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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
John Keenan

John Lodge obituary

John Lodge playing at Cadogan Hall in London in 2019.
John Lodge playing at Cadogan Hall in London in 2019. Photograph: Prog/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The Moody Blues were a spectacularly successful band known for grandiose lyrics and flamboyant musical arrangements, but the deadpan title of their 1973 chart hit I’m Just A Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band) summed up the self-effacing approach of their songwriter, John Lodge.

As the band’s co-lead vocalist and bass player, Lodge, who has died aged 82, was the antithesis of the wild rocker, largely resisting the hedonistic temptations that accompanied stardom in the 1960s and 70s and making no bones about his commitment to family and evangelical Christianity.

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