John Lennon Calls This Legendary Band ‘Son Of Beatles’
John Lennon (1940 - 1980) of the Beatles plays the guitar in a hotel room in Paris, 16th January 1964. (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Even John Lennon, one of the most legendary musicians of all time, had favorite songs outside of his own catalog. One of them? A groovy track by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Lennon once said this song reminded him of The Beatles and Marvin Gaye—and he meant it as a compliment.
Lennon Called ELO “Son of Beatles”
During a 1974 radio interview, Lennon talked about some songs he liked and wanted to play on air. One of them was “Showdown” by ELO. “We’re going to play Electric Light Orchestra, from last year,” he said. “‘Showdown,’ which I thought was a great record, and I was expecting it to be No. 1, but I don’t think UA [United Artists] got their fingers out and pushed it.”
Lennon shared his thoughts on the band as a whole too. “And it’s a nice group,” he said. “I call them Son of Beatles, although they’re doing things that we never did, obviously.”
A Blend of The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, and Lou Christie
Lennon felt that ELO picked up where The Beatles left off—especially when it came to the psychedelic masterpiece “I Am the Walrus.” “I remember the statement they made when they first formed was to carry on from where The Beatles left off with ‘[I Am the] Walrus,’ and they certainly did,” he said.
He even broke down what made “Showdown” special: “Now, for those people who would like to know where licks and things come from, like I do, because I’m always nicking little things myself—this is a beautiful combination of ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye and ‘[Lightnin’] Strikes’ … Lou Christie, and it’s a beautiful job with a little ‘Walrus’ underneath.”
How “Showdown” Did on the Charts
In the U.S., “Showdown” reached No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 18 weeks. It appeared on the American version of ELO’s album On the Third Day, which peaked at No. 52.
In the U.K., the song did even better—climbing to No. 12 and holding on for 10 weeks. It later appeared on ELO’s Greatest Hits, which hit No. 7 and stayed on the charts for 18 weeks. It may not have been ELO’s biggest hit, but “Showdown” clearly left a mark—especially if it caught the ear of John Lennon himself.
