Moody Blues bassist and vocalist John Lodge dead at 82

John Lodge studio portrait — (Image credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images)

John Lodge, bass player and vocalist in the Moody Blues for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 82.

In a press release issued earlier today (October 10), the musician’s family say that he “peacefully slipped away surrounded by his loved-ones and the sounds of The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly”. His cause of death has not been disclosed.

“It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that John Lodge, our darling husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law and brother has been suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us,” the statement reads.

“As anyone who knew this massive-hearted man knows, it was his enduring love of his wife, Kirsten, and his family, that was the most important thing to him, followed by his passion for music, and his faith.

“He was never happier than being onstage – he was ‘just a singer in a rock’n’roll band’ and he adored performing with his band and son-in-law, Jon [Davison] (vocalist with Yes), and being able to continue sharing this music with his fans. It gave him even more joy to be able to work with his daughter Emily and son Kristian and spend time watching his grandson John-Henry play football and dream of him playing for Birmingham City one day!

“John peacefully slipped away surrounded by his loved ones and the sounds of The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. We will forever miss his love, smile, kindness, and his absolute and never-ending support. We are heartbroken, but will walk forwards into peace surrounded by the love he had for each of us. As John would always say at the end of the show, thank you for keeping the faith."

The family have requested privacy and urge fans to listen to Lodge’s 2025 solo song Whispering Angels in remembrance.

Lodge was born on July 20, 1943 in Erdington, Birmingham. After falling in love with the rock’n’roll of Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, he joined the Moody Blues in 1966, replacing outgoing bassist Clint Warwick. He remained with the group until they ceased activity in 2018.

With Lodge on bass and vocals, the Moody Blues enjoyed notable critical and commercial success after finding their feet with their pioneering second album Days Of Future Passed. The band’s 1969 album On The Threshold Of A Dream topped the UK album charts, a feat repeated by 1970’s A Question Of Balance and 1971’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Their 1970 song Question reached number two on the UK singles chart and remained on the chart for 12 weeks.

The Moody Blues were also massively popular in middle America, where their songs and lyrics struck a personal note with millions of people trying to make some sense out of the triumph of landing a man on the moon on one hand, with the grim reality of the Vietnam War on the other. For a couple of years, they were the biggest-selling English band in America, and 1972’s Seventh Sojourn topped the charts for five weeks.

“It was this era of hope and awareness, but they were being incredibly frustrated by the Vietnam War, Lodge told Classic Rock in 2008. "We were relating to the 17-18-year-olds who were going out there to fight, and they were coming to our gigs. There were a lot of strange conflicts going on in people’s minds. I still get people who come up and say, ‘I have to tell you, in 1968 I was in Vietnam, absolutely scared stiff. And I just kept playing your album over and over again’.”

In 1975, Lodge co-created the album Blue Jays: a collaborative project between himself and Moody Blues bandmate Justin Hayward, which reached number four on the UK charts. He released his debut solo album, Natural Avenue, in 1977 and didn’t put out his second, 10,000 Light Years Ago, until 38 years later in 2015.

After the Moody Blues stopped recording and performing together, Lodge focused more heavily on his own output. He released the live album The Royal Affair And After in 2021, the studio album Days Of Future Passed – My Sojourn (a reimagining of the 1967 Moody Blues album) in 2023 and the EP Love Conquers All on Valentine's Day this year.

Lodge married Kirsten in 1968 and credited his Christian faith with helping him to avoid “the excesses” of the rock’n’roll lifestyle. Prog gave the musician the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Prog Awards in London in 2019.

Whispering Angels by The Moody Blues' John Lodge - out Feb 14 - YouTube

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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