DVD release), the tour itself was cancelled.

Speculation remains rife as to the reason (or reasons), for the cancellation of this tour. Certainly, initial ticket sales were disappointing, with publicity for the concerts minimal.^{[citation needed]} Although often cited by fans as a reason for the tour cancellation, the events and aftermath of 11 September occurred subsequent to the official cancellation of the tour. Greg Bissonette (ELO drummer), when asked, described it as "the greatest tour I never went on!"^{[citation needed]}

Earlier in 2001, Lynne began working with George Harrison on what would turn out to be Harrison's final album, Brainwashed. After Harrison's death from cancer on 29 November 2001, Lynne returned to the studio in 2002 to help finish the uncompleted album. Lynne was also heavily involved in the memorial Concert for George, held at London's Royal Albert Hall in November 2002, singing the lead vocal on "The Inner Light", "I Want to Tell You" and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", and subsequently produced the Surround Sound audio mix for the Concert For George DVD released in November 2003. The DVD received a Grammy.

Lynne reunited in 2006 with Tom Petty to produce his third solo release, Highway Companion.

ASCAP honoured Jeff Lynne with the Golden Note Award during their inaugural "I Create Music" EXPO on 24 April 2009, the presenter was Paul Williams.^[11][12] ASCAP's Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Previous honorees include Tom Petty, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Garth Brooks, to name a few.^[13]

Lynne said in a Reuters article on 23 April 2009, that he has finally been working on the long awaited follow-up to his 1990 solo debut album Armchair Theatre with a possible tentative release date of "later this year".^[14]

He also produced four tracks on Regina Spektor's fifth album Far, released 23 June 2009.

In a March 2010 interview with the Daily Express newspaper, Lynne confirmed he is working on a new album with Joe Walsh and simultaneously "writing a couple of albums under his own name, though he won't tell us in which musical direction he's heading."^[15]

Lynne contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Words of Love" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, which was released on 6 September 2011.

31 December 2011, Brian Williams reported on NBC New Year's Eve with Carson Daly that "2012 releases will include rare new work from Jeff Lynne."^[16]

Albums Lynne participated on[link]

The Idle Race[link]

• The Birthday Party (October 1968)
• Idle Race (November 1969)

The Move[link]

• Looking On (December 1970)
• Message from the Country (8 October 1971)

Electric Light Orchestra[link]

• The Electric Light Orchestra (1971)
• ELO 2 (1973)
• On the Third Day (1973)
• Eldorado, A Symphony (1974)
• Face the Music (1975)
• A New World Record (1976)
• Out of the Blue (1977)
• Discovery (1979)
• Xanadu (1980)
• Time (1981)
• Secret Messages (1983)
• Balance of Power (1986)
• Zoom (2001)

Traveling Wilburys[link]

• Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)
• Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990)
• The Traveling Wilburys Collection (2007)

Others[link]

• He sang "With a Little Help from My Friends" for the movie All This and World War II, sang on the Beatles single "Free as a Bird", and performed at the Concert for George.
• He sang Buddy Holly's "Words of Love" for the album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, which was released in September 2011.

Solo discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Armchair Theatre

Released: 12 June 1990

Peak Chart Positions: #7 Norway, #8 Sweden, #22 Canada, #24 UK,^[17] #31 Australia, #83 US Billboard 200

Compilation albums[link]

• A Message from the Country – The Jeff Lynne Years 1968/1973

Released: 1989

Singles[link]

• "Doin' That Crazy Thing" / "Goin' Down to Rio"

Released: 1977

• "Video! / Sooner Or Later"

Released: 1984

Peak Chart Positions: #85 US Billboard Hot 100, #87 UK Singles Chart

• "Every Little Thing" / "I'm Gone"

Released: June 1990

Peak Chart Positions: #8 Canada, #9 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, #27 Australia, #59 UK Singles Chart^[17]

• "Lift Me Up" / "Sirens"

Released: September 1990

Peak Chart Positions: # 37 Canada

See also[link]

• Jeff Lynne and The Beatles

References[link]

External links[link]

• elo.biz Official Website
• Jeff Lynne Song Database
• Discovery - welcome to the show ELO & Jeff Lynne information page