The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 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, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music 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".
A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra is a live album by The Moody Blues, recorded from a live performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on 9 September 1992. This performance was the first time The Moody Blues performed in concert backed by a full orchestra. The concert was held in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their second album, Days of Future Passed, which had featured the London Festival Orchestra. The full video of this concert was broadcast as a fundraising broadcast for PBS in the United States.
On the Threshold of a Dream is the fourth album by the Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. The album reached the top of the album charts, the group's first No. 1 album in the UK. According to guitarist Justin Hayward, "I think Threshold is the defining album for the Moody Blues. And it's the one in the '60's that you would find in people's homes when you went, they would have that album."
David Justin Hayward is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until that group's dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific songwriter over the 1967–1974 period, and composed several international hit singles for the band.
Octave is the ninth album by the Moody Blues, released in 1978, and their first release after a substantial hiatus following the success of the best-selling Seventh Sojourn in 1972. Released after a considerable break, which saw The Moody Blues returning in an era of punk music and disco, Octave produced a reduced commercial outcome for the band, but reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom and went platinum in the United States, where the album reached No. 13. The album produced the hit single "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", which hit No. 39 in the US, in addition to "Driftwood". The album's title is a musical pun: it references both the notion of an octave; and as a word derived from the Latin octavus it refers to this being the eighth album by this line-up of the Moody Blues.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is the seventh album by The Moody Blues, released in 1971. The album reached No. 1 on the British album chart, in addition to a three-week stay at No. 2 in the United States, and produced one top-40 single, "The Story in Your Eyes".
Blue Jays is a 1975 album by Justin Hayward and John Lodge. It was recorded and released during the Moody Blues' five-year hiatus.
Night Flight is a studio album by Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward, released on Decca Records in 1980. It was reissued on CD in September 1989.
Graeme Charles Edge was an English musician, songwriter and poet, best known as the co-founder and drummer of the English band the Moody Blues. In addition to his work with the Moody Blues, Edge worked as the bandleader of his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band. He contributed his talents to a variety of other projects throughout his career. In 2018, Edge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.
The Present is the eleventh album by the Moody Blues, released in 1983. This was the group's last original studio album to be released on their custom label, Threshold Records.
John Charles Lodge is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter of the longstanding rock band the Moody Blues. He has also worked as a record producer and has collaborated with other musicians outside the band. In 2018, Lodge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.
Sur la Mer is the thirteenth album by the Moody Blues. It was released in 1988. It features the hit single "I Know You're Out There Somewhere", a sequel to their 1986 hit "Your Wildest Dreams". Much of the music on the album would fit in the "synthpop" genre, though it does incorporate more rock and acoustic influences than its predecessor.
Strange Times is the fifteenth and penultimate studio album by the rock band the Moody Blues, released in 1999. The sound features mostly acoustic guitar, slightly processed electric guitar, light organ, flute, and string arrangements, with heavy synthesizer use in the fast-paced opening track, "English Sunset". This was the last Moody Blues album to feature longtime flautist and vocalist Ray Thomas.
Natural Avenue is the debut solo album by John Lodge of The Moody Blues, released in 1977 during the Moody Blues' five year hiatus. During the five years, Lodge also collaborated with Justin Hayward for an album titled Blue Jays. While Natural Avenue wasn't exactly a hit, the album fared slightly better than Hayward's release of Night Flight three years later. Music critic Robert Hillburn gave the album a favourable review in the Los Angeles Times. The album's cover features artwork by English artist Roger Dean.
"Your Wildest Dreams" is a 1986 single by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward. The song was first released as a single, and later released on the Moody Blues' 1986 album The Other Side of Life.
"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" is a 1988 single by the English rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by guitarist Justin Hayward, and it is the sequel to the Moody Blues' 1986 single "Your Wildest Dreams", also written by Hayward. It is the band's final Top 40 single in the United States, peaking at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, released in 1989. The band recorded new versions of "Isn't Life Strange" and "Question" with orchestration by the London Symphony Orchestra. The arrangements were overseen by Anne Dudley, who also produced the recordings with Justin Hayward and John Lodge. In 1990, only a year after its original release, the album was re-released as Legend of a Band: The Story of the Moody Blues with different artwork to coincide with the release of the home video documentary of the same name.
Hall of Fame is a live album by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was recorded at a concert performed at the Royal Albert Hall, which included backing by a live orchestra. The album was released on 8 August 2000. It is the second Moody Blues live album to feature a live orchestra, with the first being A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. This is the last live release to feature Ray Thomas.
Justin Hayward and Friends Sing the Moody Blues Classic Hits is an album by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues with the Frankfurt Rock Orchestra and Michael Sadler of Saga and Shaun Williamson as guest-singers. It's an album of tracks taken from the Moody Blues discography, played with orchestral arrangements with lead vocal duties being taken in turn by Hayward, Sadler, and Williamson.
Moody Bluegrass is a bluegrass music project that produced two tribute albums to the British progressive rock band the Moody Blues. The albums consist of bluegrass-style cover versions of Moody Blues songs performed by a variety of noted bluegrass and country music artists.
