Moody Blues drummer, co-founder Graeme Edge dead at 80

Drummer Graeme Edge, a co-founder of the Moody Blues, has died, the band confirmed Thursday. He was 80.

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Edge played with the progressive rock group on their greatest hits, including “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon.” He provided the slow-thumping, cymbal-crashing sounds that kicked off and built to a crescendo in “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band).”

He was an original member of the Birmingham, England-based group, which formed in 1964. Rolling Stone reported. He was the only band member to stay with the group during their entire existence, although he retired from touring in 2019, according to the magazine.

“It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on,” Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward wrote on Facebook. “When Graeme told me he was retiring, I knew that without him it couldn’t be the Moody Blues anymore. And that’s what happened. It’s true to say that he kept the group together throughout all the years, because he loved it.”

Moody Blues bassist John Lodge added on Twitter that, “Sadly Graeme left us today. To me he was the White Eagle of the North with his beautiful poetry, his friendship, his love of life and his ‘unique’ style of drumming that was the engine room of the Moody Blues.”

Edge was born in Rochester, Staffordshire, England, on March 30, 1941, and moved to Birmingham with his family shortly after, according to the Moody Blues’ official website. He formed the Moody Blues with Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder in 1964, according to The Guardian. Thomas died in January 2018.

According to the band’s website, Edge composed at least 17 songs for the band, including “Don’t You Feel Small.”

Edge also provided spoken-word interludes on the band’s albums, Rolling Stone reported. That included “Departure,” which opened the 1968 album, “In Search of the Lost Chord.” He wrote the interlude, “Late Lament,” recited by Pinder on the album version of “Nights in White Satin.”

Edge released his first solo single in 1974, titled “We Like To Do It/Shotgun,” according to The Guardian. In 1975 he released his first solo album, “Kick Off Your Muddy Boots.”

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Graeme Edge dies: Graeme Edge, a co-founder of the Moody Blues who played for the band from its inception in 1964, has died at the age of 80. ( Scott Legato/FilmMagic)

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