Mike Pinder, who co-founded the Moody Blues and played keyboards and mellotron and sang on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s first nine albums, died Wednesday at his home in Northern California. He was 82 and was the last surviving founding member of the legendary British band.
His longtime bandmate John Lodge announced the news on social media via Pinder’s family. “He passed peacefully [and] his final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family,” his Facebook post said. “Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart.”
Pinder’s death follows that of fellow Moodys co-founding guitarist Denny Laine in December and drummer Graeme Edge in 2021. Ray Thomas died in 2002 and Clint Warwick in 2004. Lodge and lead singer Justin Heyward joined in 1966.
Related: Paul McCartney Pays Tribute To Wings Longtime Bandmate Denny...
His longtime bandmate John Lodge announced the news on social media via Pinder’s family. “He passed peacefully [and] his final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family,” his Facebook post said. “Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart.”
Pinder’s death follows that of fellow Moodys co-founding guitarist Denny Laine in December and drummer Graeme Edge in 2021. Ray Thomas died in 2002 and Clint Warwick in 2004. Lodge and lead singer Justin Heyward joined in 1966.
Related: Paul McCartney Pays Tribute To Wings Longtime Bandmate Denny...
- 4/25/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Mike Pinder, co-founding member and keyboardist of the Moody Blues, died at the age of 82 on Wednesday, April 24th. He was the last surviving founder of the English rock band.
Pinder’s family and former Moody Blues bandmate John Lodge announced his death today via a statement on Facebook. The family noted that his final days were “filled with music” and that he passed peacefully at his Northern California residence.
“Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart,” the family stated. “He created his music and the message he shared with the world from this spiritually grounded place; as he always said, ‘Keep your head above the clouds, but keep your feet on the ground.’ His authentic essence lifted up everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in...
Pinder’s family and former Moody Blues bandmate John Lodge announced his death today via a statement on Facebook. The family noted that his final days were “filled with music” and that he passed peacefully at his Northern California residence.
“Michael lived his life with a childlike wonder, walking a deeply introspective path which fused the mind and the heart,” the family stated. “He created his music and the message he shared with the world from this spiritually grounded place; as he always said, ‘Keep your head above the clouds, but keep your feet on the ground.’ His authentic essence lifted up everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in...
- 4/25/2024
- by Jonah Krueger
- Consequence - Music
Mike Pinder, the Moody Blues keyboardist and the last surviving founding member of the Rock Hall-inducted band, has died at the age of 82.
Pinder’s family announced his death in a statement shared with Pinder’s former Moody Blues bandmate John Lodge, noting that Pinder “passed peacefully” Wednesday “surrounded by his devoted family” at his Northern California home. No cause of death was provided.
In their tribute to the “musician, father, cosmic philosopher & friend,” Pinder’s family wrote, “His final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family.
Pinder’s family announced his death in a statement shared with Pinder’s former Moody Blues bandmate John Lodge, noting that Pinder “passed peacefully” Wednesday “surrounded by his devoted family” at his Northern California home. No cause of death was provided.
In their tribute to the “musician, father, cosmic philosopher & friend,” Pinder’s family wrote, “His final days were filled with music, encircled by the love of his family.
- 4/25/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Graeme Edge, the Moody Blues drummer who co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group and stayed with it for more than 50 years, died today. He was 80. His longtime bandmate Justin Hayward posted the news on the English group’s website but offered no details.
“It’s a very sad day,” Hayward wrote. “Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on.” Read his full statement below.
Edge co-formed the group in Birmingham just as the British Invasion was hitting America. The Moody Blues crashed onto the international rock scene with their first hit, 1965’s “Go Now,” which went No. 1 in the UK and went top 10 in the States. The group went on to have two more U.S. Top 10 singles and three in the UK but were much more successful on the albums charts.
Among the Moody Blues’ most...
“It’s a very sad day,” Hayward wrote. “Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on.” Read his full statement below.
Edge co-formed the group in Birmingham just as the British Invasion was hitting America. The Moody Blues crashed onto the international rock scene with their first hit, 1965’s “Go Now,” which went No. 1 in the UK and went top 10 in the States. The group went on to have two more U.S. Top 10 singles and three in the UK but were much more successful on the albums charts.
Among the Moody Blues’ most...
- 11/11/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Graeme Edge, drummer and co-founding member of the Moody Blues, has died at the age of 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted British prog band announced Edge’s death Thursday. No cause of death was revealed.
“It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on,” Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward wrote on Facebook. “When Graeme told me he was retiring, I knew that without him it couldn’t be the Moody Blues anymore. And that’s what happened.
“It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on,” Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward wrote on Facebook. “When Graeme told me he was retiring, I knew that without him it couldn’t be the Moody Blues anymore. And that’s what happened.
- 11/11/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Yes have announced plans to release The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas on October 30th. It’s a live album recorded July 26th, 2019 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
The set mixes Yes classics like “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper” with covers like Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” Richie Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures...
The set mixes Yes classics like “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper” with covers like Simon and Garfunkel’s “America,” Richie Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures...
- 9/2/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Justin Hayward is a legend, and not just of the mind as his bandmate, the late Ray Thomas, once described Timothy Leary. The Moody Blues emerged from the British Invasion to become one of the most influential musical units in popular music. This happened after Mike Pinder heard a demo tape and invited Hayward to join the band and ultimately expand their sound. The Moody Blues predated prog, but were at the forefront of musical experimentation. Not only because they helped explain what you could do with stereo and classical music, but because they expanded the musical vocabulary and the mind. Hayward continues to break new sonic ground as his newly released Ep, One Summer Day/My Juliette, one track is melodically unlike anything The Moody Blues ever produced, the other could be quite Moody.
Hayward, Thomas, Pinder, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist John Lodge, who returned to the band...
Hayward, Thomas, Pinder, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist John Lodge, who returned to the band...
- 4/17/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The Moody Blues and the Four Tops, two legends of music, once worked together in an international collaboration in the early 1970s. At the time, Motown and the British Invasion artists reigned on the radio, and the two groups were at the forefront of the airwaves. The Moody Blues were reborn into a new sound with the addition of guitarist Justin Hayward, transforming their post-“Go Now” sound into the explorations of symphonically-infused rock and the new sonic possibilities of stereo. The Four Tops were one of the bands to establish the Motown Sound. The legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team continued to develop the group’s dynamic vocal range through the changing times, tastes, and sound technology.
It was a common practice of the era for bands to record and perform covers. Aretha Franklin famously recorded a version of “Let It Be,” which turns 50 this year, after hearing a demo Paul McCartney sent.
It was a common practice of the era for bands to record and perform covers. Aretha Franklin famously recorded a version of “Let It Be,” which turns 50 this year, after hearing a demo Paul McCartney sent.
- 4/13/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
Even though the songbird had to leave for a while, Justin Hayward found new melodies for springtime release. The legendary singer-songwriter of the Moody Blues released the digital-only two-track Ep One Summer Day/My Juliette today on Eagle Rock Entertainment. It is available through all digital service providers.
The opening track, “One Summer Day,” is a conversational song with a melodic acoustic guitar underpinning. The songwriter says the piece came out organically. “[It] just sprang out of my old Martin guitar late one evening,” Hayward explained in a statement. “I had been playing the riff for a while just for fun, without realizing it could actually be a song.” According to the press release, it tells “the story of unexpected events taking place one day in the summer.”
It’s a romantic song, in the vein of “Never Comes the Day,” but asks “if not now then when for us, there’s nothing like today.
The opening track, “One Summer Day,” is a conversational song with a melodic acoustic guitar underpinning. The songwriter says the piece came out organically. “[It] just sprang out of my old Martin guitar late one evening,” Hayward explained in a statement. “I had been playing the riff for a while just for fun, without realizing it could actually be a song.” According to the press release, it tells “the story of unexpected events taking place one day in the summer.”
It’s a romantic song, in the vein of “Never Comes the Day,” but asks “if not now then when for us, there’s nothing like today.
- 3/27/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Yes are hitting the road this summer with a prog rock superstar-bill featuring John Lodge of the Moody Blues, Carl Palmer’s Elp Legacy with guest vocalist Arthur Brown and Asia. They’re calling it the Royal Affair Tour. “Yes is delighted to headline this celebration of British music,” Yes guitarist Steve Howe said in a statement, “which has been so warmly received in America over the past five decades.”
The Yes saga has gotten a bit complicated since former members Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman put their...
The Yes saga has gotten a bit complicated since former members Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman put their...
- 4/2/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Private Life starts with what sounds like an extremely private moment: shuffling, muted grunts and sheet-rustling, playing over a black screen. The natural inclination is think the the film is about to open on a couple either in the throes of middle-aged passion, or maybe some post-coital awkwardness. We’ve seen enough character-driven dramedies to know how these things usually work. Instead we cut to Paul Giamatti preparing to jam a hypodermic needle into Kathryn Hahn’s bared hip. These fortysomething downtowners — he’s a former theater guru-turned-artisanal pickle entrepreneur...
- 10/5/2018
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Most nights when Bon Jovi performs the band’s first single, “Runaway,” on tour, Jon Bon Jovi tells the story of a young kid who walks into a radio station with a cassette and a dream — to get airplay and a chance to find an audience.
That radio station was New York’s Wapp, which only lasted for less than one year, but left an indelible impact on the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who referenced the story in his induction speech on Saturday night at Cleveland’s Public Hall at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“After sending that cassette to every label and manager I could think of, I thought, ‘Who is the loneliest person in the music business? … the DJ. There was a new station in NYC called Wapp. It was so new, that there wasn’t even a receptionist, so I was able...
That radio station was New York’s Wapp, which only lasted for less than one year, but left an indelible impact on the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who referenced the story in his induction speech on Saturday night at Cleveland’s Public Hall at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“After sending that cassette to every label and manager I could think of, I thought, ‘Who is the loneliest person in the music business? … the DJ. There was a new station in NYC called Wapp. It was so new, that there wasn’t even a receptionist, so I was able...
- 4/16/2018
- by Michele Amabile Angermiller
- Variety Film + TV
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bon Jovi and The Moody Blues were on hand today for a special ceremony unveiling the Class of 2018 plaque and a new floor exhibit, The Hall of Fame Gallery, that inhabits the entire third floor of the museum.
At the ribbon cutting outside of the Rock Hall in Cleveland Friday afternoon (April 13), Jon Bon Jovi — making his first public appearance alongside former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora — took a moment to thank the Hall and praise the Moody Blues, as the two groups met for the first time a day before both were to be inducted along with The Cars, Dire Straits, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
“Any kid who strums a broomstick dreams of making a record,” Bon Jovi said. “Every kid who makes a record dreams of having fame, and every guy who has a minute of fame dreams about...
At the ribbon cutting outside of the Rock Hall in Cleveland Friday afternoon (April 13), Jon Bon Jovi — making his first public appearance alongside former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora — took a moment to thank the Hall and praise the Moody Blues, as the two groups met for the first time a day before both were to be inducted along with The Cars, Dire Straits, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
“Any kid who strums a broomstick dreams of making a record,” Bon Jovi said. “Every kid who makes a record dreams of having fame, and every guy who has a minute of fame dreams about...
- 4/13/2018
- by Michele Amabile Angermiller
- Variety Film + TV
The Scarlet Empress (1934), starring Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser and “a supporting cast of 1,000 players,” is director Josef von Sternberg at his most grandiose and excessive, which is just another way of saying “at his best,” at the height of a state of expressive delirium no other director has ever really matched. (Though many have, either consciously or subconsciously, tried– I wonder if Ken Russell ever admitted envy for von Sternberg or this film.) Von Sternberg’s paints his pictures with gasp-and-giggle-inducingly broad strokes, but his approach is no joke. There’s an exhilarating strain of claustrophobia in the director’s films which is given its freest rein here. His frames are burdened with grandeur, luxury and horror closing in, and he achieves a genuine sense of epic sprawl and decadence, despite the orchestrated sense that the whole of Russia, royalty as well as the entirety of its oppressed,...
- 3/31/2018
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
The Eighth Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — co-produced by Cinema St. Louis and the Webster University Film Series — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1920s through the early 1990s, offering a comprehensive overview of French cinema.
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, and we’re especially pleased to present Jacques Rivette’s long-unavailable epic Out 1: Spectre Additional restoration highlights include Jean-Luc Godard’s A Married Woman and Max Ophüls’ too-little-seen From Mayerling To Sarajevo. Both Ophüls’ film and Louis Malle’s Elevator To The Gallows – with a jazz score by St. Louis-area native Miles Davis — screen from 35mm prints. All films will screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (47- E. Lockwood)
Music fans will further delight in the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra’s accompaniment and original score for Carl Th. Dreyer’s...
The fest is annually highlighted by significant restorations, and we’re especially pleased to present Jacques Rivette’s long-unavailable epic Out 1: Spectre Additional restoration highlights include Jean-Luc Godard’s A Married Woman and Max Ophüls’ too-little-seen From Mayerling To Sarajevo. Both Ophüls’ film and Louis Malle’s Elevator To The Gallows – with a jazz score by St. Louis-area native Miles Davis — screen from 35mm prints. All films will screen at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (47- E. Lockwood)
Music fans will further delight in the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra’s accompaniment and original score for Carl Th. Dreyer’s...
- 2/16/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The title invokes tragedies already over and done: "From Mayerling to Sarajevo," a range of time spanning from the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in Mayerling, a death that eventually made Archduke Franz Ferdinand the next heir to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, to the assassination of the Archduke in the Bosnian capital, precipitating the First World War.The title invokes a range of cities spanning countries. The director of From Mayerling to Sarajevo, a 1940 picture revived in a new print by The Film Desk and opening at New York’s Film Forum on March 27, is Max Ophüls, himself a roving vagabond auteur, born in Germany and making films not only there but in the Netherlands, Italy, Hollywood, and France, where this film was made on the precipice of the Second World War and the beginning of a new kind of German-speaking empire.The films of Max Ophüls survive beautiful and aphoristic,...
- 3/26/2015
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
The 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival has unveiled another spectacular lineup of special guests and events for this year’s four-day gathering in Hollywood. Among the newly announced participants for this year’s festival are five-time Emmy® winner Dick Van Dyke, Oscar® winner Shirley Jones, two-time Golden Globe® winner Angie Dickinson, six-time Golden Globe nominee Robert Wagner, seven-time Oscar nominee Norman Jewison, longtime producer A.C. Lyles and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker. In addition, the festival will feature a special three-film tribute to director/choreographer Stanley Donen, who will be on-hand for the celebration.
As part of its overall Style and the Movies theme, the festival has added several films featuring the work of pioneering costume designer Travis Banton. Oscar-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis will introduce the six-movie slate, with actress and former Essentials co-host Rose McGowan joining her for one of the screenings.
Other festival additions include a screening...
As part of its overall Style and the Movies theme, the festival has added several films featuring the work of pioneering costume designer Travis Banton. Oscar-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis will introduce the six-movie slate, with actress and former Essentials co-host Rose McGowan joining her for one of the screenings.
Other festival additions include a screening...
- 3/9/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Marlene Dietrich on TCM Pt.2: A Foreign Affair, The Blue Angel Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Monte Carlo Story (1957) Two compulsive gamblers fall in love on the French Riviera. Dir: Samuel A. Taylor. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Vittorio De Sica, Arthur O'Connell. C-101 mins, Letterbox Format. 7:45 Am Knight Without Armour (1937) A British spy tries to get a countess out of the new Soviet Union. Dir: Jacques Feyder. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Irene Van Brugh. Bw-107 mins. 9:45 Am The Lady Is Willing (1942) A Broadway star has to find a husband so she can adopt an abandoned child. Dir: Mitchell Leisen. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Fred MacMurray, Aline MacMahon. Bw-91 mins. 11:30 Am Kismet (1944) In the classic Arabian Nights tale king of the beggars enters high society to help his daughter marry a handsome prince. Dir: William Dieterle. Cast: Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, James Craig.
- 9/1/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Burbank - Traci Lords was the biggest name in showbiz in 1986, but for all the wrong reasons. She had become a major star in the adult industry. Her run started as Penthouse Pet of the month for the issue that exposed Vanessa Williams in September of 1984. Dozens of video titles appeared as she became the it girl noted for her youthful looks.
There was a reason for her looking so young: she’d used fake IDs to appear 20. She was under 18 in dozens of her adult films. Only one was made after she turned 18. The FBI and other police agencies poured over the valley investigating everyone connected to the industry. In the midst of this ugliness, Traci Lords still dreamed of being an actress. Luckily she found entry into the profession through the gates of Roger Corman’s studio.
She was signed to remake Not of This Earth with Jim Wynorski directing.
There was a reason for her looking so young: she’d used fake IDs to appear 20. She was under 18 in dozens of her adult films. Only one was made after she turned 18. The FBI and other police agencies poured over the valley investigating everyone connected to the industry. In the midst of this ugliness, Traci Lords still dreamed of being an actress. Luckily she found entry into the profession through the gates of Roger Corman’s studio.
She was signed to remake Not of This Earth with Jim Wynorski directing.
- 11/3/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
A concert by The Moody Blues -- whose inspiring anthems include "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon" and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock And Roll Band)" -- has been added to the roster of events at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall this season. Tickets to the concert, on Mar. 11, go on sale November 20th at 10 Am.
Tickets are $60-$80 (with a limited number of "Smart Seats" available for $30).
Since the 60's, as a part of the historic original British invasion of super-groups, The Moody Blues have performed music that expresses universal themes of love, compassion and peace. The group - Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge - makes a stop at the Van Wezel as part of its 2010 tour.
With a legacy that spans the late 60's to the present, and worldwide album sales of over 70 million, the group is known for creating some of the...
Tickets are $60-$80 (with a limited number of "Smart Seats" available for $30).
Since the 60's, as a part of the historic original British invasion of super-groups, The Moody Blues have performed music that expresses universal themes of love, compassion and peace. The group - Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge - makes a stop at the Van Wezel as part of its 2010 tour.
With a legacy that spans the late 60's to the present, and worldwide album sales of over 70 million, the group is known for creating some of the...
- 11/10/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate Below is the complete "Shadows of Russia" schedule on Turner Classic Movies: Wednesday, Jan. 6 Part One: Twilight of the Tsars 8 p.m. The Scarlet Empress (1934) – starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge. 10 p.m. Rasputin and the Empress (1932) – starring John, Ethel and Lionel Barrymore. Part Two: Red Romance 12:15 a.m. Red Danube (1949) – starring Walter Pidgeon and Ethel Barrymore. 2:30 a.m. Reds (1981) – starring Warren Beatty, Diane [...]...
- 11/4/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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