Classic rock/pop group enjoys renewed interest, new CD, tour

Mark Quirk, New Hampshire.com John Lodge’s memory has a couple of things in common with his band — they’re both great and long-lasting. During a recent interview, Lodge brought up a show his Moody Blues played in Manchester back in June of 1986 and recalled the event like it was yesterday. On Monday, Sept. 12, Lodge and his band will return to the Queen City when they kick off a fall tour with a show at the Verizon Wireless Arena. It’s the band’s first trip back since playing in a “car park near an old mill building,” a location that turns out to have been Arms Park 25 years ago. The band had already accomplished a lot up to that point in its career, and it has gone on to do much more after. Now, with more than 35 years of experience under their belt, the Moody Blues have an entire catalog of music to choose from, including hits such as “Nights in White Satin” and “Your Wildest Dreams.” Lodge said concertgoers in Manchester can expect a little of everything at the show. “We always try to take the audience on a musical journey,” the band‘s bassist/singer said. “We try to introduce songs from every album.” The Manchester show is just one of two in the United States before the band heads to Canada for a cross-country tour. The other U.S. show is at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine, the day after the Granite State concert. The tour is in support of a greatest hits album that was released in July. And the band has gained new popularity as “Nights In White Satin” recently landed at No. 2 on the UK Rock Chart and No. 27 on the BBC Radio 1 chart. The song’s resurgence ignited from a recent cover performance by Matt Cardle, winner of Simon Cowell’s hit UK television show “The X Factor.” The band’s career has spanned a few generations now, yet the Moody Blues still remains popular. Lodge attributes that longevity to the curiosity of modern music fans and a little thing called the internet. He said he searches the internet on a regular basis for music he likes, and he feels others do the same. Sometimes those people stumble across the Moody Blues, and it’s obvious people continue to like them, or else the band likely wouldn’t be touring. “They’ll find our music and say ’Yeah, I like that,’” Lodge said. “Hopefully they’ll like some of our other music when we play it.” Now, at 68, Lodge and his band mates continue to play international tours. Quite the grind for a band entering its golden years, but Lodge said there is something that just keeps bringing them back. “It’s the music,” Lodge said. “We’ve always performed our own music, the songs we’ve written.” Tickets to the Moody Blues’ 8 p.m. show Monday range from $45 to $65. For more information, log onto ticketmaster.com or call the box office at (800) 745-3000.