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The Moody Blues

T

TonyBrown

Brummie babby
Hi,
I run a website dedicated to the Moody Blues and their earlier bands ( www.TheMoodyBlues.co.uk )

I've interviewed dozens of musicians from those bands and several of their personal photo albums are included on my site,

I would love to hear from anyone who may have any original photos, other memorabilia or any memories that would help me expand the biographies on my site. For example, were you present when The Moody Blues Five played their first show at the Carlton Club? Are you related to any of the band?

Here are a few names to help job your memories ;
Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, John Lodge, Clint Warwick (Albert Eccles), Denny Laine (Brian Hines), Graeme Edge
Saints & Sinners, El Riot & The Rebels, Mark Stuart & The Crestas, The Carpetbaggers, The John Bull Breed, The Question, Gerry Levene & The Avengers, Rocking Tuxedos, Johnny Dean & The Dominators, Denny Laine & The Diplomats, The Rainbow Boys, Danny King & The Dukes, Gerry Day & The Dukes,
John Singer, Phil Myatt, Garry Surman, John Taylor, Ralph Horton, Rob Pryke, Ma Regan

I obviously have Laurie Hornsby's wonderful books Brum Rocked! and Brum Rocked On! (I helped a little with the 2nd). I also have most the fantastic Midland Beat newspapers that covered the Brumbeat scene so well at the time.

Anyway, hope some of you will drop me a line,

All the best,

Tony (Brown)

By the way, the Moodies are playing in B'ham on 11th Sept, so, hopefully a few of you will be there to cheer them on!
 
Hi Tony,

Now there are some names I remember,

I saw El Riot & The Rebels, now can you tell me if Justin Hayward was the lead singer? I think he was but I was only a kid at the time.

Favourite record at the school youth club was Go Now by the Moody Blues.

We used to travel miles to see the Rockin Berries......Poor man's son & He's in town.

Also fond memories of Ma Regan of the Plaza. Old Hill

Regards

Heather
 
The only thing i remember about Denny Laine (Brian), who lived at 74 Holcombe road, Tyseley (I lived at number 80)... is that me and a few mates would sit on the corner of Holcombe road/Fieldhead road & listen to them practice/rehearse.... They were good, from what i remember. :) I've no idea what they played, just that i liked it.

My Mom would have some stories to tell, but she's no longer here.

Good luck,...

BiLL
 
Heather,

It was Ray Thomas that was the lead singer. Justin was from Swindon, Wilts, and didn't join the Moodies until 1966, after Denny & Clint had left. He joined at the same time as John Lodge, who'd previously played with Ray & Mike in the Rebels. I have a poster from the Moodies first show at the Carlton Club (Moody Blues Five) which, amazingly, was signed by them all - Ray was still using his stage-name El Riot at that time!

Incidentally, Ray is re-issuing his solo CDs as a boxset, with a new song too - he's holding a signing session at their offices in Cobham, Surrey (Fri 24th Sep)

Interestingly, the guy that temporarily joined the Moodies on bass (in between Clint & John), Rod Clark, also was lead singer in the Rockin Berries for a while, during the period that Geoff Turton had left - it's a small world!

Regards,
Tony
 
Hi Tony,

Thanks for the info on Ray Thomas, got to admit that it was about 1963 somewhere in the Sutton Coldfield area that I first saw them.
The memory has stayed with me, a glass of lime & lemon,half a crafty fag round the back of the venue, great group, I thought I was in heaven:D ( we were only 13)

will have a good look at your site, it will bring back memories

Dad worked with Bryan (chuck) Botfields dad. It sure is a small world

regards

Heather
 
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Hello. I used to live opposite Mike Pinder - he was younger that me and I went to school with his sister, Masie. I don't know if they will remember but my Dad had them in our house playing and singing before ther became famous. Some time later Mike's sisiter told me they had a new record coming out which was Knight in White Satin. Fantastic . Miriam.
 
I saw the Moody Blues circa 1966/7? at Rob Prykes Moat House club, they were billed as "MB", Rob asked me what i thought of them i said i was not impressed Rob said they would make it to the top, he was right, i was wrong!!!. Len.
 
hello, i did one gig with Ray Thomas when he was El Riot, it was at the Plaza old hill in the early 60's.

shardeen
 
Hi Shardeen,

Wow - can you expand on this? You were in another band that shared the bill? If you can let me have some names, I'll have a word with some of the guys - am meeting up with some next month.

Regards
Tony
 
hello, on saying i did a gig with Ray, if i remember corectly, i was standing in for there own drummer while he was on holidy.

shardeen
 
I saw El Riot & he rebels once or twice at a dance at the Longbridge pub (not there any more) They were very good even then.
 
When they first started out the Rockin Berries played at the Taboo in Stirchley; anyone remember the Taboo?
 
Most of the venues finished at 11 0 clock,2300 hours in those days and we were paid £3 each for the evening as bouncers. The groups were paid £25 between them. I remember them all vaguely but as most of it was not my sort of music I took very little interest in the artists. Of course there was literally dozens and dozens of different groups, duo's and trios all struggling to get into the music buisiness. Most of them fell by the wayside, some were alright for a while and a smaller number went on to great things. It was not until I was older and wiser that I realised just how brilliant the Moodies were along with a number of others.

Many happy memories.
 
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I used to see El Riot and the Rebels when they played at the Golden Cross pub on Aston Cross
 
hello Edhu, i remember the Taboo very well, i used to go most friday's, which i think was the best night. when i used to go in the early 60's Clive Lea was the lead singer with the Rockin Berrie's .

bye for now shardeen
 
I suppose that we all have our 'favourite' places; the Taboo was mine. As soon as I entered the building and heard the music going on upstairs,I couldn't wait to get up that big staircase,open the door and enter the dimmed room with the revolving globe that threw patterns around the walls and ceiling....Oh!...and I met my wife there as well.
It seems incredible now that a venue that was basically only a community hall , served only soft drinks (if you wanted a drink you had to have a pass out and nip round to tthe British Oak or The Three Horseshoes,and be back by 9.45) and ended around 10.30, was so popular.
Oh happy days !
 
I must confess to a rather mean trick played on Freddie of Freddie and the Dreamers when they played a B'ham gig in the early 60's. We hated him as a "girly" singer so we let his tyres down on his Jag (personalised plate so easy to spot) and waited. Out he came saw them and 3 of us leaning on a car just across the way. "Did you do that" he demanded, "Yes" we said, "and what are you going to do about it ? " So he went inside to 'phone the AA. Don't blame him, we were pussy cats but didn't look it. Tried for the mean, magnificant and moody look as you did in early teens, probably looked like we had severe bowel problems. A pal and I woud bunk off school to hang around in Pattersons cafe, Sutton, trying to find a Mrs Robinson amongst the middle class matrons. They probably wondered what the two spotty schoolboys were doing. (we were in disguise, we had taken off our ties)
Youth is not wasted on the young, we had a hell of a good time and thank goodness couldn't see ourselves as others did.
 
Thanks everyone for this interesting thread :thumbsup:. I used to love the Moody Blues in "the good old days", but we had already emigrated and I was unaware of the Brum connection (shame on me!). I'm surprised there are no pictures on the thread yet, so here's a colourful one (not original).
 
Hi Tony

I saw the Moody Blues in November 1965 at the Birmingham Hippodrome at the Chuck Berry show and I still have the programme. Also on the bill were Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men, the Graham Bond Organization etc. Some real R & B history there!!! Not sure whether Rod Stewart was with the Hoochie Coochie Men then, but Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce were certainly with Graham Bond.

Regards

Peter
 
HI SPOONER
Long john baldry was a really talent singer i used to like is music;
i have quite afew of his ep.s
does any body know if he still performs around on the curcuits or still alive today
my favorite was let the heart aches begin
have a nice day everybody best wishes astonion ;;
 
Astonian said:
HI SPOONER
Long john baldry was a really talent singer i used to like is music;
does any body know if he still performs around on the curcuits or still alive today
Click to expand...

He died in 2005.

I believe he "discovered" Rod Stewart busking and invited him to join his band at the time.
 
You are so right of course about Long John Baldry, I have said before that the usual sort of 'pop' music was all so similar when I worked on the door and heard it night after night. Long John, Freddy Mercury and one or two others were a ver pleasant break in the monotany o it all.
 
John "Long John" William Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached No. 1 in 1967 and in Australia where his duet with Kathi McDonald "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" reached No. 2 in 1980. Baldry lived in Canada from the late 1970s until his death. There he continued to make records and do voiceover work. He was the voice of Dr. Robotnik in Adventures of Sonic

Mossy
 
Wow - lots of replies!!

There's a copy of the programme for the Chuck Berry show on my site ;

https://www.themoodyblues.co.uk/tourbooks.htm Wish I'd been around to have seen them (not born until '66!)

It was signed by the band plus a few others on the show, inc. Dick Heckstall-Smith (sp?)

Actually, Rod's first band was called The Moontrekkers, but Joe Meek didn't like his voice so he left, they then cut three great instrumental, the first (Night of the Vampire) was actually banned by the BBC! Not bad for an instrumental! There's a picture of a very young Rod in the band in the "Legendary Joe Meek" book.

Just a reminder, the Moodies begin their UK tour tonight, plus they're at the NEC on Saturday if you get chance to go.

All the best,

Tony
 
Dick Heckstall Smith played with Graham Bond Organization along with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.....Dick played Sax and Clarinet i have still got the L P ''Theres a Bond Between Us''

Boy those were the days

Mossy
 
Bessie Banks' Go Now had been sent to me from America with a few other 45's by Tim Hudson. I gave it to the boys to try out at their house in Roehampton and became more enthused when I heard them start rehearsing the harmonies there. It was an unlikely chart contender, being in 3/4 time, but they gave it an individual quality that I found inspiring. By this time we'd released 'Steal Your Heart Away' and it had put them on the map, now we needed to make a real impact."
"The band had played the song for the first time in London at a Marquee gig and that night they blew the crowd away - took them somewhere else! My spine was electrified when I witnessed it. It was a unique song which matched their unique interpretation so I knew before we went into the studio that Go Now was the 'big one' if we could only get it right and re-capture the atmosphere they'd created at the Marquee."

Mossy
 
Mossy

Many thanks for your messages. I was good friends with Clint too (& Danny King), I was at also at the funeral, very moving. Btw, I took Clint to a Moodies gig in London (around 2000) where he met some of the band after the show, a very interesting evening.

Would you mind dropping me an email off-board as I'd like to follow up on some of the information you posted. I've been in touch with Tim Hudson too (plus Alex Murray/Wharton, Lord Elliot & Jon Fenton) - sounds like you have some amazing stories to tell! Btw, I have the Moodies actual first acetate, cut at the Marquee, "You Better Move On" plus 3 early versions of other tracks inc. SYHA & Lose Your Money.

Best wishes,

Tony at TheMoodyBlues.co.uk
 
Mossy said:
Dick Heckstall Smith played with Graham Bond Organization along with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.....Dick played Sax and Clarinet i have still got the L P ''Theres a Bond Between Us''
Click to expand...

Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall-Smith had all played Jazz but then began to move towards Rhythm and Blues with the Graham Bond Organization. Over time all three moved into Pop/Rock.

The guitarist John McLaughlin also played with Graham Bond for a while before going over to the States and playing with Miles Davis on a few of his Jazz/Rock albums (In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew).

The Graham Bond Organization were mainly a Rhythm and Blues band but disbanded and sadly Graham Bond's life went downhill over the following few years and he killed himself in 1974 by throwng himself under a train. Graham was one of the "founders" of English R&B along with Alexis Korner and John Mayall. Without them there would be no Cream, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin etc.

Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce then went on to form Cream (and superstradom) of course.

Dick Heckstall-Smith played with John Mayall for a while, then joined Colosseum and died in 2004.

Later jazz drummer Tony Williams (who also played with Miles Davis) formed Tony Williams Lifetime and John McLaughlin and Jack Bruce both joined the band.

Funny how these "rock family trees" all interlink.
 
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