To convince Warner Bros to release the Roy Wood albums 'Super Active Wizzo' and 'On The Road Again' on CD by raising over 2,000 signatures!

2007 marks the 30th anniversary since the master tapes of 'Super Active Wizzo' were locked away in the record company vaults. 'On The Road Again' was sentenced to the same fate in 1979. Both albums have never appeared on CD and were only released (for good behaviour) as vinyl LPs for a very limited time before being deleted.

This injustice cannot continue!

Warner Bros have said they will hear our case if over 2,000 fans petition the company pledging to liberate the albums from stores if and when they appear on CD. Please sign the petition NOW!

 

Original albums
It was thanks to music business legend Mo Ostin that these albums even saw the light of day originally. Despite his best efforts, 'Super Active Wizzo' was released only in the UK while 'On The Road Again' appeared in Germany and America and hasn't even tasted freedom in Roy's home country - how crazy is that?! 

 

Super Active Wizzo
Recorded and released in 1977 with the short-lived Wizzo Band, this is Roy Wood at his most challenging and experimental - and some would say his best! The LP was the songwriters' deliberate attempt to move away from the 4-minute pop single and develop something new by fusing rock with jazz. For many fans, this period was a career high point but most critics didn't get Roy's desire to experiment and explore new musical horizons. While some were supportive, most bemoaned the length of the new songs and lack of an obvious single (where have we heard that before?). A successful performance broadcast on BBC TV's Sight & Sound In Concert was sadly followed by Roy suffering a period of ill-health, forcing the cancellation of a Wizzo Band UK tour while the singer recovered. 

 
On The Road Again
It was a further two years before Roy returned and when he did it was with an album the complete opposite of 'Super Active Wizzo'. Instead of lengthy and complex works, Roy was back on familiar ground creating concise and catchy miniature pop masterpieces. Many thought the style of 'On The Road Again' was a concession to the critical backlash of 'Super Active Wizzo' but go to the "read" section and you will see Roy was already talking about recording such a pop album even while promoting Wizzo.

 

The Petition
Lynn Hoskins, administrator for the official Move and ELO internet mailing lists set up the original petition and if you have signed that one - great - you don't need to sign again here. Many fans on the lists thought it would be a good idea to also have a dedicated webpage where people could not only sign up but hear samples of music from both albums and read a little about their background and why they matter.

If you haven't signed the earlier petition, PLEASE sign the new one HERE.

Release Roy Website
Though not affiliated with Roy Wood, his official website at www.roywood.co.uk or The Move's Useless Information internet mailing list, the genesis of Release Roy came from discussions amongst fans on the list. This led to fans worldwide getting together to contribute to the setting up of Release Roy - and here we are!

Release Roy is run by me, a fan and Useless Information list member. I promise your email address will not be used for anything other than notifying you of news about the release of Roy's albums. All signatures collected here will be delivered directly to Lynn.

If we all get together, we can release some great music back into the world. Please spread the word and sign here!