John’s early inspiration was Buddy Holly. Many artists would have loved to see Buddy and the Crickets on their UK tour in 1958 but most, like The Beatles, missed out. John Lodge made the cut.

Justin Hayward was drafted into the Moody Blues at the same time as John, both of them going on to write many of the band’s classics. John contributed dozens of songs, including ‘Peak Hour’, ‘Emily’s Song’, ‘Isn’t Life Strange’, ‘I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)’ and ‘Gemini Dream’; he won major songwriting awards for the last three of these.

In 1985, the Moody Blues picked up the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and in 2018 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In September 2019, John was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Prog magazine. In Bass Player magazine, John was voted one of the top ten bass players of all time.

As well as being a ‘lifetime Moody Blue’, John has undertaken many solo projects, including albums and tours, and has produced records for other artists. In 1975, he and Justin Hayward collaborated on the album Blue Jays, released on Threshold Records, the Moody Blues’ own label.

During the Covid lockdown in 2020, John wrote and recorded ‘In These Crazy Times’ in his home studio. The song was a big hit on the Heritage Chart, as was the follow-up, ‘The Sun Will Shine’, the following year. But the journey began, as it did for so many artists, with the inspiring songs of a young man from Lubbock called Buddy Holly.

Mike Read