The Story of The Travelling Wilburys

Even the most star-studded groups tend to have the most innocuous beginnings

Image: Faroutmagazine.co.uk

Having released only two albums in three years, many consider The Travelling Wilburys to be the greatest group to have never performed live. Made up of George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison, they were a Supergroup among Supergroups.

While one may expect a line-up of such epic proportions to come with an equally epic backstory, the truth behind the formation of The Travelling Wilburys was an admittedly low-key affair. That being said, it remains quite a compelling tale nonetheless.

Let’s take a look at the story of one of the most underrated Supergroups of all time. This is the story of The Travelling Wilburys.

Beginnings

Having previously worked together on George Harrison’s Cloud Nine album, Harrison proposed the idea of forming a group with Lynne and a group of friends. The criteria for joining was to be a person “they could hang out with” Image: beatlesmagazine.com

Following the success of George Harrison’s 1987 Cloud Nine album, the former Beatle publicly spoke about wanting to produce an album with “some of his mates.” Jeff Lynne, who had worked with Harrison on Cloud Nine, was the first person considered for the plan and mentioned how Harrison had the idea in mind for months up to that point.