THE MOODY BLUES
LONG DISTANCE VOYAGER TOUR

Editor's introduction: Even as 'To Our Children's Children's Children' is about the first moon landing, the Moodies continue their fascination with space in the tourbook for 'Long Distance Voyager'.

The Moody Blues blast off into musical orbit for '81 with their first new album for two years, 'Long Distance Voyager' (Threshold) Cat. No. TXS 139 released on May 15 produced by Pip Williams and featuring ex-Yes Keyboard ace Patrick Moraz for the first time on record, in company with original members, Justin Hayward (vocals-guitar) Ray Thomas (flute) John Lodge (bass) and Graeme Edge (drums).

Although the Voyager album is the group's first original concept since 'Octave' in 1978, the group has been continuously in demand throughout the world and Moraz is already the veteran of several U.S. tours where the group retain legendary proportions. Successful solo albums by Justin Hayward like 'Night Flight' and the release of The Moodies K-Tel hit album 'Out of this World' last year have kept The Moodies high in the album charts.

"It must seem like a long time between albums to our fans", says Justin. "But we have always worked to our musical pace and standards. It has taken us over 18 months to produce an album with which we are now all satisfied is our best."

Perfectionists in the studio and on stage, The Moody Blues have always been their own severest critics although they might also lay claims to being one of the most consistently abused by fanatical elements in the music trade press, it remains true 'what the public wants - the public gets!' Their success rate over 15 years proves the reason for their sustained success is public demand.

The Moody Blues track record speaks for itself. Nine albums recorded as The Moody Blues sold world wide in excess of 20 million, it now seems slightly ironic that they achieved their initial recognition with a phenomenal single called 'Nights In White Satin' written by Justin Hayward in 1966 which has now achieved classic proportions as it is endlessly covered and re-released.

This original Moody Blues Masterpiece seems to possess a magic which will never fade for their fans and re-appeared yet again in the British "Top Twenty' in 1979 released again by public demand. Six years after its original release 'Nights in White Satin' was re-released in America with the 'Days of Future Passed' album and they both promptly soared to number one in both the singles and album charts respectively in the U.S. The release of their new album at the time gave them the unprecedented achievement of having a number 1 and 2 slot in the American album chart - even the Beatles were unable to beat that.

It was in 1966 that the Moody Blues released their first single with the combination of Hayward, Lodge, Thomas, Pinder and Edge ('Fly Me High') which was prelude to a succession gold and platinum plated albums like 'On the Threshold of A Dream' 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' and 'A Question of Balance'. The Moody Blues were off and soaring high in American, European and U.K. charts all over the world.

There have been a host of golden and platinum milestones including the coveted N.A.R.M. Award in 1972 for the Best Selling World Group, The Playboy Vocal Group of the Year Award in 1973 with ASCAP awards to Justin Hayward for 'Nights in White Satin' (1974) and John Lodge for 'Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (1975). Justin also received another ASCAP award for 'British Songwriter of the Year' in 1974.

The four year group hibernation (during which there was a flurry of solo chart activity from individual members) did not effect the rapturous return which was heralded by 'Octave' in 1978 two sell out tours of America which seldom saw them playing less than 10,000 capacity and often in excess of 20,000.

During 1968 came the first album which the group made in this second phase where they were unrestricted by Decca's requirements and able to move in whichever direction they wanted. Whereas 'Days Of Future Passed' had been a small hit in terms of the chart, 'In Search Of The Lost Chord' was an immediate triumph, making the top ten in the British LP charts within a few weeks of its release, and finally reaching the top five, and also scoring heavily in America. The album also provided a pair of British top 50 singles in 'Voices In The Sky' and 'Ride My See-Saw', respectively composed by Justin Hayward and John Lodge.

Following this the group achieved even greater success when the next album in a series which would eventually make the Moody Blues the biggest group in the world in commercial terms. 'On The Threshold Of A Dream', topped the British album charts for two weeks during May, 1969, and became their first top twenty LP in America. By this time the group had also sprouted a sixth member in producer Tony Clarke, who after initially assisting in the preparation of 'Days Of Future Passed', had become far more intimately connected with the succeeding albums, and was to become involved during the latter part of 1969 in helping the group set up their own record label, Threshold, whose offices were situated in Cobham, Surrey, a village convenient for each member of the group to converge upon for meetings, yet far enough away from London for normal music business pressures to be happily absent. The first signing to Threshold was, of course, the Moody Blues and it should be noted here that Decca were apparently very happy to allow their star act to branch out in this new venture. Retrospectively, it must be admitted that the artists signed to Threshold other than The Moody Blues themselves were not destined to alter the course of rock music history but to be charitable, occasional failures are an indication of humanity, and during this period, practically everything else in which the groups were involved was astonishingly successful, in particular their first LP for Threshold, 'To Our Children's Children's Children', released at the end of 1969. Unaccountably the album only reached number two in the British Charts but improved on previous American performances, peaking at number fourteen.

By the beginning of 1970, there was little doubt that The Moody Blues were one of the top groups in the world, as LP sales running into the millions and vast crowds attending their concerts around the world attested, and their popularity was underlined by the release of their first LP of the new decade, 'A Question Of Balance', which was released in August 1970 and immediately rushed to the top of the British chart. In America, it became their first LP to make the top three, while a song from the album, 'Question' again written by Justin Hayward, reached the number two position in the British single chart.

This kind of success continued with the 1971 album, 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' (the title refers to the mnemonic method of recalling the notes on the primary musical scale, E,G,B,D, and F) which gave the group their third chart topping album in Britain and also inched them nearer to the top of the US chart, where it stopped at the number two position. The 1972 LP, 'Seventh Sojourn' a highly appropriate title for the group's seventh album since their re-emergence, became their first chart topper in America, although it only made the number five in Britain, an indication that Britain at least to some extent, was in the midst of a turmoil of changing musical values. However, the change was not sufficient to prevent the album providing two more hit singles, 'Isn't Life Strange' and 'I'm Just A Singer', both written by John Lodge, entering the top twenty one on each side of the Atlantic.

A double compilation album, 'This Is The Moody Blues', was released in late 1974 and reached number eleven in the American album chart, various solo albums by members of the group, either totally unaided by other members of the group, or as collaborations in the case of the Blue Jays album by Hayward and Lodge, began to appear. By mid-77, each of the group with the exception of Mike Pinder was represented by two albums, at which point an intriguing double album was released, three sides of which consisted of live recordings made at the Royal Albert Hall during 1969, although many found the fourth side, which was composed of five tracks recorded in the studio during 1967/8, but which had not been previously released, of at least equal interest.

By this time, Britain was in the grip of New Wave music, effectively preventing the album, which was titled 'Caught Live + Five', from achieving too much in chart terms, although a large body of Moody Blues fans in America saw to it that the album made the top thirty in their country. Later that year, the five members of the group met to discuss their future, and the decision was made to begin work on a brand new album, although it was not released until the summer of 1978, when a garden party was held in Cobham to celebrate the group's return, and each member was presented with numerous platinum discs by the chairman of Decca Records, Sir Edward Lewis. At this point, it was estimated that the group had sold more than twenty six million LPs worldwide.

There are nine original compositions on their new album which critics are heralding as a return on their 'platinum years' and with the inclusion of ace keyboard player, Patrick Moraz, their return to live appearances after two years is being greeted with rapturous enthusiasms at the concert halls across Europe and the U.K.

"It may seem like a long time between albums for some of our fans but we have always worked to our own musical pace and set standards which take time. What the fans get the very best we can give - nothing else will do."

Just one of the many reasons why the Moody Blues in 1981 are still a super-group with a reputation which maintains respect and musical integrity.

Justin joined the Moody Blues in 1966 having paid his dues in Marty Wilde's latterday Wildcats. Amongst his most famous compositions for the Moody Blues, featuring his distinctive voice are 'Nights In White Satin', 'Tuesday Afternoon', 'Question', 'Voices In The Sky', 'Never Comes The Day', all of which have been hit singles. After 'Seventh Sojourn', Justin recorded 'Bluejays' with John Lodge which made the top twenty in the US LP chart and the top ten in Britain, as well as releasing a hit single with John, 'I Dreamed Last Night'. Earlier that year, Justin recorded 'Blue Guitar' with Eric Stewart which was incorporated into the Bluejays project and became a top ten hit in 1975. Subsequently, Justin released his solo LP 'Songwriter', which made the top forty on both sides of the Atlantic, and featured such tracks as 'One Lonely Room', 'Raised On Love' and 'Stage Door'. In 1978, Justin was featured on Jeff Wayne's 'War Of The Worlds' double LP and his single 'Forever Autumn' became a worldwide hit. 1980 saw the release of Justin's solo album entitled 'Night Flight'.

On stage Justin's guitars include a Gibson ES335, a Gibson ES330, a Fender Telecaster and a Fender Stratocaster. For his amplification he uses a 3x VOX AC30 and an Eventide Harmoniser HN49 for effects.

John had actually played with Ray Thomas in El Riot and The Rebels prior to the Moody Blues formation, although he had spent the period between 1964 and 1966 completing his education and gaining a professional qualification. Amongst the hits he has written for the Moody Blues are 'Ride My See-Saw', 'Isn't Life Strange' and 'I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock'n'Roll Band)' and 'Slide Zone'. During the group's lengthy lay off, John joined forces with Justin for the Bluejays LP. During the early part of 1977, he also released a solo LP, 'Natural Avenue', which was a hit in both Britain and America, on which he utilised the talents of Kenny Jones, late of Small Faces and currently Keith Moon's replacement in The Who, famed session guitarist Chris Spedding (noted, amongst many other things, for having produced tracks for the Sex Pistols), Mick Weaver (a veteran of dozens of bands who is currently working with Ian Matthews) and Mel Collins (saxophone player to the stars currently with Camel).

John Lodge's equipment includes 2 Alembic long scale bass guitars, and Alembic short scale bass guitar and a Fender precision bass guitar. Amplification is Hi-Watt with various custom speaker cabinets.

An original member of the Moody Blues, Graeme was previously in the Avengers. Amongst his compositions for the Moody Blues are 'In The Beginning', the track which leads off 'On The Threshold Of A Dream', 'The World' and 'The Dream'. During the group's sabbatical period, Graeme spent a good deal of time sailing across the Atlantic, amongst many less ambitious voyages. After that, he made two solo albums in collaboration with guitarist Adrian Gurvitz, 'Kick Off Your Muddy Boots' and 'Paradise Ballroom' both of which made the American album chart. Apart from Graeme and Adrian, amongst the other musicians who played on the albums were Adrian's brother Paul Gurvitz (both Paul and Adrian were members of '60s hitmaking group The Gun), Ginger Baker (who later joined the Gurvitz brothers in the Baker-Gurvitz Army) and Mickey Gallagher (now a member of Ian Dury's Blockheads) and Blue Weaver (now an established member of the Bee Gees backing band).

The centre piece on stage is Graeme's Ludwig Perspex Bluedrum kit with Paste and Avedis Zildgen cymbals and a Simmons electric drum kit synthesiser and a couple of Electrovine Monitor Cabinets.

A founder member of the Moody Blues, Ray had previously played in El Riot and the Rebels with John Lodge. Amongst his best known composition for the Moodies are songs like 'Dear Diary', 'Legend Of A Mind', 'For My Lady'. During the group's inactive period between 1973 and 1977, Ray recorded and released a brace of solo albums, 'From Mighty Oaks' and 'Hopes, Wishes and Dreams', both of which made the American and English album charts. On both albums, he was significantly assisted by another artist who at one time was signed to Threshold Records singer/guitarist Nicky James with whom Ray wrote the bulk of the material on the two albums. Most recently, apart from his involvement with the Moody Blues, Ray made a brief guest appearance at a reunion concert in London to celebrate Buddy Holly Week, contributed a harmonica solo to an all-star jam session at the end of the gig.

Ray's equipment is the lightest of all of the band. He uses a 'C' Flute, and alto flute and a bass flute as well as percussion.

Having been classically trained in his native land of Switzerland, Patrick's first group of any note in the field of rock music was Mainhorse Airline, later known as Mainhorse, who recorded for Polydor Records. During 1973, Patrick met Lee Jackson (ex of The Nice) and was invited to join the latter's band of the time, Jackson Heights, Jackson, however, sensed that Patrick was more suited to electric music than the mainly acoustic fare offered by Jackson Heights, and disbanded the group, instead forming Refugee, a highly promising trio in the best traditions of the Nice, with Brian Davison and himself as rhythm section and Patrick on keyboards. After the release of a Refugee album which made the British chart Patrick was invited to join Yes and helped them to make the highly successful 'Relayer' LP after which Yes decided to each make a solo LP. Patrick has subsequently made several more solo LPs, having left Yes by 1977 after a three year stay with the group. There are few more experienced keyboard players in rock music, and his invitation to join The Moody Blues during the summer of 1978 is highly appropriate.

In direct contrast to Ray - Patrick's equipment is the heaviest of the band. He uses a Yamaha CP70B Piano, a Fender Rhodes Piano, an Oberheim 8 voice synthesiser, a Yamaha CS80 synthesiser, a mini moog, a polymoog, a micromoog, a Mellotron MK. V, a Novatron with special effect tapes, Jupiter 4 & 8 Clavitars with 4 voice Oberheim, a Roland rack of effects, Taurus Bass Pedals and a Roland Vocoder.