Last Train to London
{{for|the song by Mimi Webb|Amelia (Mimi Webb album){{!}}Amelia (Mimi Webb album)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Last Train to London
| cover = Last train to london.jpg
| alt =
| caption = UK single
| type = single
| artist = Electric Light Orchestra
| album = Discovery
| A-side = "Confusion" (UK)
| B-side = "Down Home Town" (US)
| released = 9 November 1979 (UK)
January 1980 (US)
| recorded = 1979
| studio = Musicland Studios, Munich, West Germany
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Disco}}
| length = 4:31
| label = Jet
| writer = Jeff Lynne
| producer = Jeff Lynne
| prev_title = Confusion
| prev_year = 1979
| next_title = I'm Alive
| next_year = 1980
| misc = {{Extra track listing
| album = Discovery
| type = single
| tracks = {{Discovery tracks}}
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|Up4WjdabA2c|"Last Train to London"}}}}
}}
"Last Train to London" is a song from the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the fifth track from their album Discovery.
The song was released in 1979 in the UK as a double A-side single with "Confusion". It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/electric%20light%20orchestra/ | title= Electric Light Orchestra| publisher=Official Charts Company | accessdate=5 March 2013}} However, in the US the two songs were released separately, with "Confusion" in late 1979 followed by "Last Train to London" in early 1980. It peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/electric-light-orchestra-mn0000163229/awards |title=Electric Light Orchestra – Awards |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=5 March 2013}}
Background
{{cquote|There was a certain period when it seemed we spent years on trains going back and forth from Birmingham to the various TV and radio stations in London. |||Discovery remaster (2001)|Jeff Lynne}}
Critical reception
Billboard described the song as having a "catchy pop melody with Beatlesque vocal qualities and a smooth layered sound."{{cite news|title=Top Single Picks|magazine=Billboard|date=1 December 1979|accessdate=2020-07-07|page=52|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-12-01.pdf}} Cash Box said that the song has "a frothy pop melody" and "a bouncy R&B-tinged rhythm line," making it sound somewhat like Heatwave's 1977 single "Boogie Nights."{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=1 December 1979|page=20|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-01.pdf}} Record World said that "The electronic dance beat and lilting vocals are as timely as they are engaging."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=1 December 1979|accessdate=2023-02-11|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-12-01.pdf}}
Something Else! critic S. Victor Aaron found it to be "more formulaic" than "Shine a Little Love", the other "disco thumper hit from Discovery."{{cite web|title=Guilty pleasures: Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra|date=14 February 2011|accessdate=2023-05-13|publisher=Something Else!|author=Aaron, S. Victor|url=https://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/02/14/guilty-pleasures-jeff-lynne-and-the-electric-light-orchestra/}}
Personnel
According to JeffLynneSongs.com{{Cite web |title=Jeff Lynne Song Database – Song Details |url=https://www.jefflynnesongs.com/popup.php?data=LastTrainToLondon197910_popupplus#details |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=jefflynnesongs.com}}
- Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer
- Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
- Richard Tandy – grand piano, synthesizer, electric piano, clavinet
- Kelly Groucutt – bass, vocals
= Additional personnel =
=Chart history=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1979/80) ! Peak |
| Irish Singles Chart{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |title=The Irish Charts – All there is to know |publisher=Irishcharts.ie |accessdate=6 March 2013}} Enter Electric Light Orchestra in the Search by Artist field, then click Search.
|align="center"| 9 |
| UK Singles Chart
|align="center"| 8 |
| Canada (RPM){{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.9470a.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles – March 8, 1980}}
|align="center"| 28 |
| US Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"| 39 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Singles
|align="center"| 36 |
{{col-2}}
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=ELO|title=Confusion/Last Train To London|award=Silver|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|access-date=3 July 2024|id=1497-1604-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
{{col-end}}
Atomic Kitten sample
In 2002 British girl group Atomic Kitten sampled the hook of the song in their single "Be with You". The song was released as a double A-side with the song "The Last Goodbye". The single peaked at No. 2 in the UK.{{Cite book |title=Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song |year=2017 |first=John|last= Van der Kiste |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9IxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t812701|pure_url=yes}} Review at allmusic]
{{Electric Light Orchestra singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Electric Light Orchestra songs
Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne
Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne
{{1970s-rock-song-stub}}