The band began by playing rhythm and blues music. After some early lineup changes, the band settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, which would stay together for most of the band's "classic era" through the late 1960s-early 1970s. Their second album, "Days of Future Passed", released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. Days Of Future Passed has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
The Moody Blues became known internationally by recordings of songs including "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has been awarded 18 platinum and gold LP’s. The band sold 70 million albums worldwide. The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Moody Blues formed in 1964 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. Ray Thomas, a young John Lodge and (occasionally) Mike Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Pinder joined the army. Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. Back from a disappointing spell in the Hamburg region a few months later, the pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine and band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge. Pinder and Thomas initially approached their former El Riot bandmate John Lodge about being the bass player, but Lodge declined as he was still in college. They instead recruited bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the M&B Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M Bs" and "The M B Five", and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song "Mood Indigo". In an interview it was revealed that the band was named "Moody Blues" because Mike Pinder was interested in how music changes people's moods and due to the fact that the band was playing blues at the time. Around this time the band were the resident group at the Carlton Ballroom, later to become rock music venue Mothers on Erdington High Street.
The Moody Blues' "rich symphonic sound" influenced groups such as Yes, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple. They also helped make synthesizers and philosophy "part of the rock mainstream".
The Moody Blues became members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone Magazine voted for them as one of the ten bands that should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimate Classic Rock called them "perennial victims of an unaccountable snubbing" and inducted them into its own Hall of Fame in 2014.
Writing for The Guardian in 2015, Rob Chapman described the band as "psychedelia's forgotten heroes". He stated: "Despite their success, rock critics rarely took the Moody Blues seriously, a pattern that continued for the next 45 years." He also wrote: "Despite the critical disapproval, the best of the Moody Blues music between 1967 and 1970 possessed grace and beauty. Like The Beatles, they understood how pop songs worked as ensemble pieces. None of them were particularly virtuosic or showy as musicians and their music is refreshingly free of the noodling longeurs that characterised the output of their more self-indulgent contemporaries."
In December 2017, the band were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 14 April 2018, they were inducted as part of the 2018 class. During his acceptance speech in Cleveland, OH, Justin Hayward said, "If you didn't know already, well we're just a bunch of British guys, but of course to us and to all British musicians, this is the home of our heroes and we all know that..." acknowledging the inspirational role of America's rock and roll icons. During the ceremony, Ray Thomas was included as a star that was lost in the past year.
On 11th November 2021 Graeme Edge died. Upon Edge's death, Justin Hayward announced that The Moody Blues had no longer been active since Edge had retired in 2018 (Edge being the only member to remain with the band from formation to ending). Founding member Denny Laine died on 5 December 2023.
Gemini Dream
The Moody Blues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Short time for you and me
So fine, so good
We're on the road
Like you knew we would
First night, so long
A state of mind
We're here, the time is right
To rock 'n' roll
Right through the night
Make it work out
Make it work
Make it work out
Make it work out
For each other tonight
Stage fright, candle light
You can't let go
Tonight's the night
Came back for you
Glad to see
That you came too
There's a place a Gemini dream
There's no escaping from the love we have seen
So come with me, turn night today
You gonna wake up
You know you gonna wake up in a Gemini dream
Turned round to see
Where we've been
And what we believe
In life, love
Take a chance
See it through
You'll be glad
That you came too
There's a place a Gemini dream
There's no escaping from the love we have seen
So come with me, turn night to day
You gonna wake up
You know you gonna wake up in a Gemini dream
Long time no see
The lights go up
For you and me
We're here
The time is right
To rock 'n' roll
Right through the night
Living it
Believing it
Wanting it
Make it work out
Make it work
Make it work out
Make it work out
For each other tonight
Long time no see
Short time for you and me
So fine so far so good
We're on the road
Like you knew we would
Gemini Dream by The Moody Blues is an upbeat song about a couple who have not seen each other in a long time and are finally able to reunite. The song seems to be about a music concert the couple attends, where they have a great time reliving the past and enjoying each other's company. The lyrics convey the message that life is about taking chances, seeing things through, and making things work for each other.
The first verse emphasizes the excitement of being on the road and finally seeing each other after a long time. The second verse talks about overcoming stage fright and being glad to see each other. The chorus of the song is about a place called Gemini Dream where they see the love they have been missing. The bridge of the song encourages the couple to take a chance on life and love by seeing it through. The last verse echoes the importance of making things work for each other and how great it is to finally be reunited.
Line by Line Meaning
Long time no see
It has been a while since we last saw each other
Short time for you and me
The time we have together will be brief
So fine, so good
Things are going well and we are happy
We're on the road
We are traveling, moving forward
Like you knew we would
You predicted that we would go on this journey
First night, so long
The first night seems to last forever
A state of mind
Our emotions or mental state at this moment
What can go wrong
We wonder what obstacles might come our way
We're here, the time is right
We have arrived and the timing is ideal
To rock 'n' roll
To dance and have fun
Right through the night
Until the early hours of the morning
Make it work out
Let's make this work, let's succeed
For each other tonight
We will support and help each other for the duration of this evening
Stage fright, candle light
Nervousness before performing, with ambiance provided by candles
You can't let go
You cannot allow yourself to fail or lose control
Tonight's the night
This is the big moment, the time has come
Came back for you
We returned for you, we value your presence
Glad to see
We are happy to witness your attendance
That you came too
We are excited that you also decided to join us
There's a place a Gemini dream
There is a realm where twins symbolize a beautiful vision
There's no escaping from the love we have seen
We cannot avoid the passion and affection we have witnessed
So come with me, turn night today
Let's go together and transform the darkness into daylight
You gonna wake up
You will arise
You know you gonna wake up in a Gemini dream
You are aware that you will awaken in a marvelous twin-themed experience
Turned round to see
We looked back to observe
Where we've been
Where we came from or our journey thus far
And what we believe
Our values and principles
In life, love
Regarding existence and affection
Take a chance
Risk it
See it through
Complete the task
You'll be glad
You'll be happy
Living it
Experiencing it fully
Believing it
Having faith and trust in it
Wanting it
Desiring it intensely
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Fintage House Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN CHARLES LODGE, JUSTIN HAYWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@61Slughi
Heard this song on a classic oldies station and swore up and down it was ELO. Spent several hours going through ELO's entire catalog on iTunes. No luck obviously. Had to Google lyrics that I thought I vaguely remembered and still couldn't figure it out. Heard the song again a year later on the radio, but only the tail end of it. Crap! I hummed the song to a friend (it was in my brain forever) and he said "oh yeah, that's Moody Blues". Finally nailed it down! Great song.
@joshgellis3292
😉🤷🏻♂️👌🏻LOL. It's NOT a bad group to confuse them with- Different bands in fact do their own versions of songs! AN ELO version would seriously ROCK! 😉👌
@jktheonly5503
Me too! 15 years searching for the song till today 😄
@theoverlook5976
I’m there too
@SCSilk
The first time I heard this song, I thought it was ELO as well.
@lincbond442
This song has always reminded me of ELO during their early 80's era. This song would have fit perfectly on ELO's Time album.
@gravesclayton3604
Heard this new in the summer I was 16, 1981. Brings back a LOT of good memories of some great times as a teenager!
@lemurianchick
You must be 57 like me! 🤣
@paulcarfantan6688
Pretty sure I also heard it on rock radio back in 1981. Good period for music.
@littlewing6231
I graduated in 85 and would of been 14 and this and Santana’s “Winning” we’re trying to get traction because of Billy Squier and REO Speedwagen were flying high on the radio in 1981 along with Styx’s Paradise Theatre as well as Bob Segers live album out that same year. For those about to Rock by AC/DC too. Big year.