Graeme Edge, Moody Blues' Drummer and Co-Founder, Dead at 80

[rdmtimp]

Source: Rolling Stone

Graeme Edge, drummer and co-founding member of the Moody Blues, has died at the age of 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted British prog band announced Edge’s death Thursday. No cause of death was revealed.

“It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on,” Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward wrote on Facebook. “When Graeme told me he was retiring, I knew that without him it couldn’t be the Moody Blues anymore. And that’s what happened. It’s true to say that he kept the group together throughout all the years, because he loved it.”

Moody Blues bassist John Lodge added on Twitter, “Sadly Graeme left us today. To me he was the White Eagle of the North with his beautiful poetry, his friendship, his love of life and his ‘unique’ style of drumming that was the engine room of the Moody Blues…”

Edge was a member of the Moody Blues from their formation in 1964 — when they briefly featured future Wings member Denny Laine, who features on their first hit “Go Now” — through his death; as Lodge and Hayward joined following Laine’s departure in 1966, Edge was the only Moody Blue to be a member of the band’s entire existence, although the drummer retired from touring in 2019.

Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/graeme-edge-moody-blues-drummer-dead-obit-1256700/

---

So sad to see many of our icons leave us. RIP.

[burrowowl]

1. RIP

[hlthe2b]

2. My thoughts exactly... So many performers are leaving us, it feels so sad...

I spent the weekend watching older movies and tv programs. On some of them, there was not a single actor that appeared who was still living. Boy, does that get to you, even though I know they were up in years even a decade ago. Just as my parents and grandparents became obsessed with the obituary column in the newspaper, I find myself constantly googling these performers to see if they are still with us or not.

RIP

[cinematicdiversions]

25. I watched Blazing Saddles a few weeks ago and realized that Mel Brooks outlived them all. nt

[Diamond_Dog]

3. RIP Graeme.

He injured his shoulder many years ago and that was when they got a second drummer who stayed with them on tours throughout the rest of their live performances. He also had a stroke, that was when he retired. He fully recovered from that. He was a character and had a great sense of humor. When he posted to facebook, he always started with “hello rascals.”

Sadly missed by this Moody fan.

[BigmanPigman]

9. Thanks for sharing that.

[multigraincracker]

14. I saw them live at the casino, just a few years ago.

They were excited about playing in Mt. Pleasant MI. because they had played here 50 years ago.

[Diamond_Dog]

15. I saw Lodge and Hayward live about 4-5 yrs ago

The Nights in White Satin tour at the Hard Rock Rocksino.

They were superb. 🥰

[lastlib]

4. So, so, sad. Moodys were my favorite band in high school.

Please, God, give him "One More Time To Live"!

May this sojourn be your happiest, Graeme--and may you find that lost chord. Your children's children's children will remember you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Stardust]

21. Your post brought tears to my sad old eyes. 😢 nt

[Rhiagel]

5. Burn Slowly, the Candle of Life...

R.I.P., Graeme. Your poetry and drumming live on...

[world wide wally]

6. Peace, brother

And thanks.

[11 Bravo]

7. No, no, no, he's outside ... looking in.

RIP, sir.

[SheltieLover]

8. Cross gently

[Baked Potato]

10. Peace be with you man.

[highplainsdem]

11. RIP, Graeme. And thank you.

[Kimber432]

12. Thank you for your legacy Graeme. n/t

[MissMillie]

13. The Word

This garden universe vibrates complete
Some we get a sound so sweet
Vibrations reach on up to become light
And then through gamma, out of sight
Between the eyes and ears there lie
The sounds of color and the light of a sigh
And to hear the sun, what a thing to believe
But it's all around if we could but perceive
To know ultra-violet, infra-red, and x-rays
Beauty to find in so many ways
Two notes of the chord, that's our full scope
But to reach the chord is our life's hope
And to name the chord is important to some
So they give it a word, and the word is..... Om


RIP to the eternal hippie... the musical poet

[rampartc]

16. love it

to fly to the sun without burning a wing
or to lie in a meadow and hear the grass sing
to have all of these things in our memories' hoard
to use them to help us to find the lost chord .....

[BuddhaGirl]

28. I LOVE this lead in to "Om"

In Search of The Lost Chord is my favorite Moody Blues album

[lonely bird]

30. Agreed!

House of 4 doors and thinking is the best way to travel.

[NBachers]

17. You know, it's funny, I've been singing Eternity Road to myself all afternoon. Then I read this

[Harker]

18. "Just open your heart, and that's a start."

I saw the Moody Blues perform in Denver, 1978, I think.

Graeme Edge was reciting "The Balance"...

"... and the veins in the leaf... " (awful shriek through the amps - and without breaking his rhythm) "... and the feedback."

15,000 people sat quietly for just a beat before bursting out laughing cheerfully with him.

One of my most cherished concert memories.

[ancianita]

19. One of the greats of my musical life. I'm forever grateful for the Moody Blues, who made me feel

the universe while crying and laughing about being alive at all.

&list=PLSoNQKSOvCoK5V2raO7oj146086Z_4PtH&index=8

&list=PLSoNQKSOvCoK5V2raO7oj146086Z_4PtH&index=13

[slightlv]

20. RIP

Dear, Precious Soul... we'll miss you, Graeme.

This year seems like we've really lost a lot of our talent and good people; and yet those the world really wouldn't miss just keep on keeping on. Sure doesn't seem fair, does it? (sigh) Maybe I'm just hitting that age where all my idols are dying, and I don't like it; tends to make you face your own mortality in the more reflective moments. Think I'll go to bed tonight to some of that excellent old Moody Blues' Music to get me thru.

[MissMillie]

27. This is probably the closest you'll get to a Moody Blues lullaby

even contains the word "lullaby"

[calimary]

22. Bummer! I LOVE the Moody Blues.

Rest In Peace, Graeme. To quote one of my favorite songs of theirs, “I know you’re out there somewhere…”

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

23. I've been to only two concerts in my life...

Last edited Fri Nov 12, 2021, 12:40 AM - Edit history (1)

...and both times it was to see them. The first time was the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. They performed with a symphony orchestra, and it was a good show even from the nosebleeds of the erstwhile basketball venue. This is before Ray Thomas retired.

The second time was up close in a more intimate setting at Ironstone Vineyards, Murphys. CA. They were fronted by the Dave Mathews band, who performed crammed on the front part of the stage, because the Moodies drumsets etc. were already set up in the back of the stage. When the opening act cleared out, they had the whole stage to themselves. (Post Roy.)

I count myself fortunate to have been able to see them, twice.

[regnaD kciN]

24. Saw them at what was still the Seattle Coliseum...

...(now rebuilt as Climate Pledge Arena) in 1986, with The Fixx opening for them. The day before the concert, the Seattle Times dismissed them as "geriatric rockers," and I'm guessing it got back to them -- I've never heard a show that was so loud. They really had the amps turned up to somewhere beyond 11.

[MissMillie]

26. I've seen them multiple times as well

I think 10. I stopped going after Ray Thomas stopped touring.

I think my favorite was the Long Distance Voyager tour. Stevie Ray Vaughn was the opener, but unfortunately this was before he sobered up.

Hard as hell to pick a favorite album... I tend to like the ones that aren't as popular with other fans. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is brilliant, and Octave is under-rated.

[raising2moredems]

33. I whole heartedly agree..

I still have my Every Good Boy Deserves Favour t-shirt. Came out a bit before my time but Octave wasn't. Steppin' in a Slide Zone is an awesome song but I'll Be Level With You never got the traction it deserved.

I had the good fortune to see them (with Ray Thomas) but alas since they performed with the local symphony orchestra, they played few of their "hard rock" songs. But still a very good concert. Last time they came to town (sans Ray Thomas) was when the Cubs were in the world series - we gave our tickets to friends.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

35. Fave Album

Question of Balance.

[Lunabell]

29. RIP

Damn, I'm getting old. All the good ones are going.

[iluvtennis]

31. May he Rest in Peace and His Memory be a Blessing/ n/t

[patphil]

32. I never thought I'd get to be a hundred/million

[turbinetree]

34. The Word & Om - The Moody Blues

Absolutely love this band....

[3Hotdogs]

36. It's amazing.... I have every one of those albums.

My last live experience was the Haywood gig with him and a woman on a synthesizer. It wasn't bad.

[Cetacea]

37. It was co-founder Mike Pinder's voice on Edges's poems

with one or two exceptions.

RIP Graeme Edge

[lapfog_1]

38. My favorite band...

Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bed sitter people look back and lament
Another days useless energy spent
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love and has none
New mother picks up and suckles her son
Senior citizens wish they were young
Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is gray and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion

[maxrandb]

40. Great Song from a great album. Kick Off your Muddy Boots

https://m.

[MustLoveBeagles]

41. RIP

[Raine]

42. I saw them in concert, good times then ... RIP🕯️nt