I agree with GeoVII, but hey what fantastic lyrics! I love the line (how does it feel) 'to be a chalkline dollar sign' It's not Jeff Lynne it's referring to with 'Mrs LYNN' (sorry i don't have an answer!), although being a massive ELO fan i would love it to be a tip of the hat to him. Someone who can write such intelligent lyrics is unlikely to mis-spell the person they are (partly) writing about and secondly Jeff Lynne/ELO or even Travelling Wilburys were anything but one hit wonders. It would be particularly apt if it were regarding Jeff Lynne as he doffed his cap to the Beatles in his lyrics many times. Finally, i do love the irony of Jellyfish effectively writing about a one hit wonder, it's a crying shame this was never the massive hit it deserves to be. I enjoy introducing younger friends to it as many have never heard it and they without fail seem to love the song. Genius.
Actually, he likely misspelled it intentionally to avoid the obvious and immediate reference to Jeff. When you misspell a name, you immediately make everyone come to the conclusion that it doesn't refer to the most obvious person (based similarly to your thought rationale). "He wouldn't misspell it. So, it can't refer to Jeff." Considering the lyrics are not very flattering (and basically insulting) to the person he's referring to, it makes perfect sense for the reference to be obscured through that misspelling to avoid any accidental insults. That said, it may very well refer to Jeff in a personal...
Actually, he likely misspelled it intentionally to avoid the obvious and immediate reference to Jeff. When you misspell a name, you immediately make everyone come to the conclusion that it doesn't refer to the most obvious person (based similarly to your thought rationale). "He wouldn't misspell it. So, it can't refer to Jeff." Considering the lyrics are not very flattering (and basically insulting) to the person he's referring to, it makes perfect sense for the reference to be obscured through that misspelling to avoid any accidental insults. That said, it may very well refer to Jeff in a personal way.
While the Traveling Wilbury's were effectively a flash in the pan, ELO was anything but a one-hit-wonder. ELO was never quite elevated to the level of Led Zeppelin or AC/DC or Michael Jackson (in their heyday), but they were close. Though, ELO did have a respectable number of hits beginning around 1976 and ending in the late 80s, with Out of the Blue probably being their single biggest album. That's a fairly big stretch of time to have a large number of hits on the charts and to influence future musical artists.
While the Traveling Wilbury's were effectively a flash in the pan, ELO was anything but a one-hit-wonder. ELO was never quite elevated to the level of Led Zeppelin or AC/DC or Michael Jackson (in their heyday), but they were close. Though, ELO did have a respectable number of hits beginning around 1976 and ending in the late 80s, with Out of the Blue probably being their single biggest album. That's a fairly big stretch of time to have a large number of hits on the charts and to influence future musical artists.
Was there a 'Ghost at Number One'? Possibly. The ELO album just prior to this Jellyfish release was 1986's 'Balance of Power'. Not ELO at their best. There was also Jeff Lynne's 1990 solo release 'Armchair Theater'. There are also the two Travelling Wilburys' 1988 and 1990 releases. Any of these releases could be considered the 'artistic flop' that is referred to in the song. Most likely 'Armchair Theater'. When this Jellyfish song was released in 1993, ELO was only beginning to fade. So, any irony here would be in writing a song about a person from a band that's past his musical prime. Though, in 1993 it was probably a bit too early to tell that ELO was a fading star. Since this was also Jeff Lynne's first solo release, it's too hard to call failure on his solo career then. Looking back now (and even in 2011) we can see that clearly what happened. If anything, this Jellyfish song was slightly prophetic.
Yes, it's possible the song refers to a fictitious person or someone else entirely, but I tend to think not... especially considering dannycohen62's comment above stating Andy's involvement with LEO (an ELO pastiche band). Discussing LEO (courtesy of bleutopia.com), Andy writes of the ELO era, "Jeff Lynne's genius for hooks and melody left so many pop gems ringing in my ears that when it came time for me to start developing my own musical language, Mr. Lynne's influence was inevitably present." This statement alone indicates the level of influence that Jeff had on Andy (and still does) and is likely the inspiration for 'The Ghost at Number One'.
I agree with GeoVII, but hey what fantastic lyrics! I love the line (how does it feel) 'to be a chalkline dollar sign' It's not Jeff Lynne it's referring to with 'Mrs LYNN' (sorry i don't have an answer!), although being a massive ELO fan i would love it to be a tip of the hat to him. Someone who can write such intelligent lyrics is unlikely to mis-spell the person they are (partly) writing about and secondly Jeff Lynne/ELO or even Travelling Wilburys were anything but one hit wonders. It would be particularly apt if it were regarding Jeff Lynne as he doffed his cap to the Beatles in his lyrics many times. Finally, i do love the irony of Jellyfish effectively writing about a one hit wonder, it's a crying shame this was never the massive hit it deserves to be. I enjoy introducing younger friends to it as many have never heard it and they without fail seem to love the song. Genius.
Actually, he likely misspelled it intentionally to avoid the obvious and immediate reference to Jeff. When you misspell a name, you immediately make everyone come to the conclusion that it doesn't refer to the most obvious person (based similarly to your thought rationale). "He wouldn't misspell it. So, it can't refer to Jeff." Considering the lyrics are not very flattering (and basically insulting) to the person he's referring to, it makes perfect sense for the reference to be obscured through that misspelling to avoid any accidental insults. That said, it may very well refer to Jeff in a personal...
Actually, he likely misspelled it intentionally to avoid the obvious and immediate reference to Jeff. When you misspell a name, you immediately make everyone come to the conclusion that it doesn't refer to the most obvious person (based similarly to your thought rationale). "He wouldn't misspell it. So, it can't refer to Jeff." Considering the lyrics are not very flattering (and basically insulting) to the person he's referring to, it makes perfect sense for the reference to be obscured through that misspelling to avoid any accidental insults. That said, it may very well refer to Jeff in a personal way.
While the Traveling Wilbury's were effectively a flash in the pan, ELO was anything but a one-hit-wonder. ELO was never quite elevated to the level of Led Zeppelin or AC/DC or Michael Jackson (in their heyday), but they were close. Though, ELO did have a respectable number of hits beginning around 1976 and ending in the late 80s, with Out of the Blue probably being their single biggest album. That's a fairly big stretch of time to have a large number of hits on the charts and to influence future musical artists.
While the Traveling Wilbury's were effectively a flash in the pan, ELO was anything but a one-hit-wonder. ELO was never quite elevated to the level of Led Zeppelin or AC/DC or Michael Jackson (in their heyday), but they were close. Though, ELO did have a respectable number of hits beginning around 1976 and ending in the late 80s, with Out of the Blue probably being their single biggest album. That's a fairly big stretch of time to have a large number of hits on the charts and to influence future musical artists.
Was there a 'Ghost at Number One'? Possibly. The ELO album just prior to this Jellyfish release was 1986's 'Balance of Power'. Not ELO at their best. There was also Jeff Lynne's 1990 solo release 'Armchair Theater'. There are also the two Travelling Wilburys' 1988 and 1990 releases. Any of these releases could be considered the 'artistic flop' that is referred to in the song. Most likely 'Armchair Theater'. When this Jellyfish song was released in 1993, ELO was only beginning to fade. So, any irony here would be in writing a song about a person from a band that's past his musical prime. Though, in 1993 it was probably a bit too early to tell that ELO was a fading star. Since this was also Jeff Lynne's first solo release, it's too hard to call failure on his solo career then. Looking back now (and even in 2011) we can see that clearly what happened. If anything, this Jellyfish song was slightly prophetic.
Yes, it's possible the song refers to a fictitious person or someone else entirely, but I tend to think not... especially considering dannycohen62's comment above stating Andy's involvement with LEO (an ELO pastiche band). Discussing LEO (courtesy of bleutopia.com), Andy writes of the ELO era, "Jeff Lynne's genius for hooks and melody left so many pop gems ringing in my ears that when it came time for me to start developing my own musical language, Mr. Lynne's influence was inevitably present." This statement alone indicates the level of influence that Jeff had on Andy (and still does) and is likely the inspiration for 'The Ghost at Number One'.
@redcat71 The first record Jeff Lynne recorded has his name misspelled as "G. Lynn" on the label.
@redcat71 The first record Jeff Lynne recorded has his name misspelled as "G. Lynn" on the label.