Mike Pinder

[SMiLE Brian]

The Heart and soul of the Moodies along with Ray Thomas. It is insane what sounds he got out of the early mellotron. He is one of the greatest keyboard players of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YiZXfA-is

[Jason]

Mike is awesome. He's also one of my favorite keyboard players as well. Watch him in interviews...he's very patient and laid back - years of fiddling with malfunctioning mellotrons on the road would do that to anyone!

His solo albums aren't that bad, either. The Promise is an acquired taste (especially if you dig his mellotron playing), mainly because it's more acoustic guitars and ARP synthesizers than mellotrons. Among the Stars is practically soaked in mellotrons. He also did two children's albums - A Planet with One Mind and A People with One Heart. Both of those are just him reading children's stories over incidental music, usually related to the story he's reading.

[SMiLE Brian]

I need to pick up his solo albums, he was smart to sense the Moodies weren't the same once they reunited in 1978. The moodies have moved on without him, but a reunion would blow my mind since a digital mellotron came out without the tape problems that Mike always had to fix like a pro.

[Jason]

I think the situation in 1977 was made worse by the fact that Mike just wasn't interested in the band anymore. Years of living in California and raising a family turned him off from being in the band. What made things worse was that the road began to sit poorly with him, mainly due to the crazy fans who insisted that their music had some kind of secret or hidden messages. The recording sessions were generally unhappy due to the myriad of technical and nature problems - the day they were scheduled to record in Los Angeles, the city received its heaviest rainfall in fifty years (and the ensuing mudslides), forcing the band to move the recording sessions to Mike's garage studio, where they were stuck for days before they received power back. The band were not getting along well at the time.

He originally was going to tour with them after Octave came out, but only got as far as the contract signing. Cue Patrick Moraz...and the rest is history.

[SMiLE Brian]

Thats truly what happened and I don't blame him for getting creeped out by crazy fans , I get pissed at Graeme Edge for spreading those awful rumors about Mike when he only yelled at Edge for being annoying while Mike was working out a song arrangement. I honestly wish Mike and Ray could be full moodies again with the group to remind the UK of their last full great band.

[Jason]

I think it's to the point where the Moodies are very happy where they are. I think we'd have a better shot of seeing Ray come back, but not Mike. Mike is happy doing his own thing, and Ray's enjoying his retirement. Sure, their songs are definitely missed, but so many of the younger fans don't even know the Moody Blues with Mike in the live band. If anything, Mike would have been considered even less commercial than Ray and Graeme were in the mid-1980s - if you look at all of the music videos, they're pretty much "Justin and John...and some other chaps".

[Jason]

Remember, Justin, John, Ray and Graeme don't have any bad feelings towards Mike. But part of being a Moody to them was being in the live band. There wasn't any type of Brian Wilson arrangement, although Mike initially thought (and later sued the band over it) that the band would use Patrick as a live musician only while Mike would write and contribute to the records. The courts saw it differently in 1981...and again in 1991 when Patrick was removed from the band.

[SMiLE Brian]

Understandable situation by the remaining members, thought Mike should have had some input IMO. Justin and John are great keepers of the legacy at this point after ditching Tony Visconti and Patrick Moraz. I get mad at the way Ray was treated as a sideman in the 1980s by record company.

[Jason]

Yeah...but that was Polydor's thing. Polydor insisted from 1981 onward that Justin and John be the two most visible members in the public eye and that the albums be dominated by Hayward/Lodge songs, with a Hayward song to lead off every album and be released as the first single.

[Jason]

Funnily enough, if you listen to bootlegs of the 1980s tours, the song that probably receives the biggest of crowd responses is Legend of a Mind. Ray might not have had much to do with the records, but he always stepped up to the plate in concert. The band obviously liked his material at the time, too, since Painted Smile/Reflective Smile/Veteran Cosmic Rocker was in the setlists until 1990!

[SMiLE Brian]

Shame on polydor's part, Ray's voice still had that booming sound that worked well when he did eternity road  in 1994.

[Michael Edwards Love]

Understandable situation by the remaining members, thought Mike should have had some input IMO. Justin and John are great keepers of the legacy at this point after ditching Tony Visconti and Patrick Moraz. I get mad at the way Ray was treated as a sideman in the 1980s by record company.

What happened with Moraz at the end?  I felt that he played a pretty integral role in the 80s and then he was gone.  I've not found much info detailing that period.

[SMiLE Brian]

Understandable situation by the remaining members, thought Mike should have had some input IMO. Justin and John are great keepers of the legacy at this point after ditching Tony Visconti and Patrick Moraz. I get mad at the way Ray was treated as a sideman in the 1980s by record company.

What happened with Moraz at the end?  I felt that he played a pretty integral role in the 80s and then he was gone.  I've not found much info detailing that period.

He ended up getting fired by the group.

[Jason]

The Patrick situation was quite messy. Around 1986 or so, the band hired Bias Boshell on keyboards to back up Patrick, who had made it a point to randomly no-show at gigs. By 1990, three tracks into the Keys of the Kingdom sessions, Patrick quit and then sued the band, claiming years of unpaid back royalties and live fees, and also that the band had allegedly promised him the status of a full member. The band countered with the fact that Patrick had signed paperwork with the band in 1981 that listed him as a paid musician and that he would be paid on a gig by gig basis. He sued the band for something like $5 million and won, but only $125,000. Highlights from the trial were actually aired on Court TV in the United States - it's required listening. Patrick basically made a complete fool of himself, which probably contributed to the judge giving him a paltry fee.

Patrick remarked years later that Justin Hayward "would cut his mother's throat if it meant he'd get ahead."

[SMiLE Brian]

Funny how court TV covered that case, usually the Moodies were so low key.

[Michael Edwards Love]

The Patrick situation was quite messy. Around 1986 or so, the band hired Bias Boshell on keyboards to back up Patrick, who had made it a point to randomly no-show at gigs. By 1990, three tracks into the Keys of the Kingdom sessions, Patrick quit and then sued the band, claiming years of unpaid back royalties and live fees, and also that the band had allegedly promised him the status of a full member. The band countered with the fact that Patrick had signed paperwork with the band in 1981 that listed him as a paid musician and that he would be paid on a gig by gig basis. He sued the band for something like $5 million and won, but only $125,000. Highlights from the trial were actually aired on Court TV in the United States - it's required listening. Patrick basically made a complete fool of himself, which probably contributed to the judge giving him a paltry fee.

Patrick remarked years later that Justin Hayward "would cut his mother's throat if it meant he'd get ahead."

Thanks!  That's more than I've ever heard/seen before.  It does, however, remind me of stories surrounding him as it relates to his previous bands (Yes, Refugee, Mainhorse) as well.  He seems to be a difficult guy with whom to work.

[SMiLE Brian]

The Patrick situation was quite messy. Around 1986 or so, the band hired Bias Boshell on keyboards to back up Patrick, who had made it a point to randomly no-show at gigs. By 1990, three tracks into the Keys of the Kingdom sessions, Patrick quit and then sued the band, claiming years of unpaid back royalties and live fees, and also that the band had allegedly promised him the status of a full member. The band countered with the fact that Patrick had signed paperwork with the band in 1981 that listed him as a paid musician and that he would be paid on a gig by gig basis. He sued the band for something like $5 million and won, but only $125,000. Highlights from the trial were actually aired on Court TV in the United States - it's required listening. Patrick basically made a complete fool of himself, which probably contributed to the judge giving him a paltry fee.

Patrick remarked years later that Justin Hayward "would cut his mother's throat if it meant he'd get ahead."

Thanks!  That's more than I've ever heard/seen before.  It does, however, remind me of stories surrounding him as it relates to his previous bands (Yes, Refugee, Mainhorse) as well.  He seems to be a difficult guy with whom to work.

Our own Erik H. on this board met him and its quite the story.

[SMiLE Brian]

Back on topic, whats your favorite Mike Pinder mellotron performances?

[Jason]

Back on topic, whats your favorite Mike Pinder mellotron performances?

Sheesh...tough choice!

Probably On the Threshold of a Dream. The whole album. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, too.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

The Patrick situation was quite messy. Around 1986 or so, the band hired Bias Boshell on keyboards to back up Patrick, who had made it a point to randomly no-show at gigs. By 1990, three tracks into the Keys of the Kingdom sessions, Patrick quit and then sued the band, claiming years of unpaid back royalties and live fees, and also that the band had allegedly promised him the status of a full member. The band countered with the fact that Patrick had signed paperwork with the band in 1981 that listed him as a paid musician and that he would be paid on a gig by gig basis. He sued the band for something like $5 million and won, but only $125,000. Highlights from the trial were actually aired on Court TV in the United States - it's required listening. Patrick basically made a complete fool of himself, which probably contributed to the judge giving him a paltry fee.

Patrick remarked years later that Justin Hayward "would cut his mother's throat if it meant he'd get ahead."

Thanks!  That's more than I've ever heard/seen before.  It does, however, remind me of stories surrounding him as it relates to his previous bands (Yes, Refugee, Mainhorse) as well.  He seems to be a difficult guy with whom to work.

Our own Erik H. on this board met him and its quite the story.

Yes, that is a much cherished, much hilarious incident

[Michael Edwards Love]

The Patrick situation was quite messy. Around 1986 or so, the band hired Bias Boshell on keyboards to back up Patrick, who had made it a point to randomly no-show at gigs. By 1990, three tracks into the Keys of the Kingdom sessions, Patrick quit and then sued the band, claiming years of unpaid back royalties and live fees, and also that the band had allegedly promised him the status of a full member. The band countered with the fact that Patrick had signed paperwork with the band in 1981 that listed him as a paid musician and that he would be paid on a gig by gig basis. He sued the band for something like $5 million and won, but only $125,000. Highlights from the trial were actually aired on Court TV in the United States - it's required listening. Patrick basically made a complete fool of himself, which probably contributed to the judge giving him a paltry fee.

Patrick remarked years later that Justin Hayward "would cut his mother's throat if it meant he'd get ahead."

Thanks!  That's more than I've ever heard/seen before.  It does, however, remind me of stories surrounding him as it relates to his previous bands (Yes, Refugee, Mainhorse) as well.  He seems to be a difficult guy with whom to work.

Our own Erik H. on this board met him and its quite the story.

Yes, that is a much cherished, much hilarious incident

If you posted it before, point me in the right direction.  Or might you care to share again?  I am intrigued!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12111.0.html

[Michael Edwards Love]

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12111.0.html

Thanks!  That "Windows of Time" got a fair amount of indy press when it was released, as I recall.  Or at least enough to cause me to purchase it, listen to it twice, then ultimately, ignore.

[SMiLE Brian]

Back on topic, whats your favorite Mike Pinder mellotron performances?

Sheesh...tough choice!

Probably On the Threshold of a Dream. The whole album. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, too.

My favorite is To Our Children's Children's Children album, Mike plays like a god on "out and in"

[Alex]

Any chances of Denny Laine going back to the Moodies??