Groucutt began his musical career at 15 as Rikki Storm of Rikki Storm and the Falcons. He went on to sing with various outfits during the '60s, picking up the guitar as he went along. Groucutt was also a member of a band called "Sight and Sound", and later with a band called "Barefoot".
It was while playing with Barefoot in Birmingham that he was spotted by ELO's Jeff Lynne; and after Lynne, Bev Bevan and Richard Tandy had watched him play, he was invited to join ELO, to replace Mike de Albuquerque, who had recently left the band. Upon joining, he was asked to adopt a stage name because ELO had already had several members named Michael, Mike or Mik; he chose Kelly as being a school nickname. ELO then set off on their Eldorado tour. The first Electric Light Orchestra album to feature Kelly on bass guitar and as a backing vocalist was 1975's Face the Music. He assumed lead vocal duties on one or two album tracks typically, and his vocals can be heard on later ELO songs, most prominently is songs such as "Nightrider", "Poker", "Above the Clouds", "Across the Border", "Night in the City", "Sweet is the Night" and "The Diary of Horace Wimp". While he did not perform the operatic vocals in the studio, Groucutt often displayed his vocal talents by replicating them during live performances of "Rockaria!". Groucutt continued contributing on the albums A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery, Xanadu,Time, and the early sessions for Secret Messages. By Discovery, Groucutt's role in the band was reduced by Lynne from co-lead vocals to backing vocals exclusively, as well as his duties on bass. In 1982 he released his self-titled, debut solo album, Kelly. This album featured fellow ELO members Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, Mik Kaminski and their orchestral co-arranger and conductor Louis Clark. In 2001 this album was remastered for CD. Groucutt remained with ELO until the onset of the recording sessions for the album Secret Messages in 1982. It was at this juncture that he left the band, unhappy with royalty payments during his tenure, and made the decision to sue management and band leader Jeff Lynne. A settlement for the sum of £300,000 was reached out of court prior to proceedings. He is credited with playing bass on Secret Messages, although it has been stated from an official source that he only played on four songs from the original double album.
OrKestra
After his departure from ELO, he and former bandmate Mik Kaminski formed the group OrKestra. The pair quickly became dissatisfied with the poor promotion and record label the band received, especially as their first album, Beyond The Dream was delayed. Though at least one song was ready for use in the 1989 film Summer Job, the album itself was not released until 1991. By that point, Kaminski and Groucutt, joined by other ELO member Hugh McDowell, had guest starred in a tour with ELO Part II. In 1992, Groucutt and Kaminski both joined ELO Part II. In 1993, the group's second album, Roll Over Beethoven was released under the OrKestra name, though by that point the band was seemingly defunct. It included more material from Groucutt and Kaminski's tenure in the band. It is unknown if OrKestra continued on after the two left.
During his time in ELO Part II, Groucutt frequently shared lead vocal duties with Neil Lockwood, Phil Bates, Peter Haycock, and Eric Troyer. However, Haycock and Lockwood both left the band shortly after Groucutt's arrival. When the group released Moment of Truth, Groucutt contributed the song "The Fox", and co-wrote "Blue Violin" and "Twist of the Knife". Groucutt also appeared on the live albums Performing ELO's Greatest Hits Live and One Night - Live in Australia. While Groucutt was primarily the group's bassist, during some songs Groucutt would play guitar instead. When Bev Bevan sold his half of the rights to ELO back to Jeff Lynne in 1999, Groucutt chose to remain with the group. It was renamed The Orchestra, in an attempt to get past Lynne's refusal to allow this group to bank on the past reputation of Groucutt, Kaminski, and Clark. He again made writing contributions to the group's next album, No Rewind, by co-writing the closing track, "Before We Go".
Personal life
Groucutt was married twice. His first marriage produced three sons and a daughter. The birth of his fourth child was around the same time be begun to depart from ELO.
Death
On February 18, 2009, Groucutt returned from a sell-out show with The Orchestra in Berlin. He suffered from a heart attack shortly after, and died on the 19th at the Royal Worcester Hospital in Worcester. His family held a small, exclusive concert with members from The Orchestra in his memory.
