Melvyn Gale (born 15 January 1952)[1] is an English cellist.
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Melvyn Gale | |
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Birth name | Melvyn Gale |
Born | (1952-01-15) 15 January 1952 (age 70) London, England |
Genres | Rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Cello, keyboards |
Labels | Jet Records |
Born in London,[2] Gale attended the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He played his first professional concert with the London Palladium Orchestra in 1970.[3] He also played with the Bolshoi and Rambert Ballet companies, the London Youth Symphony Orchestra, and various West End shows.
He was a cellist for the Electric Light Orchestra from 1975, replacing Mike Edwards.[1] He is also an accomplished pianist, performing piano on "Wild West Hero" as well as occasionally live on "Roll Over Beethoven".[4]
In 1979, he appeared in the Discovery music video playing alongside the rest of the classic line-up (Mik Kaminski on violin and Hugh McDowell on cello) for the last time. He remained with the group until Jeff Lynne removed the string players from the line-up.
Gale and his friend Frank Wilson built a recording studio in 1979. On 12 April 1980, their first album was released under the name Wilson Gale & Co. and was titled Gift Wrapped Set. The album was recorded at Ramport Studios and was released on Jet Records.[3]
Gale ran a company which manufactured CDs and vinyl records for 18 years.[5]
Gale is a father of three children. He lives in Kent, teaching cello and piano.