John Lodge of The Moody Blues performs Days Of Future Passed

Interview by Ken Morton -

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by Erica Vincent

John Lodge, the legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has announced that he will be bringing his incredible new show Performs Days of Future Passed to the Mid-West and West Coast of the USA in July. John, together with his 10,000 Light Years Band, will perform The Moody Blues’ groundbreaking album, Days of Future Passed, in its entirety with a special recording by the late Graeme Edge and performances by Jon Davison of Yes

The show will also feature a first half set of Moody Blues’ classics, including all of John’s hits, Ride My See-Saw, I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band), Isn’t Life Strange, to name just a few, plus tributes to all his band mates, as he continues in his quest to keep all The Moody Blues music alive.

A local stop will take place at The Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks on July 29th! Prior to the tour, Highwire Daze had the opportunity to interview John Lodge to discuss Days Of Future Passed and his absolutely epic career in music!

What are you looking forward to the most about bringing your John Lodge performs Days of Future Passed tour here to the Los Angeles area?

Actually, I think it’s to share and reshare an iconic album. The album meant so much to me and the rest of The Moody Blues, and also to a lot of people throughout the world. And this seemed to be a fantastic opportunity for me to bring the album to everybody in America - not as a reflection of Days of Future Passed, but to try and introduce a new generation of listeners to albums of long-playing music instead of singles again - and re-introduce the album to a generation, who might share it with their friends with listing parties and everything else, because vinyl albums are making a huge comeback. And the wonderful thing about vinyl is if you’ve got a record player, you like to share the music with your friends. It is an equally beautiful time to bring the album on stage, for people to listen to, rediscover it or discover it for the first time.

Tell me about the special recording from Graeme Edge and how has it affected the show?

When I was thinking about doing the live album as a concert, I went to see Graeme Edge and, I said to Graeme, “Graeme, I would really like you to record your poetry”. I said “The poetry and Days of Future Passed was a milestone in rock and roll.” And Graeme wrote some incredible poetry, and I said, “Graeme, would you record it for me? And I’m going to film you recording it, and you’ll always have a place on stage with me.” And he said, “John, it’d be an honor.” And he said, “Thank you for keeping The Moody Blues music alive.” And, so that started me on the journey really to make this concert a complete albumeven from the Gong going backward from the front of the album to the Gong at the end of the album.

What has it been like working with Jon Davidson of Yes on this tour?

I toured in 2019 with Yes, on The Royal Affair Tour of the USA. And I had a fantastic time with the band Yes. Obviously, I’ve known them for many years, but not Jon. And as an encore, they do Imagine, because Alan White was in John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. And they asked me if we would join them on stage and sing Imagine with Yes, which I did. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. And I said to Jon Davison, “Actually, if I’m singing with you, will you join me on stage for Ride My See-Saw?” And he joined me on stage for Ride My See-Saw. And it grew from there, because our voices really blend together and he knows exactly what I want to do. And also, Jon is a fantastic musician as well as a fantastic vocalist. So, having the two things really works well. So when I came to do Days of Future Passed, I felt I wanted Jon to be an integral part of the concert, so I asked him to sing Tuesday Afternoon and Nights in White Satin, and he sounds fantastic!

What goes through your mind knowing that Days of Future Passed has recently celebrated its 55-year anniversary?

Remarkable! When we were just young guys and a road manager in a white Ford Transit van traveling around

England and Europe, we had the opportunity to record Days of Future Passed. We never knew what it had ignited for us and for people around the world. And, it’s just grown and grown and grown, and the influence of the album - people from so many walks of life through the years have come up to me and said what the album means to them and where we were when they heard the album. Many of them not in a great place and some of them in a great place. And I think that it’s quite remarkable. And that’s all I can say really.

Another Moody Blues album just had a 50-year anniversary, and it features a song that you still do - I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band). When you look back on that Seventh Sojourn album what do you think of it now, in retrospect, and of that particular song?

I loved the album Seventh Sojourn. It was a great time for me personally, and I loved all the songs on that album. And it’s strange, because although we didn’t know it at the time, it was the last album for some time. And so that made it special when you look back on the album. But as far as singing I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) - I was listening to the words and nothing much has changed to be honest. When I think of the lyrics of the song, a lot of rock musicians at the time had the answers to every problem in the world. And we didn’t! It was just me saying, we just sing in a rock and roll band just like everyone else. And also it is an anti-war song. So it conjured up for me that whole ‘72, ‘73 time in the world.

The final to date Moody Blues album December recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary. When you look back on that album what do you think of it now in retrospect? And did you know that was going to be the final Moody Blues album?

Not really. I always wanted to make a Christmas album. I thought it should have been called A Moody Blue Christmas because to me, that’s what it was. And it was an interesting album because we wrote some new songs for the album and new Christmas songs. And, to be honest, it’s one of the only albums I play with any regularity at Christmas time. That album is normally heard playing in my home, because my family liked the album and obviously the celebration of Christmas.

Do you have any new solo music on the horizon?

I do. I’ve just recorded some new songs. And that’s going to be later in the year. I’ve just been mixing them. And I’m just mixing that, mastering that in Dolby Atmos. So, that’s really, where I’m at the moment. I’m really excited about recording at the moment, particularly with this Dolby Atmos, because it’s surround sound at the extreme, so, it’s always interesting, to write a new song and record the song.

Do you have any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles area?

I lived in Los Angeles in the late seventies and had a wonderful time. I like LA - fantastic memories, of course, for The Forum and the Universal Studios Theater - fantastic! Thank you all for keeping the faith and, keep the faith in yourselves as well. https://www.johnlodge.com/