The 1930s singer Jeff Lynne was always scared of turning into: “It’s just a weird thing”

Jeff Lynne, the ELO and Traveling Wilburys frontman, revealed in a 2015 remark that he long harboured a private fear about how his commercial success would be perceived, worrying that having "too many hits" would see him written off as a lightweight, easy-listening act in the mould of crooner Perry Como. He explained that critics and writers tend not to forgive artists for being too consistently popular, a view he said was shared by his late Wilburys bandmate Tom Petty.

Despite his enormous chart success across a decades-long career, Lynne suggested that widespread commercial appeal often works against critical respect, with prolific hitmakers viewed with suspicion rather than admiration. He ultimately came to accept that his music was made primarily for fans rather than critics, concluding that his achievements did not need external validation to be worthwhile.