The Electric Light Jedi Orchestra
Every once in a while I run across something that really makes me believe in synchronicity – that there are simply no coincidences whatsoever. This interview with David Acomba, who was initially slated to direct the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, really keeps me thinking that way too. An excerpt discussing the original intentions for the legendarily lousy show’s musical direction:
FAX: It’s interesting imagining “The Star Wars Holiday Special” as a rock musical.
ACOMBA: It definitely would have had more rock ‘n’ roll in the same way that Robin Phillips is more rock ‘n’ roll, it’s just crazier. It needn’t have been loud, grungy stuff, but it would have been much more contemporary and much simpler. I like really simple music tracks. I think it would have turned out to be much better.
FAX: Who might you have used?
ACOMBA: Let’s see, who was available at the time? The new version of Jefferson Starship had some big hits at the time and that was okay for me. The Electric Light Orchestra, not my favorite group but, on the other hand, it does have some relevance because they were very big at the time.
It just goes to show that I’ve been right all these years: as hairy as he is, Jeff Lynne is a Wookiee. As many sci-fi references and concepts as he managed to sneak into ELO’s lyrics over the years, one can only imagine that old Jeff would’ve jumped at the chance. On the flipside, I’m glad that things didn’t happen that way – it took long enough for me to get my hands on “Beatles Forever.” Considering that Jefferson Starship’s song from the Holiday Special was never an album track (and so far as I know, hasn’t even shown up on any career retrospectives), the last thing I would’ve needed would be another impossible-to-find ELO song.
But given that I’m a huge fan of both ELO and Star Wars, I’m sure I would’ve figured something out. 😉… Read more
