50 years on from The Moody Blues 'Days of Future Passed' written by Swindon's Justin Hayward
It "created an entire new genre"
1967 is probably best known by many music fans for the Beatles' seminal album 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band', a piece of work that is often described as a perfect snap-shot of
the social, the musical and the cultural changes of the
1960s.
But another studio album, released in the autumn of the same year, from a much less well-known band, The Moody Blues, is also looked at as being of equal influence -
for being way ahead of its time.
It would also bring to worldwide attention the incredible writing & singing talent of Swindon's Justin Hayward.
Days of Future Passed was groundbreaking & highly original, featuring keyboards & arrangements by the London Festival Orchestra, and included the hits
Tuesday Afternoon (written by Hayward under a tree in Lydiard Park!) and the ever-enduring Nights In White Satin.
It may have followed in the wake of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s but it looked to the future like the space-race of its era and, indeed, pioneered the coming age of progressive rock in the 1970s.
One critic cited it as the album that "created an entire new genre".
Although released on 10 November 1967 and only reaching number 27 in the UK Albums Charts at the time, by 1972 - and with 'prog rock' dominating the airwaves on both sides of the Atlantic - it became a multi-million seller in the US, eventually reaching number 3 on the Billboard 100.
The single, Knights in White Satin written by Hayward (right, above), was an equal hit, reaching number 2 in America and leading to a series of sell-out stadium gigs across the US in the 70s.
To date, The Moody Blues, still led by Justin Hayward, have sold over 70 million albums.
Anniversary album
A special Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the Moody Blues’ Days Of Future Passed, which includes the full original 1967 stereo mix, is released on 17 November. The band have also been nominated to join the prestigious Rock & Roll 'Hall of Fame' in 2017 too.
And incredibly, Justin's latest single (still working at 71!) 'Winds of Heaven' has also just been short-listed for a Grammy for Best Song & Best Video.
