John Charles Lodge (born 20 July 1945) is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of the longstanding

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

. He has also worked as a record producer and has collaborated with other musicians outside the band. In 2018, Lodge was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as a member of the Moody Blues.

Biography

Early years

John Charles Lodge was born in

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

on 20 July 1945. He attended school at Birches Green Junior School, Central Grammar School and later went to college at the Birmingham College of Advanced Technology for engineering. His early influences were musicians like

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

. By age 14, Lodge had met future bandmate

Ray Thomas Raymond Thomas (29 December 1941 – 4 January 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist, flautist, singer, founding member and composer in the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Night ...

Career

Lodge was initially involved in the Birmingham music scene, although he temporarily dropped out to continue his studies. In 1966, however, after the Moody Blues' original bassist

Clint Warwick Clint Warwick (born Albert Eccles; 25 June 1940 – 15 May 2004) was an English musician known as the original bassist for the rock band the Moody Blues. Life and career Warwick was born in Aston, Birmingham, England. He was drawn to music dur ...

had left the band, Lodge succeeded the temporary substitute bassist Rod Clarke as the permanent bassist and vocalist, rejoining

during the same period as the band recruited guitarist/vocalist

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band the Moody Blues. Hayward became the group's principal lead guitarist and vocalist over the 1967–1974 ...

to replace

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

. Lodge's distinctive

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

ranged from a high harmonious voice and his solid lead vocals were a major asset to the revised Moody Blues from this point on. Lodge's prolific

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

for the Moody Blues has created such songs as "

Peak Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour ( Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: ...

", " (Evening) Time to Get Away", "Gimme a Little Somethin'", "

Ride My See-Saw __NOTOC__ "Ride My See-Saw" is a 1968 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by the band's bassist John Lodge, and was first released on the Moody Blues' 1968 album '' In Search of the Lost Chord''. It was the ...

", "

House of Four Doors A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

", " Eyes of a Child", "

Send Me No Wine ''On the Threshold of a Dream'' is the fourth album by The Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. Content The album begins with a poem accompanied by electronic sounds, and these sounds also appear at the close of the album ...

", "

To Share Our Love ''On the Threshold of a Dream'' is the fourth album by The Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. Content The album begins with a poem accompanied by electronic sounds, and these sounds also appear at the close of the album ...

", "

Candle of Life "Candle of Life" is a song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, from their album ''To Our Children's Children's Children'', a concept album about space travel. "Candle of Life" was written by bassist John Lodge, and features both Lodg ...

", "Tortoise and the Hare", "Minstrel's Song", "Emily's Song", "

Isn't Life Strange "Isn't Life Strange" is a 1972 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues, which was based on Pachelbel's Canon In D. Written by bassist John Lodge, it was the first of two singles released from their 1972 album '' Seventh Sojo ...

" (which earned Lodge an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

songwriting award), " I'm Just a Singer" (which also won him an ASCAP songwriting award), " Steppin' in a Slide Zone","Survival", " Talking Out of Turn", "Nervous", " Sitting at the Wheel","Hole in the World", "Under My Feet", "It May Be a Fire", "Rock 'n' Roll Over You", "Love is on the Run", "Here Comes the Weekend", "Lean on Me (Tonight)", "Shadows on the Wall", "Magic","Wherever You Are", "Love Don't Come Easy", "Words You Say", "Forever Now", "On This Christmas Day","The Spirit of Christmas", and "

Gemini Dream "Gemini Dream" is a 1981 single by the progressive rock band The Moody Blues. It reached number 12 on the US Hot 100, as well as number 1 on the Canada ''RPM'' Top 100 Singles chart. It is ranked as the 28th biggest Canadian hit of 1981. Histor ...

" — the latter being a co-composition with Justin Hayward that won them jointly an ASCAP songwriting award. ''

Bass Player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low br ...

'' magazine noted that Lodge was voted as one of the top ten bass players of all time. Lodge co-wrote " Out and In" with

Mike Pinder Michael Thomas Pinder (born 27 December 1941) is an English rock musician, and is a founding member and original keyboard player of the British rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's ninth album ''O ...

, recorded on ''

To Our Children's Children's Children ''To Our Children's Children's Children'' is the fifth album by the Moody Blues, released in November 1969. " Watching and Waiting" was released as a single to promote the album, but sold poorly. On the other hand, "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Di ...

'' in 1969. He also collaborated with fellow Moody Blues member Justin Hayward on the 1975 album '' Blue Jays'' released on

Threshold Records Threshold Records was a record label created by the rock music group the Moody Blues. The name of the label came from their 1969 album ''On the Threshold of a Dream''. The music ensemble, band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged ...

, which in addition to Hayward's compositions included three songs written by Lodge; "Maybe", "Saved by the Music" and "You", together with two tracks co-written by Lodge & Hayward; "Remember Me (My Friend)" and "When You Wake Up", and later, Lodge released a solo album, '' Natural Avenue'', on

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

in 1977, from which the single, "Say You Love Me" was issued. During the 1970s, he produced music for the band

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

. In 1980, Lodge released a non-album solo single "Street Cafe" b/w "Threw It All Away" on

. This single featured Moody Blues keyboardist

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

, who had joined the group two years earlier, replacing Pinder. Since 1981, Lodge has co-written songs for the band with Justin Hayward, such as: "Meet Me Halfway", "Talkin' Talkin'", "Running Out of Love", "Slings and Arrows", "Want to Be with You", "River of Endless Love", "Breaking Point", "Miracle", "Once Is Enough", "Highway", "Is This Heaven?", "Sooner or Later (Walking on Air)", "Strange Times", and "The One", and from ''December'', "In the Quiet of Christmas Morning (Bach 147)" amongst others. In 1985, the Moody Blues picked up the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Lodge participated in the 2011 bluegrass tribute album to the Moody Blues, '' Moody Bluegrass TWO...Much Love'', as lead vocal his song "Send Me No Wine". Lodge joined other current and past members of the Moody Blues on this album. Two of Lodge's Moody Blues compositions, "Ride My See-Saw" and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" are featured on an earlier tribute album, '' Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues'', released in 2004. In May 2015 John released a solo album titled ''

10,000 Light Years Ago ''10,000 Light Years Ago'' is the second solo album by John Lodge (musician), John Lodge of The Moody Blues, released in May 2015. After 38 years from his previous solo work ''Natural Avenue'' (1977), the bassist and vocalist of the Moody Blues ...

'', which reunited him with

and

. He toured behind the album in 2017 & 2018. In February 2019, Lodge took his solo band onto the ‘Cruise to the Edge’ sailing out of Florida. Lodge and

Jon Davison Jon Davison (born January 16, 1971) is an American singer, musician and songwriter who has been the lead vocalist of progressive rock band Yes since 2012. He is also known as the former lead singer of progressive rock band Glass Hammer from 2 ...

of Yes became friends on board when Davison began dating his daughter Emily. Davison has since toured with John as ‘guest vocalist’ On 2 April 2019, it was announced that Lodge would join Yes on "The Royal Affair Tour" in the summer of 2019 which will also include

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer best known as founding member and the last surviving member of the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He was also a founding member of progressive rock s ...

's ELP Legacy. In September 2019, Lodge was given the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the Annual Prog Awards by

Prog (magazine) ''Prog'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to progressive rock music. The magazine is published 11 times a year by Future. It was launched in February 2009 and is based in London, publishing its 100th issue in August 2019. ''Prog'' ...

in London. In February 2020, Lodge appeared on ‘Rock and Romance Cruise’ alongside

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and other acts, before continuing on a 12 date tour.

again joined Lodge on stage. The tour ended on March 8th, just before the

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

began. During lockdown Lodge wrote and recorded in his home studio the song ‘In These Crazy Times’. Lodge recorded the track himself, and was joined by his son, Kristian, on lead guitar, his wife, Kirsten, on backing vocals, and

also provided backing vocals, whilst his daughter, Emily, managed the project.

Personal life

Lodge has been married to his wife, Kirsten, since 10 September 1968, and they are the parents of two grown children. Their first child, a daughter named Emily, was born in 1970; Lodge wrote "Emily's Song" for the 1971 Moody Blues album, '' Every Good Boy Deserves Favour''. His son Kristian was born two years later. Lodge has spoken on several occasions about being an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian, and credits his faith with preventing him from sinking into the more dangerous elements of the rock music business. Lodge is a supporter of Birmingham City F.C. He resides in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Solo discography

Studio albums

*'' Blue Jays'' (1975) with

UK No. 4 *'' Natural Avenue'' (1977) *''

'' (2015)

Live albums

*''Live from Birmingham: The 10,000 Light Years Tour'' (2017) *''The Royal Affair and After'' (2021)

Compilation albums

*''B Yond - The Very Best of''

References

External links

John Lodge official site
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodge, John 1945 births Living people English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock bass guitarists Progressive rock bass guitarists English cellists English male singer-songwriters The Moody Blues members English record producers Alumni of Aston University English Christians English tenors Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands British rhythm and blues boom musicians Ivor Novello Award winners Decca Records artists English rock guitarists