Justin Hayward is now the Moody Blue! He’s the last man standing of the classic Moodies line-up and, of all the people who’ve played with him in the band down the years, only Patrick Moraz is still with us. As Hayward approaches his milestone 80th birthday, he’s engaged in a short 12-date UK tour, named “The Story In Your Eyes,” and backed by a small band of fine players who provide occasional harmony and musical backing. He’s written many of the Moodies‘ finest, most iconic songs .. a few of which he’ll go on to perform this evening .. and is the public face of the band yet, despite all his success, he can still walk around a town centre and not be recognised.
Tonight’s show, one of two nights at a sold-out Cadogan Hall, gives his fanbase the rare opportunity to catch him in a somewhat intimate setting, rather than in a large hall. At 7.30, the lights go down and, with no introduction, dressed in white chinos and an untucked shirt, he casually strolls out onstage alone with an acoustic guitar and opens with ‘I Dreamed Last Night’, a song written with fellow Moody John Lodge for their Blue Jays album, after which he’s joined onstage by his fellow musicians and, for the next two hours, with a short break, he gives us a run-through of songs from the Moody Blues repertoire, ranging from 1967 to 1991, alongside a few songs from his solo albums and a newly released song.
Predictably it was some of the older tunes which drew the biggest cheers. After ‘Say It With Love’, from 1991, he goes back to the late 60s and plays ‘Lovely To See You’, from 1969’s On The Threshold Of A Dream, and ‘Tuesday Afternoon’, from 1967’s Days Of Future Passed. It’s remarkable to think, between 1967 and 1970, the Moodies released four iconic albums which still resonate today. He then performs a solo album track, ‘Living For Love’, and a 1991 Moodies track ‘Hope And Pray’, from the Keys Of The Kingdom album. After which the band leave the stage and there follows a Q&A session, where he invites audience members to ask questions, and he answers queries about his favourite guitar, where he once lived and a very amusing story about how, in the late 60s, the Moodies were ‘there but not quite all there,’ and arrived a year late for a radio performance! He then closes the set with a short medley of pieces, which includes the sublime ‘Out And In’, from 1969’s To Our Children’s Children’s Children.
The second half opens with a new song, ‘A Minute Ago’, and 1991’s ‘Land Of Make Believe’ before he then performs hit single ‘Forever Autumn’, after which there’s a selection of the Moodies‘ more iconic songs, which include ‘Your Wildest Dreams’, ‘Question’, ‘The Story In Your Eyes’ and .. you guessed it .. ‘Nights In White Satin’, all of which were rapturously received, before the set closes with ‘I Know You’re Out There Somewhere’, from 1988’s Sur La Mer.
This was a classy set from a consummate professional. His voice still sounds good and his support band are all fine musicians, particularly Carmen Gold and Julie Ragins, who provide backing vocals, flute and occasional keys which enhance the set beautifully. A couple of tracks sound different with no mellotron behind them, notably ‘Out And In’, but this is a minor quibble. It’s only when you see Justin Hayward ‘live’ when you realise just how many good songs he’s written down the years, and his and the Moodies‘ place in rock history is assured and richly deserved.
