Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge‘s new live album The Royal Affair and After, featuring performances from his stint on the Yes-headlined 2019 Royal Affair Tour and from his subsequent U.S. solo trek, gets its release today on CD and digital formats.
The album is mainly made up of renditions of popular Moody Blues songs, and features current Yes frontman Jon Davison on two songs.
Lodge tells ABC Audio that during the Royal Affair trek, he invited Davison to join him and his 10,000 Light Years Band to sing backing vocals on their encore, the 1968 Moody Blues gem “Ride My See-Saw.”
“[I]t was fantastic,” Lodge says of Davison’s performance.
For Lodge’s headlining tour, he decided to salute his fellow Moody Blues members by including songs they wrote for the group in his set, among them the Justin Hayward-penned Moodies classic “Nights in White Satin,” on which Davison sang lead.
“[H]e sings a fantastic version, and it’s on the album,” John notes. “And I’m really pleased with it, because he’s brought the exact emotion to the song.”
Lodge also recorded Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge reciting the spoken-word piece “Late Lament” that Graeme wrote for The Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed album for use on John’s tour. Audio of Edge’s performance is included on The Royal Affair and After.
Edge died of cancer at age 80 in November 2021, and Lodge says he visited Graeme four days before he passed away, and gave him a copy of the new CD.
“We had a few laughs, a few tears,” John shares, adding that when he gave Graeme the CD, “he was tickled pink.”
A blue-vinyl LP version of The Royal Affair and After will be released on January 28. Here’s the album’s full track list:
“Steppin’ in a Slide Zone”
“Saved by the Music”
“Legend of a Mind”
“Sunset”
“Late Lament” (with Graeme Edge)
“Nights in White Satin” (with Jon Davison)
“Gemini Dream”
“Isn’t Life Strange”
“I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)”
“Ride My See-Saw” (with Jon Davison)
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