{"id":490852,"date":"2026-01-04T03:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T03:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490852\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T03:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T03:12:10","slug":"the-moody-blues-justin-hayward-pays-heartfelt-tribute-to-late-bandmate-john-lodge-in-year-end-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490852\/","title":{"rendered":"The Moody Blues\u2019 Justin Hayward Pays Heartfelt Tribute to Late Bandmate John Lodge in Year-End Message"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 saw the passing of many famous and beloved rock musicians, including longtime Moody Blues<\/a> bassist John Lodge<\/a>. In a year-end message posted on his official website<\/a>, Moody Blues frontman Justin Hayward<\/a> wrote a heartfelt tribute to his longtime bandmate, who died on October 10. He also looked back at some of the highlights of his many years with the band.<\/p>\n

Lodge and Hayward both joined The Moody Blues in October 1966 and remained in the band until it stopped touring in late 2018. John died of undisclosed causes at age 82.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: Check Out Moody Blues Singer Justin Hayward\u2019s New Orchestral Cover of a 1980s Alternative-Pop Gem]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In his online message, titled \u201cReflections,\u201d Justin wrote, \u201cThough the heartbreak of loss, it\u2019s comforting to know that John got exactly what he wanted out of life (how many can truly say that?)\u2014with a loving family and in a group that had some impact in the world. And we were all in the group that, as young men, we always wanted to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cYes, we made our own good fortune with the music, but the stars aligned for us. We talked a lot about the audiences when we were touring\u2014about the people we would see regularly that we knew, and the people we only saw now and again but recognised. We were, and are, deeply grateful to the fans who gave us that greatest of gifts. How could we not? We were in the presence of that loyalty every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIn the end, I\u2019m so happy that all the music we made was from the heart. We were a group that was all about the music, and there was a deep affection between us that didn\u2019t depend on \u201csocialising\u201d or \u201ccalling each other up,\u201d but is everlasting.\u201d<\/p>\n

More About Hayward\u2019s Relationship with His Fellow Moody Blues<\/p>\n

With Lodge\u2019s passing, Hayward is now the last surviving member of The Moody Blues\u2019 classic lineup. Flutist\/singer Ray Thomas died in 2018, drummer Graeme Edge passed away in 2021, and keyboardist\/singer Mike Pinder died in 2024.<\/p>\n

In his message, Hayward wrote about the camaraderie he had with his bandmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost precious of all was the fact that whenever we came together\u2014Graeme, John, Mike, Ray and myself\u2014no matter how long it had been since we were last with each other, things were always the same,\u201d Justin shared.<\/p>\n

He also pointed out that the Moody Blues members always enjoyed joking around with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201c[W]e could make each other laugh. In fact, it was always funny,\u201d Hayward recalled. \u201cAnybody who has been in a group will understand, and they will know how important that is. I don\u2019t know if anyone ever noticed that we would mouth words to each other on stage. There were many times when, if I caught Ray\u2019s eye\u2014or he caught mine\u2014we would break up laughing. Even some small gestures had a meaning for us, and would set us off. It was great, I loved all that, and I miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that some of his best memories with The Moody Blues was during the band\u2019s commercial resurgence in the 1980s and \u201990s, which was after Pinder had left the band.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have a second chance, with chart success, was beyond Our Wildest Dreams,\u201d Justin offered, referencing the band\u2019s 1986 hit \u201cYour Wildest Dreams.\u201d Most of all, the touring life was wonderful, and I know we sounded good (because we practiced a lot!).\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayward Also Looked Ahead to the New Year in His Message<\/p>\n

Hayward\u2019s post also featured some recollection about Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson, who died in June. He called Wilson an \u201cabsolute genius,\u201d while also praising the vocal talents of Brian\u2019s late brother Carl.<\/p>\n

Justin also fondly recalled touring with The Beach Boys and Chicago.<\/p>\n

Wrapping up his message, Hayward shared his excitement about what the coming year has in store.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward very much to 2026,\u201d he wrote. \u201c[T]he phone is ringing, my wonderful team is with me, and the songs are on my lips and in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayward hasn\u2019t announced any tour dates yet for 2026. Most recently, he mounted a fall trek dubbed the Forever Autumn tour that visited, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the U.K.<\/p>\n

Justin\u2019s most recent musical release was a symphonic cover of The Dream Academy\u2019s 1985 hit, \u201cLife in a Northern Town,\u201d which came out in March 2025. The track was a collaboration with U.K. producer, conductor, composer, and arranger Mike Batt.<\/p>\n

(Photo by Jeff Kravitz\/FilmMagic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 saw the passing of many famous and beloved rock musicians, including longtime Moody Blues bassist John Lodge.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":490853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[976,171,202968,975,150154,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-490852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-classic-rock","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-justin-hayward","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-the-moody-blues","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115834647000164632","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}