Last Train to London

"Last Train to London" is a song from the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the fifth track from their album Discovery.

"Last Train to London"
UK single
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Discovery
A-side"Confusion" (UK)
B-side"Down Home Town" (US)
Released9 November 1979 (UK)
January 1980 (US)
Recorded1979, Musicland Studios, Munich, West Germany
Genre
Length4:31
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)		 "Last Train to London"
(1979)		 "I'm Alive"
(1980)
Discovery track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Shine a Little Love"
  2. "Confusion"
  3. "Need Her Love"
  4. "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
Side two
  1. "Last Train to London"
  2. "Midnight Blue"
  3. "On the Run"
  4. "Wishing"
  5. "Don't Bring Me Down"
Music video
"Last Train to London" on YouTube

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.[1] However, in the US the two songs charted 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.[2] Billboard Magazine described the song as having a "catchy pop melody with Beatlesque vocal qualities and a smooth layered sound."[3] In Spain the single was released with the Spanish title "Último tren a Londres".

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

Chart history
Chart (1979/80) Peak
position
Irish Singles Chart[4] 9
UK Singles Chart[1] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 39
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 36

Cover versions
  • 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 #2 in the UK.
  • In 2014 Eve St. Jones released a jazz cover on her Jazz, Coffee & Memories album.

References
  1. "Electric Light Orchestra". Offfical Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  2. "Electric Light Orchestra - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. 1 December 1979. p. 52. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Enter Electric Light Orchestra in the Search by Artist field, then click Search.


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