Krisemma Wine is available in the UK for the next two weeks via JohnLodge.com and will then be available again in February. To tie in with the UK release, John recently did a Q & A about his Krisemma 2011 Bordeaux AOC Wine, check it out at http://johnlodge.com/?p=439. Signed bottles of the wine are available in the UK for the next two weeks, see http://johnlodge.com/?p=425 for more details on the wine and how to order! Information on US availability will be with you in the new year!

Posted on 11/21/2014 NWITimes.com The intimate atmosphere of Chicago’s City Winery proved the perfect venue for Moody Blues guitarist and songwriter Justin Hayward to make musical magic. Hayward performed to full houses during three shows Monday and Tuesday at the supper-club like theater. During the 10 p.m. Monday show, Hayward was in stellar form as he offered a blend of favorites and contemporary material. “We’re going to be doing some new things and some old things in this show,” he told the crowd. The solo concert largely put the focus on tunes from his latest solo album, released last year, “Spirits of the Western Sky.” The current tour also celebrates the release of “Spirits …Live – Live at the Buckhead Theatre,” which was released in August on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and digital formats. The album was recorded while he was on a solo tour in 2013 to support “Spirits of the Western Sky.” During the concert, Hayward was a personable songsmith as he not only delivered passionate renditions of beloved tunes and newer selections but also gave a bit of insight into what inspired the songs. On the show playlist were “One Day, Someday,” Moody Blues’ hit “Tuesday Morning,” which he opened with, the upbeat “Your Wildest Dream,” “The Eastern Sun” and the poignant “The Western Sky,” which Hayward described as being inspired by growing up in Swindon, England. “My late brother and I shared a room at the back of the house,” he said, adding from the window in that room they saw whatever “weather was coming,” beautiful sunsets and more from “that Western Sky.” Prior to the closing number “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere,” Hayward treated fans to a strong version of the iconic “Nights in White Satin,” the musical masterpiece he penned.

Parade.com by: Nancy Berk What do you wear when you’re asked to go backstage and meet a rock legend? I’m not sure, but until last weekend, I’d never had the privilege of worrying about that. Of course, as my luck would have it, this rock star moment happened in mid-life which meant I was bringing a little more baggage to the situation, including a great husband. Still, it was a fabulous dilemma to tackle, and one that disappeared as soon as the music began. Read the Full Article HERE.

The singer-guitarist will perform band hits, solo work at Parker Playhouse. By Nick Sortal, SouthFlorida.com Justin Hayward still loves touring with the Moody Blues. But he's equally enthralled with performing on his own. "I get withdrawal symptoms when I'm not going out there," says Hayward, 68. "I feel a duty to these songs to deliver them, to do something with them and make them live." Hayward leads a trio that will appear Friday, Oct. 24, in Fort Lauderdale. Much of the concert will feature favorites from the 48 years he has spent as guitarist, singer and songwriter with the Moody Blues, but it also includes solo work, including material from last year's "Spirits of the Western Sky" album. "In this solo context, you can hear every kind of nuance, just three of us onstage," Hayward says. "Everything we do is crystal. We all have to be on it, all the time. It's a real pleasure, a real discipline that you've gotta play it, and play it right. I really enjoy that, too." Hayward joined the Moody Blues in 1966, two years after it was formed. From there, the band began a run that has seen it sell 70 million albums, including "Tuesday Afternoon" in 1968, "Nights in White Satin" in 1972 and "Your Wildest Dreams" in 1986. "Some of them, it's really nice exploring them, and getting into why I wrote them and how I feel," Hayward says of the old songs. "It's kind of a cathartic thing. I don't want to be too serious, because music is ultimately trivial. But as long as we all stay healthy, we'll keep doing it." While other bands have turned 50th anniversaries into tours, the Moody Blues haven't garnered the attention of, say, the Rolling Stones' golden anniversary tour or the Who's upcoming victory march. "Well, that's probably down to us. We'd be the ones to have to get it going," Hayward says. "You can't expect people to recognize it without getting it out there, but it's still a remarkable statistic." He's also realistic that while the Moody Blues are popular, but sometimes overshadowed. "We've always been on the periphery. We've always been somebody's sort of fifth favorite band," he says. "But that's been not a bad thing. We weren't celebrities, so we never had a real kind of 15 minutes of fame." Justin Hayward will perform 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St., in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $37.50 to $57.50. A VIP package costs $157.50 and includes seating in the first 10 rows, collectible tour items and an autographed poster. Call 800-745-3000 or go to ParkerPlayhouse.com.

Musicradar.com “It’s a song that never seems to go away," says The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward of the band's pop/proto-prog orchestral masterpiece and perennial hit Nights In White Satin. "It was a slow build, and of course, it was released a few times, but once it took hold, it did so in a really big way. It seemed to get into people’s minds and just stay there. The whole thing's very strange and wonderful." The lush, transporting and immersive track, which appeared as a full-blown epic (clocking in at over seven and a half minutes, complete with a spoken-word poetry section called Late Lament) on the band's 1967 album Days Of Future Passed, was released in edited form as a single in November of that year. The song reached the top of the charts in France, but in the UK it only got as high as number 17. “It was fantastic to hit the top in France, but of course, we were hoping to repeat that success elsewhere," Hayward says. "Once it dropped off the UK chart, that seemed to be it for the song." He laughs, then adds, "For a while, at least. As we all know, it came back bigger than ever, and it's had all of these different lives over the years." In the following interview, Hayward recounts the writing and recording of The Moody Blues' signature song, as well as its unexpected re-entry into the charts in 1972, an occurrence that the singer says "changed my life and the band's lives forever." Walk me through the writing of the song. As I understand it, you started it when you were 19. “Right. It was in early 1967, and I’d just come home from a gig. I was living in a one-room flat. I sat on the side of the bed and wrote the basic two verses and two choruses with a 12-string acoustic. I took it to the rehearsal room the next day because the guys were expecting me to have something to work up for a stage show. I played it for them and they were like, ‘Huh… it’s OK.’ I don’t think they were that thrilled – they didn’t hear it straightaway. “But then Mike said, ‘Play it again,’ so I did. I sang ‘Nights in white satin... ’ and he did that little 'da da da-da-da-da-daaa’ on the Mellotron. Then everybody seemed to get interested; it made sense to them. Once he delivered that phrase, which is really quite important, the song started working for them.” The song, along with the album Days Of Future Passed, came out in 1967, during the height of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper period. Is it safe to say you guys were influenced by them a bit? “Oh, sure, more than a bit. I'd admit that, and I think other musicians who were around at the time would, too. To be part of the musical scene in London during that whole period was amazing, and The Beatles were our leaders, undoubtedly. They showed us the way. Sgt. Pepper and Strawberry Fields and other songs they did at the time – they gave us the freedom to try anything. “Obviously, we didn’t have the power or the money that The Beatles had. They could indulge every whim in the studio and basically do whatever they wanted. We had to catch a lucky break with Days Of Future Passed. That lucky break from Decca, who wanted a demonstration record for their new stereo systems, and that’s how we got to make the album. “To be honest, because we made the album as a stereo demonstration record, I thought that only a handful of people would even get to listen to it because only a handful of them had stereos at the time. What I didn’t realize was that FM radio was starting to take off in America, and the DJs and programmers were starved for good stereo records. Even The Beatles had mono records at the time, which sounded great, but the people were starting to want stereo." Like Sgt. Pepper, the album was recorded on four-track? “We did everything on four-track. It wasn't as elaborate as it might seem at all. We recorded it at Decca Number One in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead. We put our songs down, and then Tony Clarke, Derrick Varnals and bounced that with Peter recording a count through the entire 48 minutes. Then the orchestra came in for a three-hour session, and they rehearsed to a tape with our tracks and that count. So our tracks were finished in stereo, and then the orchestra, after a tea break, played their parts and recorded on that. That was it. “By the way, it's called The London Festival Orchestra, but that's just a name that we made up. It sounded right, but they didn’t actually exist. It was just a group of gypsies – that's what we called them – these string players that would do a lot of sessions. Peter Knight put them together. He was signed to Decca, and he did the orchestral arrangements between our songs for the album." The poetry section, the Late Lament, was that always a part of the song? “That came about because we needed some kind of summing up of the story. We had a feeling within the band that everybody should contribute, not just me and Mike. Graeme didn’t think that he had anything to contribute musically, but he did want to write something that pulled the Days Of Future Passed story together, which is the story of the day in the life of one guy, really. “That’s where that came about. So Mike did the poetry reading. He had such a beautiful, charming voice – mesmerizing. He could persuade me to do anything with that voice of his. So his voice doing the poetry section really made the whole piece feel complete. He did the recording in the dark while lying on his back, with the rest of us sitting around quite stoned.”

When an artist is indelibly identified primarily with an incredibly successful rock band and well-known for writing and singing dozens of its signature songs, any attempt to launch a solo career is bound to be a challenge. And when the individual in question is Justin Hayward, one of the longtime mainstays of the Moody Blues, any effort of the sort becomes all the more daunting.

Hayward joined the Moodys immediately after its transition from a wannabe blues band with the minor chart hit, "Go Now," and helped transform them into bold forebears helming the prog rock revolution of the late '60s and early '70s. It was Hayward who penned such FM standbys as "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon," and "Your Wildest Dreams."

Even now, with six solo studio albums and a prominent role on the best-selling concept album The War of the Worlds to his credit, he's still readily identified with the songs he contributed to the band's classic canon. Nevertheless, Spirits of the Western Sky, Hayward's first solo outing since 1996's The View From the Hill, went a long way toward elevating his solo profile.

With the Moodys seemingly at a standstill as far as any new recordings were concerned, Hayward found ample reason to tour with the band and also venture out on his own. Hayward's new album/DVD, Spirits... Live -- Live From the Buckhead Theater, Atlanta, provides a telling preview of the solo show he'll offer when his current tour lands at the Parker Playhouse on Friday.

With its generous sampling of Moody Blues classics and various highlights from his solo catalog, expect an intriguing overview of Hayward's career spanning more than 40 years of essential tunes.

New TimesWhen you're faced with the challenge of doing the Moody Blues material in a solo context, does it take a lot of rearranging and rethinking? 
Justin Hayward: Not really, because what I did was just to go back to the way the songs were in my music room, exactly the way I took them to the band, or I took them into the music studio, or in the last few years, to the engineer or the producer. That's the basics of it, and I've tried to include the things I would have recorded at home on my own gear and brought into the studio.

What's missing of course is the drums, but not having the drums allowed the acoustic guitars to breathe, and you can hear all the different pitching and intonation, which is lovely actually. So I'm bringing my music room vibe out on the road. That's how it is.

You do have some fine musicians backing you up, but of course the Moodies harmonies aren't there and the focus is on your voice almost entirely. Was there any special thinking as to how to work around the missed voices heard on the albums? I'm lucky that I get to have that with the Moodys in that big production. Thankfully, the Moodys are alive and well and this is certainly the best incarnation of the Moodys that I've been in. That's for sure. Julie Ragins, who tours in my solo band, has been handling those harmony vocals for quite some time now with the Moodys, so she knows them well.

It wouldn't be right to bring in all these other voices just for that. In truth, on the records, I would always do the harmonies myself. So it was just a question of being a little more selective with the harmonies that we use. One really allows me to be really comfortable with the other. This small show with my acoustic guitars -- my guitars from home -- really frees my mind to do the Moodys thing as well. It's a perfect complement. Without either one of them, I'd be thinking what else I could do to get my own pleasure out of touring and to rediscover the songs for myself.

How are you able to narrow down the selection you include from such a vast amount of material both in the group and your solo catalog? Well, I've said it before. It's not what we play, it's what we leave out.

You have said that before. The last time we spoke in fact. Yes, and I say it again. It's about finding things that work and things that seem to be appropriate in the moment that you do them. I'm recording the show I'm doing tonight, and the producer is asking me, "Well, have you got anything else?"

So I thought about it last night and decided I'll do some unusual things and just see how they work. I think about things that are well-suited for acoustic guitar. It's harder to do things I wrote on keyboards. On this tour, I tried some things I wrote on keyboards, but I feel much more comfortable singing when I have a guitar in front of me. The songs on this tour are coming out of those acoustic guitars and what's right for this set.

When you're on stage with the Moodys, you have John, you have Graeme, you have the other members of the band. But when you're up there solo, most of the focus is on you. Is that intimidating in any way? I know what you mean, but on the other hand, it's only me to blame. I can't blame anyone else if something goes wrong or somebody doesn't come up to par. It's a fact that I want to do right by the songs. It's about the songs; it's not so much about me. It's about what's being said in the songs and how that comes across. And for me, there is a kind of cathartic element. The Moody Blues show is a big production and there's a lot that goes into that. Not just the songs or the playing; it's the whole presentation of it and the way it looks and the way it's put across. All that kind of stuff.

But with the solo shows, it's really just about the songs and what comes out of those guitars. So I'm trying to do justice to those and express those, and in doing that, it's kind of a cathartic thing for me. There are things in the past that I didn't really understand at the time, even when they had to do with my own life. I'm well aware that it's not that important -- music is ultimately trivial -- so I don't expect anyone to get worked up about my own catharsis, but still, it's in there.

I assume that a lot of the people that come to the show will know these songs already, but hopefully they'll enjoy hearing them the way they were originally conceived.

Do you find that the audiences have certain expectations. Do you get a certain vibe from them that dictates what you present and how you present it? I do, and I kind of think there's a point in the show where they're waiting, and it's like, "OK, come on, do it!"

Funny enough, the one that breaks that ice is "Forever Autumn." It's a song I never got to do with the Moodys. That's the most peculiar thing. It's the song that kind of opens the floodgates in the show, and it's a release.

Is this the longest you've toured behind one of your solo albums?
 It is, because I'm really building something that I hope can last. I really see a great opportunity here. The promoters are very welcoming to me. They want me to tour. I just don't feel like saying no. This year, I would have done five tours. It's a real busy year for me. Next year looks like it will be real busy too... Not so much with solo things, but we have a lot of Moody Blues activity set up for Europe and the U.K. It's rather intense, but I figure I've gotten to the time in my life where I want to do this.

When you're in your 20s and 30s and 40s, you figure you can take your time, but now I really want to do it while it's there for me. While the promoters are there, while the crowds are there.

Is it difficult trying to arrange the solo tours in the midst of the Moody Blues activities?
 Sometimes. The Moodys kind of take priority, but there was one time this year when I said to the guys, "Listen, I've been offered some nice stuff and I'd really like to do it in this time period and so I won't be available to the band," and they were just fine with it.

So they're fine with you taking off and doing your solo thing? It's not something that's discussed so much. I know there's always a general feeling in the band that whatever I do, or whatever somebody else does is, that there's always going to be an element of the Moodys in it regardless.

So the other guys don't feel left out in the cold so to speak? I couldn't see a new album of Moodys material on the horizon. There are a lot of other things for the Moodys to do, but I had so many songs and I just had to do them. And Eagle Rock, the record company, had been so supportive, so behind me. It's like Decca in the old days where you have a record company that says, "Whatever you want to do is just fine with us. We're right behind you. We'll give you a promotion team, we're going to produce it well."

And that's why I really started touring, in support of them, to give them back some of the stuff they'd given me. They invested a lot of faith in me and that's wonderful to have a record company like that. And then I got sort of hooked on this whole idea of solo touring. And when I found my guitarist, Mike Dawes, the whole thing just fell into place. He's worth the price of admission all on his own.

How did you find him? It was one of those things. You know how when you're online, you look to one thing on YouTube and it leads to another? I clicked on a link I found to Mike, and I immediately thought, "This kid's brilliant!" He's part of this whole new generation of players. He has this unique way of playing. I just called him up and we met and it just clicked really. He loves the songs and he learns them instantly. It's such a great pleasure for me. And he's such a road buddy and that's so important to me.

One can only imagine how delighted he must have been to get a call from Justin Hayward. I think so, and I hope so. His dad was (laughs). His dad was really turned on, because Mike's only like 24-years-old. (laughs). He really went for it. And I thought, I have to give him his own thing, so he opens the show for me. You won't see anyone play like he does.

Many of the solo songs you're playing on your Spirits album seem like they could fit so well into the Moodys repertoire. Is there still no plan for the band to go into the studio again at this point?
 (Takes deep breath) I don't know what it is. We're in this state where we're enjoying rediscovering our old catalogue. We're discovering ourselves in a kind of road format. I think we're just happy enjoying that. And so we're being a bit selfish. We're doing the things we find enjoyable. We're scattered all around the world. One or two of us would have to leave home for a couple of months just to record. Albums are made differently now. Each guy records his own, but sort of separately. So I don't know what it would be like anymore. I think we're just happy doing what we're doing now.

You personally seem very happy to be making new music. Your last studio album was certainly highly anticipated after an eight year lapse from your last individual outing. And the response was very positive, so that indicates there is a hunger for new music, either solo or together. I hope so. However, we're also stuck with that dilemma that if we do something new, the label will want to piggyback another greatest hits on top of it. They're interested in the catalog as well, and recycling the old material. That's not a reason not to do it, but I'm not sure how it would happen, that's all.

As far as you're own efforts however, can we safely assume there will be another Justin album on the horizon? I hope so. I have some material left over from the last album, so I think so.

In listening to your music, it becomes so apparent that you have a certain serenity that seems to define you through the music. The emotional connection you establish is so apparent in your songs. So are you, for lack of a better word, a metaphysical sort of guy? I take that as it's meant, as a compliment. But it's also a little bit disturbing. I wonder what the hell my life would be like without the music. It would be unfulfilled somehow. There would be something missing. So that means I have to have a lot of patient people around me who accept the fact that, "Yes, he's that guy who reads his books all the time and plays his guitar," and they're not allowed into that world.

Well, sadly, you and I have never had the opportunity to go out drinking or anything like that, so I can't really attest to the wackier side of Justin Hayward.
 (Laughs) I suppose not.

Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues performs at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 24, at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $37.50 to $57.50 plus fees. Call 954-764-1441, or visit parkerplayhouse.com.




Moody Blues lead Justin Hayward shares with Ernie his craft of song writing - including the inspiration for his biggest hit "Nights in White Satin."

Courtesy of Sal Cirrincione, Premiere Networks Moody Blues bassist John Lodge was recently in the studio recording a song for a Gene Vincent tribute album called The Black Leather Rebel. A very young Lodge crossed paths with the early American rock and roller in 1964 when Vincent moved to England. Lodge tells us exclusively, "I was asked if I wanted to be the bass player in his U.K. band so I had a meeting with him at the TV studio where he was appearing was asked if I would write a song for him, which I did. It was called 'Stay Away From Me' and, to my knowledge, I was the only person to have a copy of this demo. a few years ago this demo appeared on an album called In Search of the Lost Moody Blues Songs. After the release of this album I received a letter from the Gene Vincent Appreciation Society saying, 'If Gene had recorded this song in 1964 he would have had the hit he needed at that time in his career.'" Lodge ended up not working with Vincent, but pursued his own musical path with the Moodies. The song will be on the album, but not as performed by Lodge. He recorded "Important Words," which is one of his Vincent favorites. The album will be initially released in Europe.

972thevan.com It's been just over a month since The Moody Blues wrapped up their latest North American tour, but now frontman Justin Hayward is set to embark on a new U.S. solo trek . The monthlong outing kicks off Friday in Durham, North Carolina, and is plotted out through a November 17 concert in Chicago. This tour leg is the third that the 68-year-old singer/guitarist has mounted without his band since the early-2013 release of his latest solo album, Spirits in the Western Sky , and he tells ABC News Radio that he's sort of getting addicted to playing these stripped-down shows. "It's become a kind of drug for me," says Hayward. "I'm enjoying it, and it's the perfect balance to The Moody Blues." Justin, who has been alternating solo tours and Moody Blues treks since the summer of 2013, notes that he's "very pleased that one allows the other." He adds, "You know, the Moodies, the big production...if I just did that I'm not sure I'd be satisfied anymore. So, to have this, to bring my own acoustic guitars out and to enjoy them and to just play the role of acoustic guitar player and singer again is very refreshing." The new trek will see Hayward and his small backup group -- virtuoso guitarist Mike Dawes and multi-instrumentalist/backing vocalist Julie Ragins -- visiting a variety of East Coast cities, as well as some Midwest sites. Several of the shows will take place at the same venues where Justin performed during his August 2013 tour in support of Spirits , including The Concert Hall in New York City and the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta. In fact, Hayward's 2013 show at the latter theater was the one that was captured for his recently released Spirits…Live CD, DVD and Blu-ray. Meanwhile, Hayward promises that fans who come out to his new concerts will get to experience "a different show" from his previous outings. "I'm introducing quite a few different numbers to what we did on the DVD, and it's kind of evolving, this stage show," he explains. Among the tunes Justin says he's adding to his set are two Moody Blues gems -- "Watching and Waiting" from 1969's To Our Children's Children's Children album and "You Can Never Go Home" from 1971's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour . Hayward points out that these numbers hail from a time he refers to as his "blue period." "I went through very disturbed time, I think, in…the late '60s and early '70s," he explains, "and I wanted to revisit some of those songs as I kind of cathartic exercise for myself, to try and figure out what the hell was going on." Hayward tells ABC News Radio that following the solo trek, he'll rejoin The Moody Blues for another road trip. He says that although nothing's confirmed, the band is eyeing a 2015 U.S. tour leg that would run from the middle of March through May. Here are all of Hayward's solo U.S. tour dates: 10/17 -- Durham, NC, Carolina Theatre 10/18 -- Newberry, SC, Newberry Opera House 10/20 -- Clearwater, FL, Capitol Theater 10/22 -- Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theatre 10/23 -- Orlando, FL, The Plaza LIVE 10/24 -- Ft Lauderdale, FL, Parker Playhouse 10/26 -- Atlanta, GA, Buckhead Theatre 10/28 -- York, PA, The Pullo Center 10/29 -- Sellersville, PA, Sellersville Theatre 10/31 -- Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata 11/1 -- New York, NY, The Concert Hall 11/2 -- Tarrytown, NY, Music Hall Theatre 11/4 -- Ridgefield, CT, Ridgefield Playhouse 11/6 -- Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts 11/7 -- Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts 11/8 -- Munhall, PA, Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall 11/11 -- Nashville, TN, City Winery – Nashville 11/12 -- Paducah, KY, Carson Center 11/13 -- St. Louis, MO, River City Casino and Hotel 11/14 -- Bloomington, IL, The Castle Theater 11/16 -- Milwaukee, WI, Vogel Hall Marcus Center 11/17 -- Chicago, IL, City Winery – Chicago

Parade.com Music legends don’t come along every day, so I am always thrilled when one decides to take a moment to share his or her journey with me. But when Justin Hayward, the legendary Moody Blues’ guitarist and vocalist joined me for my podcast Whine At 9, I was happily caught off guard. Gifted musicians specialize in making magic for their audiences, and Hayward is no exception. However, Hayward’s wisdom, unique sensitivity, eloquent disclosure, and artistic passion made me feel as though I’d been chatting with a dear friend who happened to be a philosopher– oh yeah, and a rock icon. No doubt, these characteristics have been a driving force in his career longevity and the continued synergy of The Moody Blues. In a revealing conversation, Hayward shared with me his journey with the band, the mystery behind writing hit songs, the inspirational conflict behind Nights in White Satin, and a solo tour that will precede the upcoming “Moodies” tour. Watch a video of Justin Hayward’ s solo performance of Nights in White Satin here. It is difficult to imagine The Moody Blues as a startup, but when Justin Hayward joined the band in 1966, there was no flashy stage show or fleet of tour buses. Says Hayward, “Suddenly I found myself in the band. And off we went– You know really with no money, but we did have a van that we could put our equipment in. Actually– I was the only one with an amplifier at that time, but we made due. And we went to Belgium and got some gigs. And that’s how we started really.” And while some fans may believe that the infamous group quickly rose to fame, the climb to the top wasn’t an especially speedy one. “Success didn’t happen overnight, that’s for sure,” notes Hayward. “And the next big milestone really was recording our own material. Because when I came to The Moody Blues, we were a rhythm and blues band. I was lousy at rhythm and blues– I think the rest of us were. The two guys who were good at it had left (the band). And anyway, I was persuading the other guys to include some of my songs in the set, and so was Mike (Pinder). But then our break came about a year later when we’d written a stage show which was all our own material and we were doing that on stage. And we got to record that for Decca (Records). And that became an album called Days of Future Passed with (songs) Nights in White Satin and Tuesday Afternoon. But still, the success and any royalties and any fame or fortune took maybe 5 years. Even Days of Future Passed, even though it was released in 1967, it didn’t get to #1 in America until 1972. So through those ‘60s years, we were pretty kind of hard up.”

The Moody Blues - The Polydor Years

DURATION: 04:31 Moody Blues legend Justin Hayward on his new CD and DVD.

Justin Hayward

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Due for release on November 24, the superbly packaged eight disc (six CDs and two DVDs) set brings together, for the first time, remastered editions of all The Moody Blues’ Polydor era albums, spanning the period 1986-1992. The package - The Polydor Years 1986-1992 - includes 17 bonus tracks, 11 of which are being released for the first time, including a 1991 BBC radio session. The set also includes a previously unreleased concert recording from the group’s July 1986 appearance in Cleveland, Ohio, during their “Other Side of Life” tour, and a fully remastered edition of the September 1992 “Red Rocks” concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The DVD features the newly remastered and previously long-time unavailable release of the “Night at Red Rocks” concert, plus the rare documentary “The Other Side of Red Rocks.” Housed in a slipcase with an accompanying 64-page hardbound book, the entire set is topped off with the inclusion of a 7” blue vinyl single of “Al Fin Voy A Encontrarte,” the rare Spanish version of “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.” The Moody Blues have been at the forefront of the classic rock music scene for more than 40 years, and have continued to be a mainstay of concert stages, recording studios and the airwaves to the present day. During their immensely successful career, they have sold millions of albums worldwide, and have been the recipients of numerous prestigious awards. During the latter half of the 1980s, The Moody Blues continued to enjoy huge success, particularly in the U.S., largely due to the release of their hit album, “The Other Side of Life” and its massive hit single, “Your Wildest Dreams.” At the time, the group embraced the then burgeoning video age, and made a series of music videos, which gained them heavy airplay on MTV, which in turn built them a large new audience. The Polydor Years 1986-1992 celebrates this exciting and developmental period in the career of The Moody Blues.

Pre-Order Your Copy Today from the Official Moody Blues Online Store.

1. Your Wildest Dreams
2. Talkin’ Talkin’
3. Rock n’ Roll Over You
4. I Just Don’t Care
5. Running Out of Love
6. The Other Side of Life
7. The Spirit
8. Slings and Arrows
9. It may Be a FireBonus tracks:
10. Your Wildest Dreams (single version) Released in April 1986 - Previously unreleased on CD
11. The Other Side of Life (single edit)
12. Nights in White Satin (live – recorded at Wembley Arena in 1984) A & B sides of single – Released in August 1986 Previously unreleased on CD
13. I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (live: recorded Wembley Arena 1984) Previously unreleased
14. Rock n’ Roll Over You (live) Taken from the “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” CD EP – Released in May 1988
15. The Other Side of Life (live) B-side of 12” single – Released in October 1988 Previously unreleased on CD

1. Gemini Dream
2. The Voice
3. Tuesday Afternoon
4. Your Wildest Dreams
5. Isn’t Life Strange
6. The Story in Your Eyes
7. It May Be a Fire
8. Veteran Cosmic Rocker
9. I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
10. Nights in White Satin
11. Legend of a Mind
12. Question

1. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere
2. Want to Be With You
3. River of Endless Love
4. No More Lies
5. Here Comes the Weekend
6. Vintage Wine
7. Breaking Point
8. Miracle
9. Love is on the Run
10. Deep Bonus tracks:
11. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere (single edit) Taken from the “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” CD EP Released in May 1988
12. No More Lies (radio edit) A-sides of single – Released in October 1988 Previously unreleased on CD
13. Question (1989 version)
14. Isn’t Life Strange (1989 version) Taken from the album “The Moody Blues Greatest Hits” Released in 1989
15. Al Fin Voy A Encontrarte (“I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” Spanish version) A-side of single – Released in the USA in November 1988 Previously unreleased on CD

1. Say it With Love
2. Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back)
3. Is This Heaven?
4. Say What You Mean (Part One and Two)
5. Lean on Me (Tonight)
6. Hope and Pray
7. Shadows on the Wall
8. Once is Enough
9. Celtic Sonet
10. Magic
11. Never Blame the Rainbows for the Rain Bonus tracks:
12. Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back) US Radio Remix – Previously unreleased
13. Highway B-side of single – Released in 1991
14. Forever Autumn
15. Say it With Love
16. Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back)
17. Never Blame the Rainbows for the RainBBC Radio One acoustic session – 1991 Previously unreleased

1. Overture
2. Late Lament
3. Tuesday Afternoon
4. For My Lady
5. Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back)
6. Emily’s Song
7. New Horizons
8. Lean on Me (Tonight)
9. Voices in the Sky
10. Lovely to See You
11. Gemini Dream
12. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere
13. The Voice

1. Say it With Love
2. The Story in Your Eyes
3. Your Wildest Dreams
4. Isn’t Life Strange
5. The Other Side of Life
6. I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
7. Nights in White Satin
8. Legend of a Mind
9. Question
10. Ride My See Saw

1. Overture (Excerpts)
2. Late Lament
3. Tuesday Afternoon
4. For My Lady
5. New Horizons
6. Lean on Me (Tonight)
7. Lovely to See You
8. Gemini Dream
9. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere
10. The Voice
11. The Story in Your Eyes
12. Say it With Love
13. Your Wildest Dreams
14. Isn’t Life Strange
15. The Other Side of Life
16. I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
17. Nights in White Satin
18. Question
19. Ride My See Saw

Live Nation is delighted to announce the ‘Timeless Flight 2015’ Tour from The Moody Blues, one of the most enduring, creative and consistent groups in the world. Tickets go on sale on 19 September 2014 from www.livenation.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk. VIP Packages go on presale Wednesday 17 September at 9am at Ticketmaster.co.uk HERE. Their remarkable music has enthralled generations of fans since the 1960’s and their recorded legacy contains some of the most important and ground breaking work in the history of popular music, having generated over 55 million sales throughout the world. The Moody Blues - Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge - carry on their magical musical legacy from generation to generation, year after year. The legacy of The Moody Blues continues to live on, as the band tours throughout the world, delighting their loyal fans. Justin Hayward said, “We are always so happy to be returning to the UK to play. All of these venues are dear to us and many, like the New Theatre Oxford and Newcastle City Hall, are the gigs we remember fondly from our youth when we played them as headliners for the first time. We felt then that we had really 'made it' at last and all our work had paid off. Dedicated Moodies fans will be out in force, and we love it. We have been exploring our catalogue of songs recently and we'll be playing some songs on stage that we only experienced for a day or so in the studio the first time round. They work brilliantly. We believe there's something for everybody in our show and we are playing songs from just about every album. I can say this is the best incarnation of this great band I have been in. It's certainly the happiest and truly faithful to the Moody Blues spirit. How long will it continue for us? I have no idea - none of us would have thought in our ‘Wildest Dreams' we would still be up there - but it's a fabulous ride and as long as we're still playing from the heart and the fans are with us I'm in!" John Lodge said, “Our Timeless Flight Tour returns to England and Wales in 2015. It is always special to me to be on stage in the UK. Every city on the tour seem to welcome the Moody Blues as their own, this is a very special feeling. To everyone who has been on this journey with us… Thank you”. A legendary band with an enviable repertoire and reputation, The Moody Blues remain one of the top-grossing album and touring bands in existence. Graeme Edge explains the continuing popularity of the group thus; “It’s all about the music. The music is everything for us. We’ve always put the music before anything else, and that’s why I think we’ve been able to endure for so long.” JUNE 2015 Sat 6^th Plymouth Pavilions Sun 7^th Cardiff St David’s Hall Mon 8^th Brighton Centre Tues 9^th Bristol Colston Hall Thurs 11^th Bournemouth BIC Fri 12^th London Eventim Apollo Sat 13^th Ipswich Regent Theatre Sun 14^th Oxford New Theatre Tues 16^th Manchester Apollo Weds 17^th Nottingham RCH Thurs 18^th Sheffield City Hall Sat 20^th Birmingham LG Sun 21^st Liverpool Philharmonic Mon 22^nd Newcastle City Hall Thur 25th Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall Tickets are priced at £41.50 regional and £48.50 London and can be booked online through www.livenation.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk (all tickets subject to a booking fee). VIP Ticket Packages will be available via www.Ticketmaster.co.uk

themorningsun.com By Gary Graff, Count the Moody Blues among the many notable bands celebrating 50th anniversaries this year — in this case 50 years since the group’s formation in Manchester, England. But it’s an odd landmark for singer-guitarist Justin Hayward, who didn’t join the band, along with bassist John Lodge, until November 1966, after original members Denny Laine and Clint Warwick departed. “(Keyboardist) Mike Pinder was the one who called me because he’d heard some of my songs,” recalls Hayward, 67, who was playing in another band called the Wilde Three. “I came to the group as a guitar player kind of masquerading as a singer as well, but they were a rhythm and blues group at the time, and I was lousy at rhythm and blues. “So it wasn’t a great start for me with the band, but I think Mike was also the one who recognized that and realized that we had to do our own material and establish an identity, which the group didn’t have at that time. So it all turned out all right in the end.” It was more than all right, of course. With Hayward and Lodge the Moodys were a smash off the bat with 1967’s orchestral “Days of Future Passed” and its signature hit “Nights in White Satin.” The Moodys have earned 10 gold and platinum albums and sold more than 55 million records worldwide, while its fans have waged a fierce campaign for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hayward, Lodge and original drummer Graeme Edge, meanwhile, continue to soldier on as a regular touring act and also host an annual ocean cruise. New Moodys music, however, isn’t a priority. The group’s last album was a holiday set, “December,” in 2003, while it’s last all-original album was 1999’s “Strange Times.” Hayward continues to curate archival releases — another one, “The Polydor Years,” is due out this fall — but he’s more interested in making his own music these days. “I suspect that even a Moodys record would still mean I was doing solo records and just calling them Moodys,” says Hayward, who recently released “Spirits ... Live at the Bulkhead Theatre, Atlanta” on CD and home video. “The solo thing gives me the freedom to do what I want when I want. I live in the south of France. I record in Genoa. I don’t need anybody else to come there to help me and I go to a little studio in Nice and I just feel comfortable. “Recording has become a process of capturing the moment when I think that I’ve got a good version of the song that I’ve written, and to just do that instead of trying to work it up with the band. I’m being selfish, but I think I have to be now, at my age.”

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Journalstar.com Justin Hayward stood at center stage, dressed entirely in white, holding his guitar, and then he began strumming the familiar chords. In seconds, the crowd of 3,700 began to cheer, then sway and sing along. The song, of course, was “Nights in White Satin,” the peak of The Moody Blues' two-set, 100-minute show on a beautiful Monday night at Pinewood Bowl. Hayward, who was in strong voice, delivered it well, as did the band, composed of original Moodies John Lodge on bass and Graeme Edge on drums, along with a pair of keyboards, a backing singer/flautist and an extra drummer. It was preceded by “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” which, along with “Higher and Higher,” featured Edge coming out from behind the drums to perform. These were the rockingest songs of the night. The second set opened with “Your Wildest Dream,” which built from flute and acoustic guitar to swelling keyboard and drums, and dropped again -- the “classical” element of the Moodies. Then, a couple songs later, came “Tuesday Afternoon,” one of the band’s defining songs that carry a late '60s vibe. The Moodies embraced that vibe with a few onstage comments about '60s music festivals, hippies, etc., but more so with images projected on the video board behind them of old show posters, vintage performances, album covers, etc. The first set, as Hayward had indicated in an interview, was primarily made up of the Moodies' more recent material, like “Say It With Love,” a 1991 song that was given a gorgeous reading. It was followed by “Peak Hour,” a lesser-known psychedelic gem from the band’s 1967 breakthrough album “Days of Future Passed.” Monday night’s show, in all likelihood, was the year’s final Pinewood Bowl concert. It was another good show in a solid summer’s worth of events in the amphitheater that has become one of the top outdoor concert venues around.

postbulletin.com Justin Hayward and the Moody Blues take nearly 50 years of history with them when they go on stage. "It's something you don't want to give up easily," Hayward, the band's lead singer and chief songwriter, said last week. "I suppose it comes down to a shared love of the music," he said in reference to the enduring partnership between himself and longtime Moodies John Lodge and Graeme Edge. "Of course, it requires an audience," Hayward said. "But for me, if nobody was buying my solo stuff, I'd be at the park doing it anyway." There's little danger of that, either with Hayward, 66, who has just released a live solo album on the heels of a well-received solo album, or the Moody Blues, who have sold 70 million records and whose current tour brings them to Minneapolis on Tuesday and La Crosse, Wis., on Sept. 2. Hayward, who wrote and sang the Moody Blues hits "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Your Wildest Dreams," talked in a phone call from a tour stop in Boston. Hayward was born and raised in Swindon, a major railroad junction west of London (as were Rick Davies of Supertramp and the members of XTC). "I couldn't wait to leave," he said. "Music was exactly the ticket out. There weren't many choices there in the '50s and '60s. When I heard Buddy Holly, my whole mind was focused on what I wanted to do." Hayward left school and Swindon at age 16 and headed for London, where the Beatles had just broken big and were inspiring an entire generation of British musicians. Eventually, Hayward found his way in late 1966 to the Moody Blues, and with "Nights in White Satin," helped steer the band away from rhythm and blues toward a more orchestral, psychedelic sound. The band's breakthrough album, "Days of Future Passed," originally was recorded to demonstrate the stereo capabilities of their record company. It became a huge hit, and Hayward still marvels at it. "Even now when I listen to it, I think 'How the hell did we do that?'" he said. Subsequent albums — "On the Threshold of a Dream," "To Our Children's Children's Children," "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor," "Seventh Sojourn" — were equally as successful. Many of the songs on those albums were written by Hayward. He was asked about the bittersweet, melancholy nature of much of his material. "I've noticed that, and I've tried not to analyze it, not to go into therapy," he said. "I'm stuck with that kind of style." It's a style that has served Hayward, and the Moody Blues, well for nearly five decades.

Journalstar.com Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge and John Lodge of The Moody Blues will be performing in Pinewood Bowl on Monday.

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“People think the '60s were our best time,” he said. “But, to be honest, the most fun was that time in the ‘80s -- to have that opportunity to be on TV and have all the times of having hit singles in your early 40s. I was a kid in the '60s, with my head down and a little too stoned. In the '80s, I was able to enjoy it. Believe it or not, a lot of our audience today came from that time, not the '60s.”

Justin Hayward is not one to dwell on days of future passed, but he sure knows how to add to a storied legacy. Since 1966, Hayward has fronted The Moody Blues, a band synonymous with heady, progressive arrangements, sweeping harmonies, and an exacting standard for sound quality in their mixes, especially when it comes to live recordings and surround sound.

Last year, a massive 17-disc box set, Timeless Flight, documented the band’s legendary six-decade career. It included six stellar 5.1 mixes done by Paschal Byrne and Mark Powell that were built on early-’70s quad mixes overseen by original Moodies producer Tony Clarke and constructed by engineer Derek Varnals. Hayward, who supervised the overall mixes for Timeless Flight with his longtime production partner Alberto Parodi, was quite pleased with the results: “I didn’t have the courage to go back to any of the masters and try to recreate those beautiful, real echoes myself,” he notes.

Hayward, 67, recently sat down with Digital Trends to discuss the requirements for the mix of Spirits…Live, his favorite 5.1 moments, and why he needed to update some early-’80s CD transfers. If there’s one thing Hayward has mastered over the years, it’s how to answer questions of balance.

Digital Trends: Since your solo tour is acoustic-oriented, you must have had some different goals in terms of how you had it mixed.

Justin Hayward: I did nothing! (chuckles) Well, my front-of -house sound engineer, Steve Chant, puts his mix onto ProTools every night. For this particular show, we had another guy on the side of the stage who put his mix into a later version of ProTools. Steve listened to what the other guy had collected and then sent it to Alberto Parodi in Genoa along with his own rough mix balance of the night. And that was it, really; nothing too complicated.

The next day, Alberto said, “I just put the faders up. It sounds great! And I put some nice little echoes on it too. I don’t know what else you want to do. Do you want to change anything?” And I said, “Well, I don’t think so. Is it all in tune?” He said, “Yes, leave it. If we tune it, it’ll sounds like we tried to fix something.” So we just left it. For the CD, I probably should have done some tuning, but for the DVD/Blu-ray, I just left it. Alberto gave a little bit of “aura” around the sound and did some other stuff sonically, but that’s all.

There’s a notable difference between your presence in a Moody Blues live mix and your solo live mix. You’re a little more naked in this acoustic setting — your voice is very much upfront, with just acoustic guitars and keyboards and no percussion. You’re deliberately going for different arrangements here.

Totally. I can feel every nuance on it. The guitars are different because I brought my home guitars out on this tour with me — that is, I’m using the same guitars I wrote on and did my original demos on. That was the feel I wanted to get — how it feels in my own music room, just as it was when I finished the song and was about to make the demo. I knew all of the parts, even in the Moodies songs, that I wanted to explain to the band as it was done. So it was basically a question of transferring my living room feeling out there onstage. At home, I just double-track myself, and then I go to a little studio in Nice near where I live in the south of France, and put my vocals down. They’ve got some lovely old 87s there, the right microphones.

Another big difference is that you don’t have a drummer with you onstage.

Yes, there are no drums. God forbid, I love drummers, and some of my best friends are drummers. (laughs) But drums and acoustic guitar, and drums and vocal mics — they don’t mix. I’ve mixed five or so Moody Blues live DVDs for Universal over the last 25 years, and I’ve found that you’re stuck with the drum sound that’s on the vocal mics. That’s the big difference. And with The Moodies, you can have upwards of 76 tracks, and that needs a lot of sorting out, repairing, and fixing. I don’t have a lot of tracks on my solo live recordings to work with. So it was a very different experience.

Is there one particular Moody Blues song in this live set that, to you, shows a dramatic difference between the Moodies version and the Justin Hayward version?

There’s a little medley we do at the beginning of the show — It’s Up to You/Lovely to See You — that comes across exactly like how I first put down the demos for those songs in Decca Studios in the early days, ’68 or ’69, whenever that was. Lovely to See You was recorded January 14, 1969, for In Search of the Lost Chord, and It’s Up to You was recorded in early 1970 for A Question of Balance.>

I noticed that you extend the syllables in certain words, like “da-ay” in Tuesday Afternoon and “he-ere” in Forever Autumn. Is that a conscious choice?

Yes. I think that happens when you have a synergy with the acoustic guitar and the way that resonates through your body. It just seems right to sing those words that way. I’d forgotten that Forever Autumn is such a powerful song. Forever Autumn is a song Hayward performed on the 1978 album Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of the Worlds, which went Top 5 in the U.K.> I so rarely get to do it. In fact, I’ve only done it on one Moodies tour, and even then I needed written permission. (both laugh) It’s such a great song, and it really resonates with people. I’m so grateful to be able to do it.

Please keep doing it. It’s a nice moment of transition before you move into the main set’s end run and the encore.

Oh yeah. It’s a winner. It’s like Nights in White Satin. I find that there are couple of songs you can go anywhere in the world and play on acoustic guitar, and people will go, “Oh, I know that; that’s great.” Forever Autumn and Nights are up there like that.

Night in White Satin is one of those songs that benefits from being listened to in hi res, whether it’s via a 96/24 download from HDtracks or its amazing surround sound mix. The breadth of that recording is even more evident in hi res.

Would you agree 96/24 or even 192/24 is the best way to hear your recorded output?

I would. I was stunned with the quality of all of those early mixes — Days of Future Passed, particularly. I was just sitting there in the studio with Alberto working on the 5.1 for the box set, thinking, “How the hell did we do this? How the hell was it done?” But I can’t take any credit for it, because in those days, you weren’t invited into the control room. It really was Tony and Derek who did it — and I’m so glad they did the quad version in such beautiful quality, because it saved me a lot of time and pain. It was a responsibility I don’t think I’d liked to have taken on.

I happen to like that some of the more, shall we say, “dated” mixes of yore that were updated on Timeless Flight.

There were a couple of things I knew they’d rushed into the digital domain in the early ’80s that I’ve mentioned to you before, and quite badly. I really noticed it on In Search of the Lost Chord, with Graeme ’s ride cymbal. At first, I had just assumed it hadn’t been recorded very well, until I went back to the original master and listened to it again. And I thought, “No, it’s beautiful.” And then I realized we’d spent almost 30 years with a digital version that just wasn’t very good.

I know I’m guilty, like everyone who works in the studio, of pandering to current sonic trends and how things sound, and what things sound nice. Alberto and I have received some “How dare you do this — you make it sound like it’s from 2011!” kind of comments. “You should have left it like it was!” It’s such a temptation to lift it a little bit and bring it in line with the way people’s ears are now. Time in a recording is so much more important now. You can’t have sloppy drumming or timekeeping like you had in the ’60s. People won’t accept that anymore. So we’re guilty of following some sonic trends that may make it sound a little different. But in years’ time, things may sound a little warmer or harder.

Can you give me two examples of what you felt may have gotten overlooked sonically but, listened to today, people might get something different out of, good or bad? Give me one from The Moodies, and one from your solo catalog.

And then there’s one of my solo albums, Moving Mountains , which I was totally into, but when I listen back to it now, I think, “Maybe it was just a few too many over-recordings. Maybe a bit too much was done in my front room. Maybe I did snuggle it too much afterward.” Sign of the times, yes, really.

Do you have a favorite mix that Alberto has done for you, one you’d consider his golden-ear best?

I have to say “One Day, Someday,” on Spirits of the Western Sky. That was really the top of his game. He and Anne Dudley did that together. She did the orchestration, and he was responsible for the mix. He let me play all over it, and then he got rid of the stuff he didn’t like and kept the stuff that he did. I turned up the next morning, after I went to the hotel in Genoa the night before and had left him still working in the studio. He was having a cup of tea and said, “Come and have a listen to this,” and it was like, “Wow.” From top to bottom, the sound is just right, and lovely.

My favorite lyric in that song is, “Trying to get ‘I love you’ in every song.”

Yes, that’s right — I am still trying to get “I love you” in every song! (laughs)

Justin spoke with 105.3 WOW! FM in Lincoln, NE recently to get geared up for the Moody Blues show at the Pinewood Bowl on August 25th. Check out the interview - Click Here!

lacrossetribune.com Alan Sculley For the La Crosse Tribune IF YOU GO WHAT: The Moody Blues WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 TICKETS: $39.50 to $85, call 608-789-7400

Photo By Jim 'JT' Gilbert

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the Moody Blues’ first single, Go Now, an R&B-meets-pop lament over a failed relationship that, sonically at least, sounds like it was recorded in a small garage. As far as milestones go, Go Now’s Golden Jubilee is the equivalent of the throwback jersey: nostalgia for diehard fans only. It’s generic British invasion, and in no way a forerunner of the psychedelic musical journey the Moody Blues would embark upon only a few years later. Even the band isn’t planning anything special for the occasion. “No, I’m afraid not,” said Moody Blues singer-guitarist Justin Hayward. “I think we’re probably looking to the anniversary of Days of Future Past when it comes up in a couple years of time. That might be interesting. It’s more of a promotional tool than something the band is eager to do.”

(Lincoln, NE) – The Moody Blues, SMG Lincoln, and the Lincoln Vet Center have teamed up for a Veteran’s Benefit Drive prior to The Moody Blues concert at Pinewood Bowl Theater August 25. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a new personal care item or nonperishable food item to the booth just inside the venue entrance where Lincoln Vet Center volunteers will accept donations. New personal care items can include toiletries, underwear, socks, et cetera. Anyone donating an item, may sign up to win a Moody Blues merchandise package that will be given away. SMG Lincoln General Manager, Tom Lorenz said “The Moody Blues management wanted to do something for local veterans. Giving back is something we like to do and The Moody Blues were terrific to offer us the chance.” The Moody Blues is one of the most enduring and beloved rock bands in music history, going 40+ years strong. Still rocking in 2014 with original members Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge, The Moody Blues have released 24 albums in a career spanning nearly five decades. They have sold more than 70 million albums, earning them 18 platinum discs and all manner of awards including Playboy “Group of the Year,” the “Golden Ticket” award for selling the most tickets at Madison Square Garden and an Ivor Novello for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. The band has even appeared in an episode of “The Simpsons.” Their classic album Days of Future Passed (featuring the Moody Blues’ signature song “Nights in White Satin”) heralded the era of the concept album and elaborate sleeve artwork that would epitomize the Progressive Rock movement that followed. Formed in 1964 in Birmingham, The Moody Blues came from the same gene pool that would give the world Traffic, the Move, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Slade. The original line-up of the band (Denny Laine, Graeme Edge, Clint Warwick, Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder) scored a global number one hit with “Go Now,” but unable to follow up this success, Warwick and Laine left the group - to be replaced by John Lodge and Justin Hayward respectively in 1966. For the next few months, the band crafted a new set of original compositions that would change their fortunes. The Moody Blues are touring in relation to their definitive career-spanning box set titled “Timeless Flight” on Universal Music Enterprises. The 17-disc set includes digitally remastered CDs, DVDs of rare television performances, audio discs, a hard back collector’s book, and more. The Moody Blues–Justin Hayward, John Lodge, and Graeme Edge – carry on their magical musical legacy to generation after generation, year after year. WHAT: The Moody Blues WHEN: Monday, August 25, 2014 SHOW TIME: 7:30 p.m. Show/Gates open at 6:30 p.m. RESERVED TICKETS: $36, $46, $59.50, $86.50, $95, $125, $175 Front Row (subject to applicable fees) VENUE: Pinewood Bowl Theater, Lincoln, Nebraska MORE INFORMATION: www.pinewoodbowltheater.com Tickets can be purchased at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office, online at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or charge by phone at 1.800.745.3000.

capecodonline.com By Doug Fraser HYANNIS – If you reached double digits in the 1960s, and there were many on hand at the Melody Tent Friday night, you knew the Moody Blues. They had monster hits, spread across decades, spanning two continents, that dominated the airwaves. People found their mixture of hard rock, sentimental melancholy and romance, and a kind of vague mysticism, appealing. And they really did stretch pop boundaries at the time while cranking out some pretty rocking tuneful songs. And so, in the 50th year of their existence, how good did they sound playing to a sold out Melody Tent crowd? Pretty good, sometimes great, although John Lodge's bass seemed turned up so loud that it sometimes muddied the sound quality. Original members Lodge and lead guitarist Justin Hayward are approaching 70, and drummer Graeme Edge is 73, but it would have been hard to tell that time had passed listening to their final set, which included many of their hits. The band wrapped up the night with a hard-driving “Ride My See-Saw.” Lodge, looking the part of rock god with a Rockin' Roddie hairdo, skinny jeans and boots, is a nimble fingered bassist and, although Hayward trods many well-worn paths with his guitar solos, he can still rip off a strong lead. “See-Saw” is a hymn to the underclass but always seemed a kind of psychedelic song with echoey vocals and the mystical spoken word preamble. Friday night, it was just a great piece of rock and roll history, played by guys who know how. The band started out the night playing to the deep fan base on hand, with songs that would be relatively obscure to those who didn't buy the albums but danced to the hits. With two drummers, a sax and flute player who also sang vocals, and a keyboardist/synthesizer, the Moody Blues were capable of duplicating the spacious harmonies and lush, almost orchestral sounds that often served as an interesting counterpoint to the rock. As the hits filtered in, the band also seemed to pick up the pace and the audience became more engaged. “I Know You're Out There Somewhere” brought the audience to its feet with its jangly, upbeat rhythm. “In Your Wildest Dream” was a rollicking tune, that seemed a little disjointed in execution with a jumbled sound that was rescued by some nice harmonizing by the band. “Isn't Life Strange” with its kind of Bee Gees-esque quavery lead solo by Lodge showed some nice shifts from the melancholic to rock anthem. This song really kicked off the sing-along portion of the evening with the audience freely participating as the hits rolled on, including two of the most familiar “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Nights in White Satin.” When you have so many hits, it's pretty easy to please and Friday night's big nostalgia trip was well done, technical glitches aside. Maybe it was telling that the line for T-shirts at intermission was longer than the lines for beer.

Listen to the radio podcast from Justin Hayward's interview with The Pike. Click Here To Listen.

Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward recorded his new CD/DVD, “Sprits…Live, Live at The Buckhead Theater, Atlanta” here last year, and it is now available. Kaedy Kiely spoke with him recently, and he says he will be back at the Buckhead Theater this October! listen here Past Interviews: Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues has a sold out concert at the Buckhead Theater on August 17th. Kaedy interviewed him recently, listen here. Although they're best known today for their lush, lyrically and musically profound (some would say bombastic) psychedelic-era albums, the Moody Blues started out as one of the better R&B-based combos of the British Invasion. The group's history began in Birmingham, England with Ray Thomas (harmonica, vocals) and Mike Pinder (keyboards, vocals), who had played together in El Riot & the Rebels and the Krew Cats. They began recruiting members of some of the best rival groups working in Birmingham, including Denny Laine (vocals, guitar), Graeme Edge (drums), and Clint Warwick (bass, vocals). The Moody Blues, as they came to be known, made their debut in Birmingham in May of 1964, and quickly earned the notice and later the services of manager Tony Secunda. A major tour was quickly booked, and the band landed an engagement at the Marquee Club, which resulted in a contract with England's Decca Records less than six months after their formation. The group's first single, "Steal Your Heart Away," released in September of 1964, didn't touch the British charts. But their second single, "Go Now," released in November of 1964 -- a cover of a nearly identical American single by R&B singer Bessie Banks, heavily featuring Laine's mournful lead vocal -- fulfilled every expectation and more, reaching number one in England and earning them a berth in some of the nation's top performing venues (including the New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert, appearing with some of the top acts of the period); its number ten chart placement in America also earned them a place as a support act for the Beatles on one tour, and the release of a follow-up LP (Magnificent Moodies in England, Go Now in America) on both sides of the Atlantic. It was coming up with a follow-up hit to "Go Now," however, that proved their undoing. Despite their fledgling songwriting efforts and the access they had to American demos, this version of the Moody Blues never came up with another single success. By the end of the spring of 1965, the frustration was palpable within the band. The group decided to make their fourth single, "From the Bottom of My Heart," an experiment with a different, much more subtly soulful sound, and it was one of the most extraordinary records of the entire British Invasion, with haunting performances all around. Unfortunately, the single only reached number 22 on the British charts following its release in May of 1965, and barely brushed the Top 100 in America. Ultimately, the grind of touring, coupled with the strains facing the group, became too much for Warwick, who exited in the spring of 1966; and by August of 1966 Laine had left as well. The group soldiered on, however, Warwick succeeded by John Lodge, an ex-bandmate of Ray Thomas, and in late 1966 singer/guitarist Justin Hayward joined. For a time, they kept doing the same brand of music that the group had started with, but Hayward and Pinder were also writing different kinds of songs, reflecting somewhat more folk- and pop-oriented elements, that got out as singles, to little avail. At one point in 1966, the band decided to pull up stakes in England and start playing in Europe, where even a "has-been" British act could earn decent fees. And they began building a new act based on new material that was more in keeping with the slightly trippy, light psychedelic sounds that were becoming popular at the time. They were still critically short of money and prospects, however, when fate played a hand, in the form of a project initiated by Decca Records. In contrast to America, where home stereo systems swept the country after 1958, in England, stereo was still not dominant, or even common, in most people's homes -- apart from classical listeners -- in 1966. Decca had come up with "Deramic Stereo," which offered a wide spread of sound, coupled with superbly clean and rich recording, and was trying to market it with an LP that would serve as a showcase, utilizing pop/rock done in a classical style. The Moody Blues, who owed the label unrecouped advances and recording session fees from their various failed post-"Go Now" releases, were picked for the proposed project, which was to be a rock version of Dvor's New World Symphony. Instead, they were somehow able to convince the {@Decca producers involved that the proposed adaptation was wrongheaded, and to deliver something else; the producer, Tony Clarke, was impressed with some of the band's own compositions, and with the approval of executive producer Hugh Mendl, and the cooperation of engineer Derek Varnals, the group effectively hijacked the project -- instead of Dvor's music, they arrived at the idea of an archetypal day's cycle of living represented in rock songs set within an orchestral framework, utilizing conductor/arranger {$Peter Knight's orchestrations to expand and bridge the songs. The result was the album Days of Future Passed. The record's mix of rock and classical sounds was new, and at first puzzled the record company, which didn't know how to market it, but eventually the record was issued, first in England and later in America. It became a hit in England, propelled up the charts by the single "Nights in White Satin" (authored and sung by Hayward), which made the Top 20 in the U.K.; in America, the chosen single was another Hayward song, "Tuesday Afternoon." All of it hooked directly into the aftermath of the Summer of Love, and the LP was -- totally accidentally -- timed perfectly to fall into the hands of listeners who were looking for an orchestral/psychedelic recording to follow works such as the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Better still, the band still had a significant backlog of excellent psychedelic-themed songs to draw on. Their debt wiped out and their music now in demand, they went to work with a follow-up record in short order and delivered In Search of the Lost Chord (1968), which was configured somewhat differently from its predecessor. Though Decca was ecstatic with the sales results of Days of Future Passed and the singles, and assigned Clarke and Varnals to work with them in the future, the label wasn't willing to schedule full-blown orchestral sessions again. And having just come out of a financial hole, the group wasn't about to go into debt again financing such a recording. The solution to the problem of accompaniment came from Mike Pinder, and an organ-like device called a Mellotron. Using tape heads activated by the touch of keys, and tape loops comprised of the sounds of horns, strings, etc., the instrument generated an eerie, orchestra-like sound. Introduced at the start of the '60s as a potential rival to the Hammond organ, the Mellotron had worked its way into rock music slowly, in acts such as the Graham Bond Organisation, and had emerged to some public prominence on Beatles' records such as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and, more recently, "I Am the Walrus"; during that same year, in a similar supporting capacity, it would also turn up on the Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request. As it happened, Pinder not only knew how to play the Mellotron, but had also worked in the factory that built them, which enabled him over the years to re-engineer, modify, and customize the instruments to his specifications. (The resulting instruments were nicknamed "Pindertrons.") In Search of the Lost Chord (1968) put the Mellotron in the spotlight, and it quickly became a part of their signature sound. The album, sublimely beautiful and steeped in a strange mix of British whimsy ("Dr. Livingston I Presume") and ornate, languid Eastern-oriented songs ("Visions of Paradise," "Om"), also introduced one psychedelic-era anthem, "Legend of a Mind"; authored by Ray Thomas and utilizing the name of LSD guru Timothy Leary in its lyric and choruses, along with swooping cellos and lilting flute, it helped make the band an instant favorite among the late-'60s counterculture. (The group members have since admitted at various times that they were, as was the norm at the time, indulging in various hallucinogenic substances.) That album and its follow-up, 1969's On the Threshold of a Dream, were magnificent achievements, utilizing their multi-instrumental skills and the full capability of the studio in overdubbing voices, instruments, etc. But in the process of making those two LPs, the group found that they'd painted themselves into a corner as performing musicians -- thanks to overdubbing, those albums were essentially the work of 15 or 20 Moody Blues, not a quintet, and they were unable to re-create their sound properly in concert. From their album To Our Children's Children's Children -- which was also the first release of the group's own newly founded label, Threshold Records -- only one song, the guitar-driven "Gypsy," ever worked on-stage. Beginning with A Question of Balance (1970), the group specifically recorded songs in arrangements that they could play in concert, stripping down their sound a bit by reducing their reliance on overdubbing and, in the process, toughening up their sound. They were able to do most of that album and their next record, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, on-stage, with impressive results. By that time, all five members of the band were composing songs, and each had his own identity, Pinder the impassioned mystic, Lodge the rocker, Edge the poet, Thomas the playful mystic, and Hayward the romantic -- all had contributed significantly to their repertoire, though Hayward tended to have the biggest share of the group's singles, and his songs often occupied the lead-off spot on their LPs. Meanwhile, a significant part of their audience didn't think of the Moody Blues merely as musicians but, rather, as spiritual guides. John Lodge's song "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock & Roll Band)" was his answer to this phenomenon, renouncing the role that had been thrust upon the band -- it was also an unusually hard-rocking number for the group, and was also a modest hit single. Ironically, in 1972, the group was suddenly competing with itself when "Nights in White Satin" charted again in America and England, selling far more than it had in 1967; that new round of single sales also resulted in Days of Future Passed selling anew by the tens of thousands. In the midst of all of this activity, the members, finally slowing down and enjoying the fruits of their success, had reached an impasse. As they prepared to record their new album, Seventh Sojourn (1972), the strain of touring and recording steadily for five years had taken its toll. Good songs were becoming more difficult to deliver and record, and cutting that album had proved nearly impossible. The public never saw the problems, and its release earned them their best reviews to date and was accompanied by a major international tour, and the sales and attendance were huge. Once the tour was over, however, it was announced that the group was going on hiatus -- they wouldn't work together again for five years. Hayward and Lodge recorded a very successful duet album, Blue Jays (1975), and all five members did solo albums. All were released through Threshold, which was still distributed by English Decca (then called London Records in the United States), and Threshold even maintained a small catalog of other artists, including Trapeze and Providence, though they evidently missed their chance to sign a group that might well have eclipsed the Moody Blues musically, King Crimson. (Ironically, the latter also used the Mellotron as a central part of their sound, but in a totally different way, and were the only group ever to make more distinctive use of the instrument.) The Moodies' old records were strong enough, elicited enough positive memories, and picked up enough new listeners (even amid the punk and disco booms) that a double-LP retrospective (This Is the Moody Blues) sold extremely well, years after they'd stopped working together, as did a live/studio archival double LP (Caught Live + 5). By 1977, the members had decided to reunite -- although all five participated in the resulting album, Octave (1978), there were numerous stresses during its recording, and Pinder was ultimately unhappy enough with the LP to decline to go on tour with the band. The reunion tour came off anyway, with ex-Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz brought in to fill out the lineup, and the album topped the charts. The group's next record, Long Distance Voyager (1981), was even more popular, though by this time a schism was beginning to develop between the band and the critical community. The reviews from critics (who'd seldom been that enamored of the band even in its heyday) became ever more harsh, and although their hiatus had allowed the band to skip the punk era, they seemed just as out of step amid the MTV era and the ascendancy of acts such as Madonna, the Pretenders, the Police, et al. By 1981, they'd been tagged by most of the rock press with the label "dinosaurs," seemingly awaiting extinction. There were still decent-sized hits, such as "Gemini Dream," but the albums and a lot of the songwriting seemed increasingly to be a matter of their going through the motions of being a group -- psychedelia had given way to what was, apart from the occasional Lodge or Hayward single, rather soulless pop/rock. There were OK records, and the concerts drew well, mostly for the older songs, but there was little urgency or very much memorable about the new material. That all changed a bit when one of them finally delivered a song so good that in its mere existence it begged to be recorded -- the Hayward-authored single "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986), an almost perfect successor to "Nights in White Satin" mixing romance, passion, and feelings of nostalgia with a melody that was gorgeous and instantly memorable (and with a great beat). The single -- along with its accompanying album, which was otherwise a much blander affair -- approached the top of the charts. They were boosted up there by a superb promotional video (featuring the Mood Six as the younger Moody Blues) that suddenly gave the group at least a little contemporary pop/rock credibility. The follow-up, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere," was a lesser but still impressive commercial success, with an even better secondary melodic theme, and the two combined gave them an essential and memorable pair of mid-decade hits, boosting their concert attendance back up and shoring up their contemporary songbag. By the end of the '80s, however, they were again perceived as a nostalgia act, albeit one with a huge audience -- a bit like the Grateful Dead without the critical respect or veneration. By that time, Moraz was gone and the core group was reduced to a quartet, with salaried keyboard players augmenting their work (along with a second drummer to back up Edge). They had also begun attracting fans by the tens of thousands to a new series of concerts, in which -- for the first time -- they performed with orchestras and, thus, could do their most elaborately produced songs on-stage. In 1994, a four-CD set devoted to their work, entitled Time Traveller, was released. By that time, their new albums were barely charting, and seldom attracting any reviews, but their catalog was among the best-selling parts of the Polygram library. A new studio effort, Strange Times, followed in 1999 and the live (at the Royal Albert Hall) Hall of Fame was issued a year later, but it was the 1997 upgrades of their original seven albums, from Days of Future Passed to Seventh Sojourn, that attracted far more attention from the public. In 2003, Ray Thomas retired, and the Moody Blues carried on as a core trio of Hayward, Lodge, and Edge. They were still going strong as a touring band in 2009, the same period in which their live performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was released as a CD and a DVD. That same year, Hayward's "Tuesday Afternoon" began turning up as an accompaniment to commercials for Visa. In 2013, the Moody Blues were the subject of a four-disc box retrospective from Universal entitled Timeless Flight. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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Doug Podell talks with Graeme Edge of The Moody Blues Listen to the podcast HERE.