John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, is to release a new live album entitled ‘The Royal Affair and After’. It features incredible new live recordings of all his Moody Blues hits, plus special tributes to all his bandmates, Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas. John is delighted to release this album, an album that encompasses the songs that he describes as being ‘the soundtrack of his life’, and continues in his deeply-felt quest to ‘Keep the Moody Blues music Alive’. The album was recorded live in Las Vegas on ‘The Royal Affair Tour’, with additional tracks recorded during his subsequent USA dates.
John Lodge is bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the iconic Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2018 inductees, The Moody Blues. Songwriter of such mega Moody Blues hits from “Ride My See-Saw,” to “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band),” “Isn’t Life Strange” and many more. Lodge has been performing and recording with The Moody Blues for more than five decades, selling in excess of 70 million albums, as well as releasing his three solo albums ‘Natural Avenue’, ’10,000 Light Years Ago’ and ‘B Yond’. Lodge has been voted one of the “10 most influential bass players on the planet,” and has been the recipient of many awards, including ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), an Ivor Novello Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Prog Magazine, to name just a few.
Joining John on stage is his ‘10,000 Light Years Band’; long term collaborator Alan Hewitt (Music Director and Keyboards) and Billy Ashbaugh (Drums) both from the Moody Blues touring band, plus Duffy King (Guitars) and Jason Charboneau (Cello), and together they capture the heart of these classic Moody Blues songs. John truly is the beating heart of the Moody Blues, both with his bass playing and his passion, and this album takes you back to those early days of the core 7 albums, whilst also bringing these songs into the 21st Century.
Jon Davison of YES is also featured on the album and joins John and his band to provide lead vocals on ‘Nights in White Satin’. During the ‘Royal Affair’ tour Davison would join John on stage for their ‘encore’ performance of ‘Ride My See-Saw’, and this began a friendship that would lead to John to invite Jon to join him on tour. For 54 years John has played this song at every Moody Blues concert, and loved playing the bass line that he wrote all those years ago, and with the Moody Blues no longer touring, this was a wonderful opportunity to play tribute to Hayward, and continue to perform this iconic song.
The album also features a special recording of ‘Late Lament’, by the Moody Blues’ drummer Graeme Edge. The poem originally appeared on the iconic album ‘Days of Future Passed’, and was written by Edge, but voiced by Mike Pinder. John was delighted when Edge agreed to record his poem for him. John’s tribute to Mike is his rendition of ‘Sunset’, a new version that captures the mystical tone of Pinder’s work.
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