Graeme Edge: Tributes pour in as Moody Blues drummer dies aged 80

Tributes have flooded in for Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge who has died aged 80.

The Birmingham-based band announced the news in a statement on its website on Thursday, November 11.

The band’s frontman, Justin Hayward, paid tribute to “one of the great characters of the music business”.

In the statement, he wrote: “It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on.

“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.

“In the late 1960’s we became the group that Graeme always wanted it to be, and he was called upon to be a poet as well as a drummer. He delivered that beautifully and brilliantly, while creating an atmosphere and setting that the music would never have achieved without his words. I asked Jeremy Irons to recreate them for our last tours together and it was absolutely magical.

“Graeme, and his parents, were very kind to me when I first joined the group, and for the first two years, he and I either lived together, or next door to each other – and despite us having almost nothing in common, we had fun and laughs all the way, as well as making what was probably the best music of our lives.

“Graeme was one of the great characters of the music business and there will never be his like again.”

Graeme was born in Rocester, Staffordshire, and grew up in Birmingham, where he co-founded the rock-band in Erdington in 1964.

The Moody Blues rose to prominence in the late 60s and 70s through hits such as Nights in White Satin, Go Now, and Tuesday Afternoon.

Their second album, Days of Future Passed, which was released in 1967, was a mixture of fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers of art rock and progressive rock.

Graeme released his first solo album Kick Off Your Muddy Boot in 1975.

In a post on his Twitter page, Moody Blues guitarist John Lodge also paid tribute to his band mate.

He wrote: “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…I will miss you Graeme.”

Tributes have also flooded in from the music and entertainment industry.

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley also paid tribute to the legendary drummer.

Posting on Twitter, Kiss frontman Paul Stanley, said: “RIP Graeme Edge. I saw the Moodys at the Fillmore East, March 19,1970 and they were EPIC. Sounded just like their recordings. NOBODY could touch them at what they created and to this day you know them as soon as you hear them.”

Actor Michael Des Barres also paid tribute on Twitter.

He wrote: “Such a wonderful drummer so sensitive to the song. The Moody blues went through a couple of reincarnations all of them exquisite, all of them we play: RIP Graham Edge.”

One Twitter user wrote: “I was not prepared to hear that Graeme Edge, drummer and founding member of The Moody Blues, has died. I also didn’t fully appreciate that he created the poetry that beautifully rounds out the music on their best albums from the 60’s and 70’s.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.