Biography of The Moody Blues

Formed in Birmingham, England, as an R&B quintet in 1963, The Moody Blues originally consisted of Denny Laine (guitar), Mike Pinder (piano), Ray Thomas (harmonica), Graeme Edge (drums), and Clint Warwick (bass). The band emerged in 1965 with a soulful cover of an American R&B number called "Go Now," which topped the charts in both England and America. They toured with The Beatles and seemed poised for stardom, but none of their subsequent records made any impact. The quintet soon returned to playing the ballroom circuit, discovering at the same time that their management had filched much of their prior earnings. Amid these crises, Laine -- who, after a furtive solo career and a tour with Ginger Baker, became Paul McCartney's lead guitarist in Wings -- and Warwick were voted out of the group. In their places came Justin Hayward (guitar) and John Lodge (bass).The Moody Blues' 1966 records were heavily influenced by The Beatles, very upbeat, and unsuccessful. But in 1967 they were asked to record a stereo demonstration record with a major production budget, and came up with Days of Future Passed. Built around the concept of a day represented by rock songs, which were bridged by sweeping orchestral passages, this record yielded two major hits, "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin," of which the latter became their signature tune. The Moodies established themselves as the pop mystics of the Summer of Love, their music blossoming on a series of impeccably produced albums in pseudo-classical glory, driven by Pinder's lush Mellotron orchestrations, Haywards and Lodge's multilayered guitars, Thomas's flute, and a great beat from Graeme Edge, when he wasn't reciting overblown poetry. Although many critics looked down on them, the band was very popular with college-age listeners and broadened the spectrum of rock sounds, thus paving the way for such art-rock outfits as King Crimson, Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.In 1973, after seven albums, The Moodies decided to take a five-year hiatus devoted to solo projects. Pinder exited permanently following the 1978 comeback album, Octave, and was replaced by ex-Yes keyboard player Patrick Moraz. At this point, they became less interesting -- Hayward could be relied on for passionate love songs, Lodge for driving but predictable rockers, and Thomas for his mysticism, which sounded woefully out of place in the '80s, but except for an occasional hit like 1986's nostagia-laden "In Your Wildest Dreams" (itself a look back at their own history), little of the new material stood out. The Moodies were reduced to the status of an arena oldies act. ~ Bruce Eder