Graeme Edge  

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Graeme Charles Edge (30 March 1941 – 11 November 2021) was an English musician, songwriter, and poet, best known as the co-founder and drummer of the English band the Moody Blues. In addition to his work with the Moody Blues, Edge worked as the bandleader of his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band. He contributed his talents to a variety of other projects throughout his career.

Contents

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Life

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The Moody Blues (1964–1966)

Born in Rocester, Staffordshire, Graeme Edge was one of the original members of the Moody Blues, alongside singer/guitarist Denny Laine, singer/bassist Clint Warwick, singer/keyboardist Mike Pinder, and singer/flautist/harmonica player Ray Thomas. Edge provided a foundation for the original R&B and rock-flavoured band fronted by Laine, playing on all their Decca singles, including the UK chart-topping "Go Now" (January 1965), and other 1965 hit songs: "I Don't Want To Go On Without You", "Everyday", and "From the Bottom of my Heart (I Love You)", which were additionally released in that year.

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Core seven period (1966–1974)

After the departure of Laine and Clint Warwick and the later recruitment of Justin Hayward and John Lodge in 1966, the band continued initially to play the R&B style material.

Edge initially was a poet for the band, contributing "Morning Glory" and "Late Lament" to Days of Future Passed in 1967 (narrated by Pinder). Edge himself opened In Search of the Lost Chord (1968) with his brief poem "Departure", though Mike Pinder narrated his "The Word" poem later on that set. Further poems provided by Edge included "In the Beginning" (co-narrated by Hayward, Edge and Pinder in turn) and "The Dream" (spoken by Pinder) for On the Threshold of a Dream (1969). Edge said that the reason most of his poetry was recited by Pinder was that heTemplate:Which one smoked so many cigarettes and drank so much whisky that heTemplate:Which one had the best voice for it.Template:Citation needed

Later in 1969, as the Moodies launched their own label, Threshold Records, Edge began contributing songs. His effort "Higher and Higher" (a spoken lyric over music with a dramatic 'rocket blast off' opening as usual, it was recited by Pinder) commenced the band's fifth album To Our Children's Children's Children, which also featured his instrumental composition "Beyond".

Edge whispered the lyrics to his song "Don't You Feel Small" over band-sung vocals (Pinder, Thomas, Lodge, and Hayward) on A Question of Balance (1970), on which he also contributed a closing poem/song co-written with Ray Thomas, "The Balance" (recited by Pinder).

Edge co-wrote and claimed pole position as 'lead grunt' on the unusual band-composed opening track "Procession" on their album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour in 1971, on which his song "After You Came" features the four lead vocalists (Thomas, Pinder, Hayward and Lodge) both together and taking brief solo lead lines in turn. Edge's song was later used as UK B-side to the chart hit "Isn't Life Strange?" in 1972. The first electronic drum is said to have been created by Edge in collaboration with Sussex University Professor Brian Groves. The device was used in the song "Procession" from the 1971 album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.

For their 1972 Seventh Sojourn album, Edge co-wrote "You And Me" with Hayward, who took lead vocal. In 2013 Edge said of Seventh Sojourn:

I didn't [listen to] that album, because I was going through a divorce at the same time and so it was very, very painful for me. Once it was finished, I didn't play it for years and years and years. Never played it. Not that I play our stuff very much anyway, but I never ever played that one. And I hadn't really heard it apart from the [singles] from it, until [2007 when] it came out first time on CD and I had to listen to it digitalised just to sort of say "Yeah, that's fine by me." And I thought, "Well actually, that's not too bad an album!" That's the closest I'll ever be to hearing a Moodies album for the first time.
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Band hiatus

After the Moodies' world tour ended in 1974, the band members took a break, during which, between his two solo albums, Edge sailed on a round-the-world voyage with a small crew in his yacht Delia.

Edge returned to recording later in 1974, forming his studio-based the Graeme Edge Band (featuring guitarist/vocalist Adrian Gurvitz) and Paul Gurvitz, which first issued a non-album single, "We Like To Do it", on Threshold (TH 18) in July 1974 (this was later added to his first Graeme Edge Band album as a bonus track on the CD release). The Graeme Edge Band then released two albums in the mid 1970s. The first was Kick Off Your Muddy Boots in September 1975 on the Threshold record label, a subsidiary of Decca Records, catalogue number THS 15. It was released as a gatefold with album art by Joe Petagno and featured Adrian Gurvitz and Paul Gurvitz, plus a guest appearance co-drumming with Edge by Ginger Baker (on 'Gew Janna Woman'), and backing vocals by fellow Moodies member Ray Thomas. This first album reached No. 107 in the U.S. on the Billboard chart. Their second album was Paradise Ballroom in 1977, on the main Decca label, and in the United States on the London Records label. The album charted in the US reaching No. 164 on Billboard. It was also released as a gatefold with album art by Joe Petagno, again featuring Adrian and Paul Gurvitz. Edge also appeared as himself in the 2016 film comedy Characterz.

A single, "Everybody Needs Somebody" (taken from the latest album), was issued on Decca (F.13698) with the non-album B-side "Be My Eyes" in June 1977.

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Band reformation (1978–2021)

After the Moodies' reunion in 1978, Edge provided "I'll Be Level With You" (sung by the group, led by Hayward) for the album Octave on Decca. After the album was released, Pinder declined to tour with the band and was replaced by ex-Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz.

For Long Distance Voyager in 1981 Edge contributed "22,000 Days"—the length of an average human lifespan in days—sung by Thomas, Lodge and Hayward; this was also used as the UK B-side of the single "Gemini Dream".

Edge's "Going Nowhere" (sung by Ray Thomas) was his lone composition on The Present' album in 1983, and he teamed with Moraz for "The Spirit" (sung by the group's vocalists in harmony) on The Other Side of Life album in 1986.

Edge was not featured as a songwriter or poet on either Sur La Mer (1988) or Keys of the Kingdom (1991) and was not drummer on every track on the latter album; however, he contributed the closing poem/song "Nothing Changes", which was initially narrated by himself and then sung by the Moodies (Hayward featured) on the Strange Times album issued in 1999.

Edge was joined onstage by Gordon Marshall as second drummer for Moodies concerts from 1991 to 2015, and by Billy Ashbaugh from 2016 on. In addition to drums, Edge provided varied assorted percussion instrumentation, plus additional piano to the Moodies' works, and featured his electronic drum kit from the early 1970s onwards on Moodies albums, his drumming style being recognisable and distinctive.

Edge participated in the 2011 Moody Blues bluegrass tribute album Moody Bluegrass TWO ... Much Love, providing the lead vocal on a bluegrass-tinged version of his poem "Higher And Higher".

Edge was a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. An article about him said he had "plenty of time for overseeing some rental properties, doing charity work, playing lots of golf, and watching Deep Space Nine at his Sarasota home on Florida's Gulf Coast".

In 2013 Justin Hayward spoke of Edge's learning Transcendental Meditation in 1967, along with other members of the Moody Blues.

Edge was the only remaining original member of the Moody Blues still performing in the band. However, Justin Hayward and John Lodge, from the best-known version of the band, are also still with the band. With his death, the band no longer has any original members within its line-up.

Edge used DW drums, Zildjian cymbals, Remo heads and Regal Tip drumsticks, namely their 5A model.

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Death

Edge passed away on 11 November 2021. Cancer was listed as the cause of his death.

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Compositions

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The Moody Blues

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The Graeme Edge Band

  • 1974: "We Like To Do it" - Non Album single (Later added to CD of 'Kick Off Your Muddy Boots')
  • 1975: "Lost in Space" from Kick Off Your Muddy Boots.
  • 1975: "Have You Ever Wondered" from Kick Off Your Muddy Boots.
  • 1975: "The Tunnel" (with Adrian Gurvitz, & Paul Gurvitz) from Kick Off Your Muddy Boots.
  • 1975: "Somethin' We'd Like To Say" from Kick Off Your Muddy Boots.
  • 1977: "Paradise Ballroom" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "Human" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "Everybody Needs Somebody" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "Be My Eyes" (with Adrian Gurvitz) - 'B' side to 'Everybody Needs Somebody' single (Later added to CD of "Paradise Ballroom")
  • 1977: "All Is Fair" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "Down, Down, Down" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "In the Light of the Light" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.
  • 1977: "Caroline" (with Adrian Gurvitz) from Paradise Ballroom.


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