The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues | |
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The Moody Blues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1970; from left to right: Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas, John Lodge | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
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| Works | Discography |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Past members | |
| Website | moodybluestoday |
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint Warwick (bass/vocals). Originally part of the British beat and R&B scene of the early–mid 1960s, the band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick both left the band in 1966, with Edge, Pinder and Thomas recruiting new members Justin Hayward (guitar/vocals) and John Lodge (bass/vocals). They embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the late 1960s, with their second album, Days of Future Passed (1967), a fusion of rock with classical music (performed with the London Festival Orchestra) that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".[2]
The group released six more albums - In Search of the Lost Chord (1968), On the Threshold of a Dream (1969), To Our Children's Children's Children (1969), A Question of Balance (1970), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) and Seventh Sojourn (1972) - and toured extensively until they went on hiatus in 1974. Their records from this period were among the most successful in the progressive rock genre and produced FM radio hits such as "Nights in White Satin" (1967; charting again in 1972),[8] "Tuesday Afternoon" (1968), "Question" (1970), "The Story in Your Eyes" (1971), "Isn't Life Strange" (1972) and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" (1973). After resuming activities in 1977, Pinder left the following year and was replaced by former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz. In the 1980s they took on a more synth-pop sound, having hits with "Gemini Dream" (1981), "The Voice" (1981), "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986) and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (1988). "Your Wildest Dreams" made the Moody Blues the first act to earn each of its first three Top 10 singles in the United States in three different decades.[9] Moraz departed in 1991, followed by Thomas in 2002. Though the band stopped releasing albums after December (2003),[10] they continued to tour throughout the 2000s and later reunited periodically for events, one-off concerts, short tours and cruises, until Graeme Edge, the last remaining original member, retired in 2018.[11]
The Moody Blues sold 70 million albums worldwide,[12] including 18 platinum and gold LPs. They produced 16 studio albums, six of which made the US Top 20 (with two reaching No. 1) and eight of which made the UK Top 20 (with three reaching No. 1).[13] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
- ^ Perone, James E. (2009). Mods, Rockers, and the Music of the British Invasion. ABC-CLIO. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-275-99860-8. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b Ray, Michael, ed. (2012). Disco, punk, new wave, heavy metal, and more: Music in the 1970s and 1980s. Rosen Education Service. p. 107. ISBN 978-1615309085.
- ^ Prown, Pete; Newquist, HP (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 78. ISBN 978-0793540426.
... British art rock groups such as the Nice, Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, the Moody Blues, and Procol Harum ...
- ^ Chapman, Rob (18 September 2015). "The Moody Blues – psychedelia's forgotten heroes". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Tawa, Nicholas E. (2005). Supremely American: Popular Song in the 20th Century: Styles and Singers and what They Said about America. Scarecrow Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8108-5295-2.
- ^ The Magnificent Moodies 50th Anniversary liner notes. Cherry Red Records 2014.
- ^ "The Lost Moody Blues Album".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nights_oral_historywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Grein, Paul (26 July 1986). "Chart Beat". Billboard. p. 6.
- ^ "Justin Hayward Says No More Moody Blues Albums". Noise11.com. 2 March 2016.
- ^ Hayward, Justin (11 November 2021). "Graeme Edge Passing". moodybluestoday.com. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ Parker, Matt (25 July 2013). "Justin Hayward on The Moody Blues and writing in corners". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
meaning_am_songwriterwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).