Conservatoire tribute to late ELO keyboard player Richard Tandy
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire has paid tribute to ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy, who has died at the age of 76.
Studio manager at RBC, Matthew O’Malley, worked with the Birmingham-born musician for his final public performance in 2019, saying he was “passionate about music until the very end".
Matthew recalls: “I first met Richard Tandy in 2014 at Jeff Lynne’s Birmingham walk of fame ceremony. A very quiet and humble man that had none of the aloofness one might expect from a member of one of Birmingham’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands.
“We would later catch up backstage after an ELO show where he expressed a renewed excitement about being back on the road enjoying the luxurious travel and accommodation arrangements not afforded during ELO’s heyday of the 70s and 80s. We talked about our memories of Moseley School which we had both attended, but obviously generations apart!
“I also worked with former ELO member Dave Scott-Morgan where the opportunity arose for a collaboration with RBC students to bring their 1986 album ‘Earthrise’ to stage for the first time.
“The show was performed to a packed Bradshaw Hall with fans having travelled from Europe and as far as the US to attend what would be Richard Tandy’s final public appearance in November 2019.”
The conservatoire is based at Birmingham City University.
