Orchestra got me into music

Sep 26 2008 By Martin Hutchinson

BIRMINGHAM-BORN star John Lodge has the city’s Symphony Orchestra to thank for inspiring him to become a musician.

The Moody Blues’ bassist and songwriter, who attended Birches Green Junior and Central Grammar schools before studying engineering at Birminygham College of Advanced Technology, says: ‘‘Birmingham has the best orchestra in the world and it was they who got me into music in the first place when I was a youngster.

“There was a quiet part of the day at school when they put on a gramophone record, as they called them then, and played some classics by the Symphony Orchestra. That must have stayed with me.’’

It was a Birmingham venue that helped Erdington-born John get into the pop side of music.

‘‘The Town Hall was where all the greats have played,’’ recalls the 63-year-old. ‘‘I remember seeing Buddy Holly and The Crickets there. My sister bought the tickets, they were ten shillings - about 50p.”

John is relishing his return to his home city tomorrow for a Moody Blues show at the NEC’s LG Arena.

‘‘We always look forward to playing at home - and of course in Birmingham we always get a reality check as all our old friends turn up.

‘‘But I’m proud of where I come from. I’m also a Birmingham City fan and it’s great to see them doing well in the Championship.”

The Moody Blues have now been making music for 40 years, selling over 55 million albums along the way.

They’ve had three number one albums in the UK, On The Threshold Of A Dream, A Question Of Balance and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, while Seventh Sojourn and Long Distance Voyager topped the US charts.

John has a theory why the band has enjoyed such a long career. “Overall I think that it’s because we’ve written our own songs from day one and we’ve never had to look outside the group for inspiration.

‘‘But it’s not just the records. Performing on stage has been a big thing for the Moodies and we’ve always been truthful about why we’ve done concerts, we always perform the songs as they are meant to be performed. Hopefully the audience will go away with something from the evening, whether we’ve evoked an emotion or memory.”

For tomorrow’s show, the nucleus of John, Justin Hayward and drummer Graeme Edge will be joined by three additional musicians, John says.

“We’ve got Paul Bliss on keyboards, another Birmingham boy, he’s been with us about twenty years now. There’s also Gordon Marshall on drums and Norda Mullen from the US on flute.”

And what of the future?

“Well, after the UK we have 12 concerts on the continent, then back to America for four shows. ‘‘What we’d really like to do sometime is a concert with one of the orchestras. We tried to do one with the Halle Orchestra but it never materialised and we also wanted to do a show with The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. That’d be great.

“One thing about being in The Moody Blues is that you never know what’s going to happen next.”

* Ticket Info

THE MOODY BLUES

Tomorrow: LG Arena, NEC. Tickets: £32.50, plus booking and transaction fees, from 0871 945 6000.