1975 Pop Rock Hit Written in a 'Matter of Minutes' Became the Ultimate Breakup Anthem
Most classic breakup songs are on the sad side, but others are a bit more...angry. Falling into the latter category would definitely be Electric Light Orchestra's "Evil Woman" (as the title suggests).
Released off the band's fifth studio album, Face the Music, in 1975, "Evil Woman" became ELO's first worldwide hit, peaking at #10 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles chart and setting the group up for future chart-topping success with songs like "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Don't Bring Me Down."
Not bad for a song that was written pretty much on the spot, as Jeff Lynne explained years later.
"I wrote this in a matter of minutes," Lynne told Rolling Stonein 2016.
"The rest of the album [Face the Music] was done," he continued. "I listened to it and thought, ‘There's not a good single.' So I sent the band out to a game of football and made up ‘Evil Woman' on the spot. The first three chords came right to me. It was the quickest thing I'd ever done. We kept it slick and cool, kind of like an R&B song. It was kind of a posh one for me, with all the big piano solos and the string arrangement. It was inspired by a certain woman, but I can't say who. She's appeared a few times in my songs."
Whoever Lynne was writing about, it's clear that the two didn't part ways amicably:
Ha, ha, woman, what you gonna do?
You destroyed all the virtues that the Lord gave you
It's so good that you're feelin' pain
But you better get your face on board the very next train
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman
Even though "Evil Woman" was a major breakthrough for the band, Lynne said the song's success didn't actually make a huge difference for ELO.
"Playing concerts in those days wasn't fun," he recalled. "The sound was always bad, and we were still playing theatres and town halls, the occasional dance hall. After ‘Evil Woman', we got more gigs, but it didn't change my life all that much. You can't buy a palace or anything after just one hit."
Luckily for Lynne, "Evil Woman" wasn't his last hit. According to Finance Monthly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's net worth is estimated to be around $100 million dollars. (Sounds like enough for a palace.)
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 7:59 PM.