Years later, BBC DJ Chris Evans invited Lynne on the air and, with listener backing, urged him to tour again.

[5] The recording of his solo covers album, Long Wave (2012), was also inspirational for Lynne, and led him to experiment more with his songwriting based on the described "adventurous" qualities of the traditional pop standards he had chosen.

[6] The group subsequently returned for a single performance at Hyde Park in September 2014 as Jeff Lynne's ELO.

[5] Lynne said he had not spoken to co-founder Bev Bevan in about 30 years, adding "Richard is my lifetime man in the group.

[5] Lynne played nearly every instrument himself; the only other two people involved in the album's production were Laura Lynne, Jeff's daughter, who sings background vocals on "Love and Rain" and "One Step at a Time", and Steve Jay, the album's engineer, who plays the shaker and tambourine.

[2] When asked by a journalist what he had been doing since Zoom, the previous ELO album, Lynne jokingly responded: "I have no idea.

The lyrics are about Lynne's childhood and teenage years in Birmingham, a part of his life he had visited through "Long Black Road" on Zoom.

[11] "The Sun Will Shine on You" is a slow song that Lynne wrote for somebody he loved who was facing some big trouble, and at the same time to cheer himself up.

"[13] "I'm Leaving You" was a song Lynne wrote in tribute of his close friend and fellow Wilbury, Roy Orbison.

"[3] The last single released before the album saw the light was "One Step at a Time", which has a slightly more modern disco vibe.

It's got some very intricate chords in the verse, which I like a lot, because it's sort of old-fashioned music but with a regular rock and roll beat.

"[14] Lynne also described the start of the title song, "Alone in the Universe": It was inspired by an article he read about the Voyager 1 probe leaving the solar system, becoming the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.

[18] Shortly before the album's release in November 2015, Jeff Lynne's ELO set out on a short promotional tour of the UK which included an intimate set at Porchester Hall, London,[19] a full performance for BBC Radio 2 at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, and an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance.

[22] On 5 April 2016, Jeff Lynne's ELO embarked on a full Alone in the Universe tour,[23] appearing at arena venues in UK and Europe, including the O2 in London and the 3Arena in Dublin,[24] with English rock band The Feeling in primary support.

"[40] The Guardian suggested in its four of five star review: "While he only once comes close to matching the pop perfection of his 70s imperial phase ... there's plenty to enjoy elsewhere.

There is only one misstep – the clumsy, Whitesnake-worthy lyrics to "Dirty to the Bone" are rooted a little too firmly in the 70s – but otherwise this is an excellent return.

"[43] Trucking concluded a two of five star review by suggesting: "While not necessarily horrendous, AITU hardly recaptures ELO's glory days, sounding empty, under-produced, and more like a collection of 1970s B-sides.