‘Always A Moody,’ John Lodge Discusses Band’s Legacy, New Solo Album & Upcoming Tour

The March 5 edition of Greasy Tracks featured an interview with bassist John Lodge who spent 50-plus years with the Moody Blues and is currently gearing up for a solo tour.

The program spotlighted music from across Lodge’s career as well as paying tribute to a handful of “Brumbeat” bands from Birmingham, England.

Check out the archives by clicking here, while a playlist is here. 

Lodge and his 10,000 Light Years Band hits the road to support the just-released live offering, The Royal Affair And After (BFD/Halesouth) which captured the band on stage during a 2019 tour with Asia, Arthur Brown, Carl Palmer and Yes. He plays Infinity Hall (Norfolk) on March 8, The Warehouse in Fairfield on March 12 and Infinity Hall (Hartford) on March 13.

Lodge joined the Moody Blues in 1966 and his first project with the then-rhythm and blues-influenced band was the concept album, Days of Future Passed. The 1967 effort remains one of the more innovative releases of the decade as it merged rock with orchestral components to produce one of progressive rock’s first masterpieces.

In hindsight, it was a series of musical collaborations which led to Lodge coming into the Moody’s fold which recorded their “core seven” albums in the sixties through the early 1970s.

Lodge and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ray Thomas started playing together in their early teens. They would be part of Birmingham-based El Riot and the Rebels, which also included keyboardist Mike Pinder. Pinder, Thomas and drummer Graeme Edge were on the Moody’s debut album The Magnificent Moodies (1965). Lodge joined at the same time guitarist Justin Hayward was brought in to replace Denny Laine. Lodge and Hayward went on to become primary writers in the group which boasted four vocalists in Lodge, Hayward, Thomas and Pinder.

Lodge’s contributions are considered some of the Moody’s most popular recordings, including: “I’m Just A Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” “(Evening) Time To Get Away,” “Ride My See-Saw,” “House of Four Doors,” “Eyes of a Child,” “Isn’t Life Stange,” “Talking Out of Turn,” “Candle of Life” and “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone.”

London-based bands and artists traditionally garnered the most attention of the press when it came to the music industry as the Moody Blues started making a mark, but there were other West Midland’s bands who would go on to turn heads including The Move, The Spencer Davis Group, Black Sabbath, Traffic, The Electric Light Orchestra and Chicken Shack to name but a few groups who got their start in Birmingham.

The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and effectively stopped touring and recording following Edge’s retirement that year. Thomas died only a few months before the induction ceremonies. Edge passed away in 2021 at which time the band effectively broke up.

Lodge and Hayward, who collaborated on a studio album, Blue Jays in 1974, continue to record and tour with their own bands.