“Ticket to the Moon” is a popular song written and produced by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
It was recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany.
It was track 4 on the album Time (1981) and was released as a Double A along with “Here Is the News” in January 1982, reaching #24 in the UK charts. It hit #4 in France and #17 in Ireland. The song is somewhat reminiscent of their earlier output, featuring grand piano and more strings than their past few singles. It’s a melancholic song centered expressed in a one way ticket to the moon that forces to leave someone behind, apparently for good and a nostalgic reference to the 1980s, “when things were so uncomplicated”. Realistic moon landing sounds are included much to the style of the album “Time”. Rainer Pietsch conducted the strings on the song. The promo video featured Mik Kaminski on violin.
The single was also released as a limited edition 12″ picture disc showing the ELO spaceship. The same image was later used as the sleeve design for the UK follow up single “The Way Life’s Meant to Be“.
The name was used for a compilation album in 2007, Ticket to the Moon: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2.
The song was performed by Jeff Lynne (Acoustic & electric guitars, lead & backing vocals), Bev Bevan (Drums), Richard Tandy (Acoustic piano, synthesizers), Kelly Groucutt (Bass guitar, backing vocals), with Rainer Pietsch (Orchestra arranger, conductor).
