Justin Hayward says "no" to The Moody Blues reunion with no plans to play with John Lodge again

5 June 2024, 12:24

It's been six years since their last tour.

And it looks like that tour may very well be the final hurrah for The Moody Blues, who last performed together back in 2018.

One of the most ambitious and influential progressive rock acts of the sixties and seventies, it looks like the band - who celebrate sixty years since their formation in 2024 - are no more.

With the recent passing of Mike Pinder, it leaves singer Justin Hayward and John Lodge as the only surviving members of the band's classic lineup.

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Having focussed on their solo projects since 2018 - the same year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - it seems like that might be the case indefinitely.

In a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock ahead of his upcoming Blue World solo tour, Hayward offered a fairly straightforward answer when asked if a reunion was on the cards.

"I think it's our time now to do what we want to do," Hayward told the magazine.

Alongside talking of plans for his upcoming tour, Justin Hayward also reflected on the storied career in music he's had with The Moody Blues.

However, when he was asked if there was a scenario where the two remaining members of the band - him and Lodge - would play together again, his answer was emphatic.

"No," he replied immediately. Though when nudged to elaborate, he couldn't offer a definitive reason, adding: "Why? I don’t know, Matt. That’s the honest answer. I don’t know."

Hayward did want to reiterate that his relationship with Lodge was still going strong.

"Well, the whole Moody Blues thing is a kind of family, so it’s still there," he said in reference to their friendship which spans decades.

"It’s a family and we’re involved in all of that. You know, the group has never been a group of mates, where you say, 'Hey, let’s go out to dinner tonight' or 'Let’s do that'. But we all have a purpose."

Elsewhere in the interview, Justin discussed the late Mike Pinder and his integral role to play in the success of The Moody Blues.

"Mike was a natural-born musician," he said. "You know, you don’t think about how important these things are at the time. You just get on with it and keep moving."

"We didn’t have anything, so we had nothing to lose, really. I don’t think we ever thought about that, what’s anybody bringing to this thing?"

"Mike could play pub piano without looking. He’d be looking up at you smiling, but he’d be playing. I always thought that was absolutely brilliant."

"I think his purpose was probably the same as mine, really, if we had a purpose." Hayward added. "Mostly, we just wanted to pay the petrol and sleep somewhere. But we both wanted to make it about original material rather than cover versions."

Justin Hayward's Blue World tour will arrive in the UK in late 2024, with dates in Bexhill-On-Sea, Aberdeen, and Tunbridge Wells. Click here for the full list of tour dates.