Founded in 1969 by guitarist Frank Bornemann, the band is best known for their progressive rock music.

The name Eloy is based on the futurist race of humans from the book The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (there spelled "Eloi").

It was a start into an unknown future, and from this point of view, comparable to the human race in Wells' story.

[6] The band played at festivals in Germany and Switzerland in July 2011 with largely the same personnel as those on the 1994–1995 tour.

Although Eloy was a German rock band that debuted during the same time period as the introduction of krautrock, they are not a part of that music scene.