THE MOODY BLUES
THE PRESENT TOUR

You can build your own sand pies to the Moody Blues castles in the air-waves. They are a unique blend of romance, fantasy and fact put to rock and roll melodies.

One of the qualities which is so often admired and envied by their contemporaries is of course the Moody Blues' remarkable sustained comsistency over two decades which really began with their phenomenal 'Nights in White Satin' which six years after its original chart success was re-released in the United States with 'Days of Future Passed' and topped the album and single charts respectively.

The fact is, that the Moody Blues have sold in excess of thirty million albums world wide since their inception in 1963, that they have more platinum albums than any other surviving super-groups and that their last release 'Long Distance Voyager' was number one in the American album charts.

Well here they come again in their own sweet time, (approximately once every two years) with another chart shattering album 'The Present' (Threshold) which will only go to prove yet again that good melodic struction within a rock framework and an individual sound is what showers platinum upom the level heads of John Lodge (bass) Justin Hayward (guitar) Graeme Edge (drums) Ray Thomas (flute) and Patrick Moraz (keyboards).

The Moodies are to undertake another massive world tour beginning in America in September where they never play before less than 10,000 people a night throughout the United States and returning to the U.K. in the Sutumn for concerts at prestigious venues (the last Albert Hall concert in '81 sold out in five hours) both here and in Europe.

During 1972 in the same month their new album 'Seventh Sojourn' was released and ran to the number two slot giving the group an unprecedented one and two in the U.S. album charts. That classic single has already re-visited the U.K. charts on three seperate occasions on re-release making the Top Twenty on each occasion and is covered on average at least once a month by another recording artiste - most recently by Elkie Brooks who put her version into the U.K. charts earlier this year. There was even a punk version of 'Nights' by the Dickies, but Justin's favourtie interpretation is by Eric Burdon and War.

As platinum album followed platinum album, 'On The Threshold Of A Dream' (1969), 'To Our Children's Children's Children' (1970), 'A Question of Balance' (1970), 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' (1971), 'Seventh Sojourn' (1972) another phenomenon developed in the U.S. whereby on the release of each new album the previous releases came back into the U.S. Hot 100 so that at one time they had as many as five albums in the charts together.

By 1974 the Moody Blues reached by mutual agreement a time to take stock and look to their own individual potentials. The hits continued with Justin and John's collaboration in the Blues Jays album in 1975, which was followed by the classic 'Blue Guitar' single. Percussionist Graeme Edge made solo albums with Adrian Gurvitz - 'Kick Off Your Muddy Boots' and 'Paradise Ballroom' - before departing around the world on his ocean-going cruiser. Graeme is currently doing his world famous impression of 'The Blue Baron' over Cobham in his latest super-toy - micro-light aircraft.

Ray Thomas produced two solo albums during this period, 'From Mighty Oaks' which hit number 14 in the U.K. top Twenty and 'Hopes Wishes and Dreams' in between fanatical bouts of angling and achieving a life-long ambition by being featured in the fisherman's bible 'The Angling Times' on his obsession with rod and line.

John Lodge's 'Natural Avenue' and Justin Hayward's 'Songwriter' L.P. followed in 1977, and Justin's work with Jeff Wayne on 'War of the Worlds' project and in particular the single 'Forever Autumn' gained massive world-wide top ten success. During this period their founder-member keyboard player Mike Pinder announced his intensions of not performing live again, after producing his own solo venture 'The Promise'.

The Moody Blues returned to their group format with the addition of a new keyboard player, Patrick Moraz who had previously replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes. The 'Octave' album released in 1978 cruised into the Top Twenty proving that their legions of loyal fans were still there in their millions despite the almost five years absense. 'Long Distance Voyager' followed in 1981 taking them back into the Top Five in the U.K. charts with 'Gemini Dream' and 'The Voice' becoming Top Tens from that album in the U.S. and now 'The Present' is almost inexorably about to follow to the top.

If there is a key to the Moody Blues' unprecedented success over the past twenty years and the fact they are a world force in contremporary rock music it probably lies in their decision early on to look after their own business affairs and in a co-operative manner, resist temptation to commit themselves to soul destroying recording schedules simply for the money and make the music they like rather than being side-tracked into following trends.

This facet of the group's collective policy has proved almost visionary as their often imitated but never equalled sound has continued to attract record sales. Revered, respected and acclaimed by their fellow professionals and critics throughout the World.