Watch John Lodge’s New Live Performance of ‘Ride My See-Saw’
While the Moody Blues will most likely never tour again, bassist and singer John Lodge is doing his part to keep the band's songs alive on the concert stage.
The Royal Affair and After arrives on Dec. 3 and features updated renditions of the group's best-known songs plus some lesser-heard material, like "Saved by the Music" from 1975's Blue Jays collaboration with Moody Blues bandmate Justin Hayward.
Lodge also pays tribute to other bandmates Graeme Edge, Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas individually over the course of his set, captured mostly during 2019's The Royal Affair tour where he opened for Yes.
Yes' current singer, Jon Davison, even comes out to sing lead on the classic "Nights in White Satin" from the Moody Blues' 1967 landmark Days of Future Passed and share vocals with Lodge on an encore performance of "Ride My See-Saw," which you can watch below.
"Ride My See-Saw" first surfaced on 1968's In Search of the Lost Chord. For years, it was the Moody Blues' closing song onstage, and Lodge has carried that tradition to his solo shows. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee wrote the song and says it illustrates a pivotal moment of transition. "[It's] that thing where you’ve come out of your teenage years and suddenly you’re in your early 20s and you’re trying to put your life in balance," he tells UCR. "What you learned in school suddenly doesn’t seem to add up anymore to what’s actually out there in life.
Lodge calls the songs on The Royal Affair and After "the soundtrack of his life" and notes that fans will get more chances to hear them in person during his recently announced 2022 tour.
The Royal Affair and After is available on CD and digital download. A special commemorative blue vinyl will be released on Jan. 28.