Octave

 

Octave

By Pete Clemons

During 1977 the classic line up of The Moody Blues reunited after a five year hiatus. They had reunited for a greatest hits project. By this time four of the band members were living in England but Mellotron player, Mike Pinder, had relocated to America.

During the project it was clear that the band were getting on really well and producer Tony Clarke who, for a long time was considered as the sixth Moody, was keen on the idea of taking advantage of the moment and getting the band to record a new album. And the rest of the band agreed. It was decided that the new album would be recorded in America. So off they all set for the Record Plant in Hollywood.

But this would be the beginning of a catalogue of mishaps. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with the project apparently did.

Firstly the Los Angeles based studio caught fire. Tony Clarke accompanied the master tapes, recorded so far, to a car. These included some masters for a Mike Pinder solo album called 'The Promise' that were being stored there.

The band then relocated to Mike Pinder's 60 acre ranch in Malibu where he had a recording studio. The studio was up in some hills and, to get to it, you had to follow a narrow dirt track. At one point Tony Clarke led a torchlight procession just to get up there. The sessions coincided with the worst rain the region had seen for some years. And the rain washed roads away. Additionally guitarist Justin Hayward and Tony were involved in a car accident. It wasn't serious but it led to Justin getting arrested and being detained for a short while.

At the same time Tony Clarke was going through some very difficult personal issues. And other band members were having their own problems. Bass player John Lodge began to question the whole project and whether the stars were simply just not going to align for the band. Maybe it was never meant to be. Out of his concerns though came the albums opening song 'Stepping in a Slide Zone'.

Mike Pinder, who had added Mellotron successfully to past Moodies albums failed to connect with the songs destined for the new album. He admitted that it was very difficult to add strings to every song. This led to dispute with drummer Graeme Edge giving Mike 'both barrels'. Apparently accusing him of not having his heart in the project. At this point even Tony Clarke was beginning to realise that maybe the Moodies had hit a crossroads.

Feeling that there was no fun or love in the whole project Mike Pinder failed to show up at any further sessions. Additionally Mike announced that he did not want to do any more touring. Graeme Edge has even accused Mike of lying over the whole episode. 'On one phone call he had told flautist Ray Thomas he was up for touring. The next phone call, to Justin, he said he was not' said Graeme. Even Justin Haywood began to feel annoyed about the whole thing.

Collectively, the four remaining band members, didn't feel the same way as Mike and the album was completed to its conclusion. Additionally it was toured with replacement keyboard player Patrick Moraz. In an official statement Graeme Edge said 'We are not closing the door on Mike but, by his refusal to tour, he has walked out through it'.

The album, titled Octave, was launched in the UK during 1978. It was given a huge over the top garden party. Again Mike Pinder refused to attend and remained in America. On the day of the party the band was introduced to the media. Thinking that they could get away without Mike being noticed, the five man line up, actually included producer Tony Clarke.

A great strength with The Moody Blues, and possibly added to their longevity, was that they were very fair with money. Royalties were always split accordingly. If a band member came in with the merest hint of a song, it was always his. Another band member may have added three quarters of the final song but the credit always went to the one who came up with the stem of it in the first place.

Octave was the last album Tony Clarke would produce for The Moody Blues. He was extremely proud of it, and of everything, that had gone before. But this was the end of an era for the band. Tony still remained in close contact with the band members. The Moody Blues went on to create even more music and remained incredibly popular for decades to come as they set out on the next leg of their journey.