By pat darlington
ThisIsNottingham.co.uk
The Moody Blues The Moody Blues
There was hardly an empty seat at the Royal Concert Hall as the Moody Blues took to the stage. The three original members, Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge were joined by the excellent flautist Norda Mullen, Alan Hewitt on keyboards, Julie Ragins on keyboard and backing vocals, and Gordon Marshall on drums. The Moody Blues never fail to deliver, and tonight was no exception. They might all be in their sixties, but they can still rock with the best. The audience was treated to over two hours of suberb music. With Justin Hayward and John Lodge taking centre stage, the first half featured some maybe lesser known songs, such as Lean on Me from Keys to the Kingdom, along with old favourites such as Tuesday Afternoon and I Know you're Out There Somewhere. They left the stage for the interval to a well deserved standing ovation, leaving us all in expectation of great things in the second half. We were not to be disappointed. The rest of the show was filled with some of their known songs, including Wildest Dreams, Isn't life Strange, The Other Side of Life and Higher and Higher. This was sung by drummer Graeme Edge, dancing around on the stage with the flute player Norda. Having just turned sixty-nine he pointed out that he'd lived through the sixties twice. I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock nd Roll Band) was a real winner and for me the highlight of the evening. After the wonderful Nights in White Satin came Question and Ride My See Saw. With a repertoire as large as theirs, it is impossible to include everything, but this concert struck a good balance between classics and the lesser aired.