Fifty years ago this month, on 15 October 1976, the Electric Light Orchestra released A New World Record in America. Britain had to wait until 19 November, which feels about right for a Birmingham band whose last three studio albums hadn't charted at home at all. Five decades on, the A New World Record 50th anniversary is getting a proper send-off: Sony's Legacy label is reissuing it on vinyl on 16 October 2026.
So here's our guide to ELO A New World Record vinyl: what the record is, what a good UK original looks like, and the used ELO vinyl (plus a few records from the wider Birmingham family tree) sitting in our crates right now.
What is A New World Record? (Asking for a friend who only knows Mr Blue Sky)
It's ELO's sixth studio album and the one where Jeff Lynne stopped writing suites and started writing hits. The band were recorded and mixed at Musicland Studios in Munich, and the orchestra and choir were added at De Lane Lea Studios in Wembley. The sleeve credits a final stop at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles for "Edits and Things", which is the most relatable studio credit we've ever read.
Nine songs, about 36 minutes, and not a duff one among them:
- Side one: Tightrope, Telephone Line, Rockaria! and Mission (A World Record).
- Side two: So Fine, Livin' Thing, Above The Clouds, Do Ya and Shangri-La.
It was also the first ELO sleeve with the famous jukebox-style logo, designed by Kosh. If you've ever seen that logo on a spaceship, a T-shirt or your uncle's car sticker, this is where it started.
The critics, for once, agreed with the public. Melody Maker's Harry Doherty called it "ELO's best album in its seven-year history", and over at Sounds, Tim Lott decided "there ain't a duff track anywhere". We'd frame that one for the shop wall if we had any wall left.
The singles (and the one Jeff borrowed from himself)
This was ELO's breakthrough at home. After three studio albums that hadn't charted in the UK at all, A New World Record became their first top-ten album here, peaking at number 6, and it went on to sell five million copies worldwide in its first year. The hits came thick and fast:
- Livin' Thing reached number 4 in the UK. British copies had Fire On High on the B-side.
- Rockaria! got to number 9 in early 1977. Opera meets rock and roll, and neither of them complains.
- Telephone Line made number 8 here and became the band's first gold single in America. It's the only song we know that can make a dial tone sound heartbroken.
- Do Ya was a US hit, and it's a cover of a song Lynne wrote for The Move back in 1972, where it was tucked away on the B-side of California Man. Recycling, Brummie style.
Why everyone's talking about ELO again
- The 50th anniversary reissue. Legacy Recordings releases a new black-vinyl LP of A New World Record on 16 October 2026, with the original nine-song tracklist (Sony Music Vinyl and the official Jeff Lynne's ELO store both list it).
- A double half-century. The official ELO site notes that both Face The Music and A New World Record hit their 50th anniversaries this year.
- Up the road in Derbyshire. On the same day as the reissue, 16 October, the tribute act The ELO Show plays Buxton Opera House, spaceship and lasers included (Derbyshire Times). Jeff Lynne's ELO wrapped up their farewell tour in 2025, so this is the nearest you'll get to a string section on the A6.
How to check ELO A New World Record vinyl before you buy
A new reissue is lovely, but an original UK copy has a certain something, usually a faint smell of a 1970s front room. Here's what to look for:
- The catalogue number. According to Discogs, the original UK pressing from November 1976 is on Jet with UAG 30017 on the back cover, spine and labels, and "Made in England" on the label. The 1978 UK reissue, made by CBS, is JETLP 200. Both are good records. Just make sure the sleeve, spine and labels agree with each other.
- The run-out. Originals have UAG 30017 scratched into the run-out area, and the reissues have JET LP 200. A torch and a squint will settle it.
- The sleeve. The first UK sleeve was laminated and embossed, so that logo should stand up slightly under your thumb. Lamination can lift at the edges, so check the corners.
- The inner. UK copies came with a paper inner printing the lyrics. Discogs notes two versions of the 1976 inner (the opening is at the top on different sides), so either is correct. A missing inner isn't a disaster, but it should be in the description.
- The quiet bits. Play the opening of Telephone Line and the fade of Shangri-La. That's where surface noise likes to hide. A rattly Rockaria! can hide a lot of sins, but a quiet ballad can't. Our vinyl grading explained guide covers what VG, VG+ and EX really mean.
We won't make up values for you. Condition and completeness matter far more than any "rare" variation in a listing title, and an honestly graded VG copy is a perfectly good record to play on a Sunday afternoon.
ELO in the WholelottaVinyl crates
In stock as we write: all used vinyl, hand-graded and photographed as the actual copy, at our independent record shop in Mansfield. We haven't got A New World Record itself right now (the wanted list is the place to nudge us), but there's plenty from either side of it.
Two years before: ELO – Eldorado LP (Jet JETLP 203, 1978 reissue), graded VG/G+, £12. The 1974 concept album, with Can't Get It Out Of My Head and those ruby slippers on the cover. This is the Jet reissue from 1978, so it sits nicely on a shelf next to a JETLP 200 copy of A New World Record.
Where they came from: Electric Light Orchestra – The Light Shines On LP (Harvest SHSM 2015, 1977), graded VG+/VG, £7.50 and Electric Light Orchestra – The Light Shines On Vol 2 LP (Harvest SHSM 2027, 1979), laminated cover, graded EX/G+, £7.50. Harvest's two round-ups of the early, cello-sawing years. Volume one has the single edits of 10538 Overture and Roll Over Beethoven, and volume two has the full-length versions, so buy both and settle the argument yourself.
For the singles box: Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic 7" (United Artists UA-XW770, US press), picture sleeve, graded VG+/G+, £2. From Face The Music, the album just before A New World Record, with New World Rising on the flip. That weeping guitar sound is actually keyboard player Richard Tandy.
The Move, where it all began: The Move – Fire Brigade LP (MFP 5276, 1972), graded VG+/VG, £5. ELO was born out of The Move, and this budget Music For Pleasure compilation is a cheap way into the band that taught Lynne and Roy Wood to dream big.
The one who left: Roy Wood – Boulders LP (Harvest SHVL 803, 1973), graded VG/VG, £5. Wood co-founded ELO and left in 1972. On Boulders he played almost every instrument himself, sang every vocal and painted the self-portrait on the cover. Some people can't even put up a shelf.
And then it got loud: Wizzard – Wizzard Brew LP (Harvest SHSP 4025, 1973), graded VG/G+, £7.50. Wood's next band, and a record Mojo once put at number 18 in its list of the most eccentric albums ever. It's earned that. Pair it with Wizzard – See My Baby Jive 7" (Harvest HAR 5070, 1973), graded VG+/VG+, £2, which spent four weeks at number one in 1973. ABBA later said it influenced Waterloo.
Jeff goes solo: Jeff Lynne – Every Little Thing 7" (Reprise W9799, 1990), German press, graded VG/VG, £2. The lead single from his first solo album, Armchair Theatre. George Harrison and Tom Petty popped up in the video, as you do when your mates are Traveling Wilburys.
Buy any three records and 10% comes off the whole crate at checkout, so both volumes of The Light Shines On plus Fire Brigade come to £18 instead of £20. Those £2 singles also count towards our 10 for £10 deal on £2 singles. New customers can use Autumn10 for 10% off instead (one code per order). Every record gets a Pro-Ject VC-S3 clean before it's posted (see why choose us), and you can add a Degritter ultrasonic clean for £2; details are on the cleaning service page.
Where A New World Record sits in the ELO run
It's the hinge. Before it came Eldorado (1974), a full-blown concept album, and Face The Music (1975). After it came the double album Out Of The Blue in 1977, spaceship and all. A New World Record is where the strings stopped being a novelty and started being the hook, and it's the record that made ELO a proper British chart band at last. It went platinum in the UK, and it's still the one plenty of fans would save first in a house fire, right after the cat.
Clearing the loft? We'll take it off your hands
If there's a box of ELO, Move or Wizzard records gathering dust upstairs, or a whole collection that deserves to be played again, we buy vinyl from all over the UK. Start at sell your vinyl records or get in touch. Ladder not included.
Dig the crates
Browse the ELO crate or have a dig through our second-hand vinyl, and if you're local you can reserve online and collect from our Mansfield record shop. If you're after a copy of A New World Record itself, add it to our wanted list and we'll keep an eye out. Happy 50th, Jeff. Please hold, your call is important to us.