John Charles Lodge, the British musician who played bass and guitar and sang in the legendary rock band Moody Blues for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 82.
In a press release published today (October 10), John’s family announced that the musician “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones, as well as the sounds of The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly”. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Lodge was born on July 20, 1943, in Erdington (Birmingham). After falling head over heels for the rock’n’roll of Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, he joined Moody Blues in 1966, stepping in for departing bassist Clint Warwick. He stayed with the band right up until it called it a day in 2018.
With Lodge on bass, vocals and guitar, Moody Blues racked up huge critical and commercial success. The band’s 1969 album “On The Threshold Of A Dream” hit the top of the UK albums chart, and they pulled off the same feat with “A Question Of Balance” in 1970 and “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” in 1971. The 1970 song Question, on which Lodge played bass and sang backing vocals, reached number two on the UK singles chart and stayed there for 12 weeks.
In 1975, Lodge co-created the album of the Blue Jays project. It was a joint effort with Justin Hayward, his Moody Blues bandmate, and it climbed to number four on the UK chart. In 1977 he put out his first solo album, “Natural Avenue”, while the follow-up, “10,000 Light Years Ago”, only came 38 years later, in 2015.
Once Moody Blues stopped recording and playing together, Lodge focused on his own work. In 2021 he released the live album “The Royal Affair And After”, in 2023 the studio album “Days Of Future Passed – My Sojourn” (a reimagining of the 1967 Moody Blues album), and this year, on Valentine’s Day, the EP “Love Conquers All”.
Lodge married Kirsten Lodge in 1968. He was known as a devout Christian. He credited his faith with helping him through temptation and keeping him out of the debauched lifestyle that usually comes with being a rock’n’roll performer.
