Getting to the Point

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Getting to the Point - Wikipedia

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"Getting to the Point"

Single by Electric Light Orchestra

from the album Balance of Power

B-side

"Secret Lives"
"ELO Megamix" (12-inch only)

Released

1 August 1986^[1]

Recorded

1985

Studio

Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas
Hartmann Digital, Untertrubach, Germany

Genre

Length

4:30

Label

CBS Associated (US)
Epic (UK)

Songwriter(s)

Jeff Lynne

Producer(s)

Jeff Lynne

Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology

"So Serious"
(1986)

"Getting to the Point"
(1986)

"Destination Unknown"
(1990)

"Getting to the Point" is a song by the rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from their 1986 album Balance of Power. Released in the UK as the last single from the album in August 1986, it was the last original release from the band for 15 years.

Overview

Due to a strike on Epic's distribution department at the time of its release, the single did not make much of an impression on the singles chart. It peaked at number 97 in the UK. There was no release in the rest of Europe.

The lyrics reflect Lynne's feeling trapped by the "ELO machine" at the time.^[2] Lynne described how he came up with the lyrics:

I'd been working on another song which I couldn't get right at all, and it was driving me mad. I think that is when I came up with the set of words to 'Getting to the Point'; it was probably frustration. I didn't feel good at the time, and it was supposed to be a sad song. But it's nice to have different atmospheres on the songs, and I think that because they were so instant. I didn't have time to go home and brood over the words and say 'Oh, I'll put that in there and this and that'. With being more instant, they're probably more honest.^[2]

ELO writer Barry Delve describes the song as ELO's "last great song" that is "an expertly crafted power ballad that also boasts one of Jeff Lynne's finest vocal performances."^[2]

The B-Side of this single is the 1986 Balance of Power album-track "Secret Lives". It was meant to be a separate single outtake as labelled on the Balance of Power album cover (Dutch pressings with JET or EPIC Label Catno. 26467).

There was also a UK 12 inch Epic 3 track version with the "ELO Megamix" on the B-side. The mix featured the songs from A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, Time and Balance of Power. It was mixed by Paul Dakeyne for DMC.

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Lynne.

7-inch single

"Getting to the Point" – 4:28
"Secret Lives" – 3:26

12-inch single

"Getting to the Point" – 4:28
"ELO Megamix" ("Don't Bring Me Down/Sweet Talkin' Woman/Livin' Thing/Calling America/So Serious/Shine a Little Love/Twilight/Turn to Stone/Hold on Tight") – 9:57
"Secret Lives" – 3:26

Chart positions

Chart (1986)	Peak Position
UK Singles (OCC)^[3]	97

References

^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 95.
^ ^a ^b ^c Delve, Barry (2021). Electric Light Orchestra: Every Album, Every Song. Sonicbond. p. 118. ISBN 9781789521528.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2021.

v t e Electric Light Orchestra
Jeff Lynne Bev Bevan Roy Wood Richard Tandy Mike Edwards Wilfred Gibson Hugh McDowell Mike de Albuquerque Colin Walker Mik Kaminski Kelly Groucutt Melvyn Gale
Studio albums	The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer) ELO 2 (Electric Light Orchestra II) On the Third Day Eldorado Face the Music A New World Record Out of the Blue Discovery Time Secret Messages Balance of Power Zoom Alone in the Universe From Out of Nowhere
Live albums	The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach Live at Wembley '78 Live at Winterland '76 The BBC Sessions Live at the BBC Electric Light Orchestra Live Wembley or Bust
Soundtracks	Xanadu
Compilations	Showdown Olé ELO The Light Shines On Three Light Years The Light Shines On Vol 2 ELO's Greatest Hits A Box of Their Best Four Light Years Afterglow ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra Strange Magic Light Years Definitive Collection Friends & Relatives Flashback The Ultimate Collection The Essential Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World Ticket to the Moon The Essential Electric Light Orchestra (2 CD Edition) Mr. Blue Sky
Singles	"10538 Overture" "Mr. Radio" (withdrawn) "Roll Over Beethoven" "Showdown" "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" "Can't Get It Out of My Head" / "Illusions in G Major" "Boy Blue" / "Eldorado" "Evil Woman" "Strange Magic" "Nightrider" "Strange Magic" "Livin' Thing" / "Fire On High" "Rockaria!" "Do Ya" "Telephone Line" / "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)" "Turn to Stone" / "Mister Kingdom" "Mr. Blue Sky" / "One Summer Dream" "Sweet Talkin' Woman" "Wild West Hero" "It's Over" "Shine a Little Love" "The Diary of Horace Wimp" "Don't Bring Me Down" "Confusion" "Last Train to London" "I'm Alive" "Xanadu" (with Olivia Newton-John) "All Over the World" "Don't Walk Away" "Hold On Tight" "Twilight" "Here Is the News" / "Ticket to the Moon" "Rain Is Falling" "The Way Life's Meant to Be" "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" "Secret Messages" "Four Little Diamonds" "Stranger" "Calling America" "So Serious" "Getting to the Point"
Videography	Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley (1980) Fusion – Live in London (1990) Zoom Tour Live (2001) ELO – Total Rock Review (2006) Live: The Early Years (2010) Jeff Lynne's ELO: Live in Hyde Park (2015) Wembley or Bust (2017)
Tours	Jeff Lynne's ELO Tour 2019 The Over and Out Tour (2024-25)
Touring members	Louis Clark Dave Morgan Gregg Bissonette Matt Bissonette Marc Mann Rosie Vela
Related articles	Discography Members Song list The Move Wizzard ELO Part II The Orchestra Violinski Earthrise L.E.O. Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO
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