[Preview] Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues | City Winery | 11.11.14

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues will be performing tonight at City Winery, which has quickly become one of our favorite venues in town. Doors are 6:00 PM and the music starts at 8:00 PM.  We were at the Ryman when The Moody Blues, with Hayward, Mike Lodge and original drummer Graeme Edge, impressed us with just how great they sounded, so were are very excited to see him during this stop of his current solo tour.  Tickets are still available here, if you are looking to relish with musical history tonight.

JUSTIN HAYWARD

In 1966, Justin Hayward was contacted by Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues after Eric Burdon had passed on Hayward’s demo discs to Pinder and, within a few days, Hayward had replaced departing vocalist and guitarist Denny Laine. Hayward’s and Mike Lodge’s integration into the group, along with Pinder’s use of the Mellotron, sparked greater commercial success and recognition, transforming them into one of pop music’s biggest-selling acts. The 1967 album Days of Future Passed is one of the first and most influential symphonic rock albums. Hayward became the group’s main onstage figurehead and the prolific songwriter and composer of several big hit singles including “Tuesday Afternoon”, “Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)”, “The Story in Your Eyes”, and “Nights in White Satin”, which is included in virtually everyone’s list of all time favorite songs. He has received four ASCAP awards as well as numerous other songwriter awards around the world.  The Moody Blues’ album sales from 1978 to the present are more than 60 million; however, prior years’ sales are disputed due to the lack of official company records.

In February 2013, Hayward released his solo album Spirits of the Western Sky and toured the east coast to much acclaim. During a BBC interview, Hayward and Lodge made it clear they have no plans to stop working, regarding it as “a privilege” to still be working in the music industry.

Justin Hayward will perform on Tuesday, November 11 at City Winery. The show is all ages, begins at 8p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.), and tickets are available for $55-75.