The Justin Hayward Interview - Part 2
You said Universal is calling for a new album, but in the interim they are rolling out a lot of remastered and expanded CDs and DVDs from the Moody Blues catalog. And I understand a couple of your solo albums are also being re-issued.
Yes, absolutely -- Songwriter and Night Flight.
How involved are you with these re-issues?
I remastered them. I remastered the remaster. In fact, I just went back to the original and remastered that. I didn’t really like the way it was originally put out on CD. I had no input on that at all. It just sort of slipped through. There’s a couple of other tracks that went on there too, just bits and pieces. They’re always calling for bits and pieces that get overlooked or never used on albums. So, I did have some input. And I’m glad to have them out again. A lot of people ask me about them. A lot of people from the fan clubs and web sites are interested them.
It was quite difficult for me because I was the only one in the group who never had his solo albums. A few years ago, Polygram said to the other guys, “Hey listen, you can have your solo albums back.” So they gave them back the masters. But with my albums, they never did. They kept them. And they obviously intended on keeping them for a long time more. What it meant was they were just kind of run down and nothing really happened. It was just that they didn’t want to let go of them, they didn’t want to let go of the rights. I’m really glad a young guy called Andy Street came to the company and started looking at these masters and decided the definitive versions of them had better be done. And I’m very pleased. They should be out in the next couple of months although I haven’t seen a copy yet.
With everything else, I just received the DVD of The Best Of The Moody Blues, which features five videos you made in the 80s.
I haven’t seen that either (laughs).
What do you remember about making these videos?
I remember a lot because it’s the only time in our career where we seemed to have the power and control. Somebody slipped up somewhere and decided we could control what we were doing (laughs), which rarely happened. It was something we were fighting for in the 60s. We just about made it and split up for awhile.
We scripted them and Brian Grant, a director and friend of ours, directed them. They were completely made by the Moodies. We did them our own way. They were the only successful videos we ever had.
Did you enjoy making them?
I enjoyed it very much. It’s so wonderful when you see something that you did on a few sheets of A4 paper as a kind of a script and theme and storyline. And how someone like Brian could actually put it together for us. We had a guy in the video department at Polygram that wanted to make that happen. Those videos should be credited with the success that we’ve had since the 80s. It was built as much on those videos and that particular four and five years of the second half of the 80s where we had a lot of success. That’s the reason we’re here now still talking and still able to put out new product.
What do you think of the Moody Blues CDs that have been re-issued in surround sound? Are you a fan of surround sound?
I am a fan of surround. I haven’t got a system myself. Funny enough, when I go to other people’s houses and listen to it, I find it a bit intrusive. Unless you’re there just to listen to music. I really enjoy it in the studio. I really like the whole idea. I’ve done a few things in 5.1 and surround sound.
Your music certainly lends itself to the medium. Are there any plans to revamp the whole Moody Blues catalog and release it on SACD? I know that Universal is doing a lot of that these days.
Yes there is. There’s a lot of talk about that in the air. There’s a lot of people bidding and vying to do it. One of them is me because I’d rather do it myself. But getting them to pay for the studio that I want to go and do it in is another matter. But I’m working on that.
You’re presently selling a DVD of a performance you did in San Juan Capistrano on your web site. What can you tell me about that show?
It was after I did my solo album The View From The Hill. I put a group of guys together, actually two who are with the Moody Blues -- Gordon Marshall and Paul Bliss. Norda Mullen, who’s playing flute with us now, also did a couple of gigs. And the bass player Mickey Feat -- he’s French and from around here.
So at the end of a couple of Moodies tours, I just went out and did some gigs -- some theaters, some clubs, some small places like the House Of Blues. I really enjoyed it. A friend of mine guy called Jeff Panza suggested we film it and he got a crew together of students and they just filmed it down there.
Was this at the Coach House?
Yes, it was very nice. A very nice venue, really nice people, quite a nice sounding place. The way they looked after you was great. And it just felt comfortable, so we did it over one night.
I also understand you’re coming out with a DVD of a show you did at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yeah. It was part of a fund-raising event for the Amazon Conservation Team. It was in June 2003 and I did a few performances there, about three or four. And then one for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself. They asked me to come back and do a question and answer with an audience there. So I did that. So they said, “Well, it was really great, thank you very much, and here’s the video.” I’m putting it together with some stuff that I did in a recording studio in New York last year, just some acoustic stuff, and some older stuff from the 70s that was around.
It seems strange you played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and yet the Moody Blues haven’t been inducted. How do you feel about that?
(Long pause) I wish I could say that it kept me awake at night, but I haven’t lost any sleep. I think it’s quite difficult. Who ever picks the people for that -- it’s so subjective. Music is completely subjective. One guy’s hit record is another guy’s load of rubbish. I know the Moody Blues is a good band, but whether you like it or not is another thing. I’m not surprised that we’re not in there. We’re English and I don't know if we really fit. But it’s important to the Moodies’ fans that we should be a part of it. And that’s it -- I’d like it to happen for them.
If it did happen, would Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, maybe Patrick Moraz, turn up?
There’s a lot of people who could turn up. I’d put my money on Ray not being there. That’s because he likes to be at home and he’s done with it now. >>>
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