Former ELO member donates instrument to Conservatoire collection

A one-of-a-kind silver electric cello that toured with ELO in the 1970s has been donated to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) by former band member Mel Gale.

The instrument joins the Richard Tandy memorabilia collection, which was given to RBC last year and is now housed in the Suite.

The suite features instruments and studio equipment used by ELO’s keyboardist, alongside his gold records and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame statue.

Gale, who played cello for ELO from 1975–1980, explained his decision to donate the cello, citing an event held at RBC in November last year to commemorate Tandy. 

“After watching the Richard Tandy tribute concert, I thought the RBC students were so brilliant, and I remembered I had the cello sitting in a cupboard at home,” said Gale. 

“There was no such thing as an electric cello when ELO was performing, so we made one.

“The Richard Tandy production suite is brilliant. The facilities here are so much more diverse than what I had when I was studying music and I hope it’ll inspire future musicians to be enthusiastic and passionate about what they create.” 

Tandy, who died in 2024 at the age of 76, also has a scholarship in his name, made possible by a donation from his wife, Sheila, and a fundraising campaign led by ELO founder Jeff Lynne.

Pictured from left to right: Mik Kaminski, Mel Gale and Bev Bevan