13 February 2021 – a sad day of mourning for all the fans of Electric Light Orchestra and music; Louis Clark died at the age of 73. No cause of death has been revealed, but Clark had been ill for months and faced kidney problems. The legendary musician was the orchestra conductor/arranger of Electric Light Orchestra and the conductor of the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra on the “Hooked on Classics” series of albums. Clark did the orchestral arrangements in most of the ELO classics , from the “El Dorado” album (1974) until the “Xanadu” OST (1980). Later he played synthesizers in ELO’s “Time Tour”, he conducted and arranged strings in ELO’s “Secret Messages” album (1983) and played again keyboards in ELO’s 1986 live shows. Clark was a member of ELO Part II and The Orchestra, ELO’s incarnations without Jeff Lynne. Louis Clark released his one and only solo album in 1979 (“(per-spek-tiv) n.”) via Jet Records, a symphonic art rock masterpiece with great compositions and marvellous orchestrations. Clark cooperated as an arranger with many other artists: Roy Orbison, Ozzy Osbourne, America, Asia, Renaissance, City Boy, etc.
His death was announced by his wife Gloria, who posted on Louis Clark official Facebook page: “He passed very peacefully surrounded by love. This morning he watched Premier League soccer and listened to The Beatles, two things he loved. This afternoon I told him I loved him, he said I love you too, and we kissed. He was gone five minutes later. We love this man forever and always. He was a good man, loved by many and will be greatly missed by all. We want to thank family, friends and fans who have always loved and supported him”.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Clark.
