Jeff Lynne, who hid himself away to write enough material for a double album, wrote the track in Switzerland. After a two week period of writers block dampened by the inclement weather outside, Lynne was suddenly inspired to write "Mr. Blue Sky" following a break in the weather when the entire area was bathed in sunshine, quickly followed by the remainder of the Out of the Blue songs including "Concerto for a Rainy Day".
The song was voted as Anthem of the Midlands beating other songs such as "Come on Eileen" and "Stairway to Heaven"[citation needed] and is played before each Birmingham City Football Club home game to honour Jeff Lynne for his lifelong support and his friendship with the former Blues football player Trevor Francis.