John Lodge is singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the iconic rock band, The Moody Blues. Writer and vocalist of such mega Moody Blues hits “Ride My See-Saw”, “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band)”, “Isn’t Life Strange”, “Gemini Dream”, “Steppin in a Slide Zone” and many many more. Lodge has been performing and recording with The Moody Blues for more than five decades, selling in excess of 70 million albums, and also enjoys a successful solo career. 

In 2019, the Moody Blues stopped touring, but John will always be a Moody Blue, and is passionate about ‘Keeping All the Moody Blues Music Alive’. It is his deeply held desire to bring this music, the music he calls ‘the soundtrack of his life’ - as it is to so many - to the fans who have been on this journey with him for so many years. John and his band perform these classic songs with a new energy, whilst always remaining true to the Moody’s roots and the original sound. They are unique in managing to bring a feeling of nostalgia to the room, and the audience to their feet, with songs that are as relevant today as they were when written. As John says to the fans at the end of every show, ‘Thank you for Keeping the Faith’… and you can see he means it. 

Lodge has been voted one of the “10 most influential bass players on the planet,” and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), and Ivor Novello Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music. John was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2019 was given a star in his hometown ‘Walk of Fame’.  In 2018, John and the Moody Blues were inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’, and in 2019 John was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Prog Awards.

The Moodies have released 15 studio albums, and John has released five solo albums, plus the 1975 BLUE JAYS album, featuring John and Justin Hayward.  John’s latest release (2025) is the new EP ‘LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL’. The EP is a collection of deeply moving songs that all reflect the positive way in which John sees the world, and with the enduring message that love does conquer all. Jon Davison of YES co-wrote ‘Whispering Angels’, and it also features Jon’s YES bandmate Geoff Downes.

In 2024 John released ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn’, a recording that represented John’s reimaging of this iconic album.  He and his 10,000 Light Years Band lovingly recreate this classic album, and it features a special recording by the late Graeme Edge and performances by Jon Davison of YES.  ‘My Sojourn’ was released as part of John’s celebration of the album ‘that changed his life’, and with the hope that it will continue to introduce fans to the original recording. The album received critical acclaim from fans and journalists around the world and was incredibly important to John in bringing not only songs that he wrote for the Moody Blues to the fans, but also in honouring songs from his bandmates, including the incredibly poignant rendition of ‘Late Lament’ by Graeme Edge who sadly passed away in 2021.  A film version is in the works and due for release later in 2025/early 2026.

Born in Birmingham, England, Lodge bought his beloved Fender Precision Sunburst Bass at age 16 (on which he would later record on all the Moody Blues hits), and then Lodge and friend Ray Thomas formed the band, El Riot & the Rebels. After high school, Lodge went on to serve an apprenticeship, but in 1966 he received a phone call from Ray Thomas asking “have you finished college yet?” Lodge then joined, with his former bandmate Thomas, Mike Pinder and Graeme Edge, THE MOODY BLUES as bass guitarist/vocalist. It was at this time they met guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward, and the Moody Blues were “reborn”. The magic of the Moody Blues came from the five band members, all of whom wrote and sung, and created this new ‘progressive’ sound, with harmonies, and mellotron, all beginning with the iconic album ‘Days of Future Passed’. As John said in his ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ induction speech, ‘an album that changed our lives forever’.

NATURAL AVENUE, John’s first solo album, was released in 1977, and included the powerful ballad ‘Say you Love Me’ which was included in the hit film ‘Private Life’ in 2018.  Lodge released 10,000 LIGHT YEARS AGO in the spring of 2015.  This recording reunited Lodge with former Moody Blues bandmates Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder on the song “Simply Magic”, and the song “In My Mind,” was nominated “Rock Anthem of the Year” by Prog Magazine.

In October 2017 Lodge released LIVE FROM BIRMINGHAM, THE 10,000 LIGHT YEARS TOUR on CD/Vinyl and live DVD.  The album features a selection of Moodies classics and some of his acclaimed solo work, and also comes with a 5.1 mix.

2017 saw the 50th Anniversary of the iconic Moody Blues album DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED, and to celebrate, John and the Moody Blues embarked on a special tour that included a complete performance of this groundbreaking album in its entirety.

In December 2017 it was announced that the Moody Blues were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the ‘Class of 2018’.  The Moodies performed live at the ceremony in Cleveland on April 14th, closing the show. They performed “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)”, “Nights in White Satin” and “Ride My See-Saw” and the performance was broadcast on HBO and Amazon Prime, and is also featured in the ‘Rock and Roll Induction Ceremony DVD’ 2018.

During the Summer of 2019 John performed as part of ‘The Royal Affair’ tour, together with YES, Asia and Carl Palmer, travelling across the USA performing at over 30 cities. During the shows, Jon Davison of YES joined John on stage for ‘Ride my See-Saw’, and John joined YES, for a very special encore performance of John Lennon’s Imagine.  This performance was later included on the YES live album entitled ‘The Royal Affair Tour; Live from Las Vegas’, and began their collaboration together.

In Autumn 2019, Lodge released “B Yond” on BMG. The album featured 3 new recordings, 2 new remixes, and other tracks chosen by John as he revisited the very best of his career. Lodge totally recreated “Street Café”, “(Evening) Time to Get Away” and “Legend of a Mind”, with his 10,000 Light Years Band.  Legend of a Mind was particularly important for John to include on this album as it is his tribute to his friend Ray Thomas who sadly passed away in 2018.

In February 2020, John appeared with his band on the ‘70s Rock and Romance Cruise’ sailing out of Miami, together with Cheap Trick, America, Don Felder and many others. They then set off on a three week ‘sold out’ tour, ending on March 9th to a packed house in Lexington, MA, however, within a week, John was in ‘isolation’ due to the pandemic. 

Never being one to sit still, and as he could not be with his band or engineers John decided to learn “GarageBand”. He then went on to write “In These Crazy Times”, and recorded the track in his ‘home studio’ in Florida, performing vocals, and all the acoustic and bass guitar, keyboards and drums himself! John also convinced his wife, Kirsten and son, Kristian, both of whom have never recorded before, to join him, as well as Jon Davison, of YES.

In May 2021 Lodge released his single ‘The Sun Will Shine’.  The song was again written ‘in isolation’, and this time John is joined by his full 10,000 Light Years band, all recording remotely, and Jon Davison again provides backing vocals. The song is a call to try and see things in a positive way, and resonated with so many during these challenging times, and is a true reflection of how John sees the world.

The live album ‘A Royal Affair and After’ was released in January 2022, and was a live recording from the Las Vegas show on the 2019 tour, and featured all of John’s Moody Blues hits plus tributes to all his Moodies bandmates.  

March 2022 saw John return to touring after covid, with sold out dates in the USA, and finishing up co-headlining on ‘The Flower Power Cruise’ with The Hollies and The Zombies. More dates followed in July 2022.

In 2023 John decided that what he really wanted to do was perform ‘Days of Future Passed’ in its entirety.  Before Graeme Edge passed away, John had met with him and he had given John his blessing.  Graeme also made a very special recording and video of his poem ‘Late Lament’ which forms part of the show.  As John says, ‘Graeme will always have a place with me on stage’.

Sold-out tours took place in February and March 2023, and again in July 2023, and in the Fall of 2023, John released the studio album ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn’ to great critical acclaim. 

Touring continued in 2024 and 2025 as John continued to take his incredible show to his fans, and do what he loved best… being a ‘Singer in a Rock and Roll Band’.

In the summer of 2025 John began his new electrifying show ‘Singer in a Rock and Roll Band’.  For this new run he wanted to go back to basics… what are the songs that he loved performing in the Moody Blues? How could he bring these enduring songs to audiences, staying true to the original sound, yet breathing new life into them? These songs might have been discovered by listeners on release, or by newer generations later, but whenever they heard them, they made an indelible impression on them. John’s task was clear, he wanted to recreate the sound and the feel of a Moody Blues show of the past, but at the same time bring in the incredible musicianship of his band, and his experience of performing these songs for over 50 years, to give these classic songs that extra dash of magic. The tour started in New Jersey, covering 12 shows and finishing in Chicago in August.  More dates are scheduled for December.

John is currently working on ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn. The Film’, In April 2025, John and his band flew to the UK for their UK tour, and during rehearsals at the Esher Theatre, just close to John’s home, almost in his ‘backyard’, they managed to capture the rehearsals. The film that came of those days features footage of John, his 10,000 band, and Jon Davison of YES, together with the imagery from the show. It’s a part ‘live show’, part ‘music video’, and John hopes you will put it on, sit back, and go back to 1967 just one more time with him…. The video is edited and ready for release later in 2025 / early 2026.

“I’m sorry that the Moodies are no longer
touring, and I miss my friends Ray and Graeme deeply, but as I looked back to the past, I realised that I also wanted to look forwards to the Future. My hope is that in this new album you will get to revisit 1967, but at the same time, see how this album has grown with me, and with you. Thank to you the 10,000 Light Years Band, Jon Davison and, of course, Graeme, for their belief in this project and helping bring my vision to life. And thank you to all the fans for Keeping the Faith on this, ‘My Sojourn’.” John Lodge written in 2023.

John has worked on many albums during his long and successful career, including producing the album Medusa by Trapeze featuring Glenn Hughes, an album that has become iconic in the world of rock, and wrote ‘Stay away from Me’ a track on the recently released Gene Vincent album, ‘A Piece of the Time’, and John also recorded ‘Important Words’ for this album.  In his career John has worked with Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley to name a few of the icons in John’s life.

When not touring Lodge’s other passions include Charity and Wine.  Ten years ago he began his boutique wine label ‘Krisemma Wine’, hoping to share his favorite wines from around the world.  To date he has produced four wines, a red from Napa Valley, California, and another from Bordeaux from France, and two whites from the Elgin region of South Africa.  The 2014 Elgin Chardonnay recently won a gold medal and two Trophies in the International Wine Challenge 2016, including Trophies for Best South African Chardonnay, and Best Elgin Region Chardonnay. 

Charity is very important to John, in particular children’s charities, and has been throughout his career.  As a keen golfer, he has been Captain of the Variety Club Golf Society, and is a proud member of The Grand Order of Water Rats, two of the wonderful Charities that provide John an opportunity to give back.  He also undertakes many fundraising activities at home in the UK, and in Barbados he is Trustee of the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust.