Formation and early success brewery pub in Birmingham, pictured in 2005. A hoped-for sponsorship from the brewery never materialised. Thomas and Pinder formed their new band in May 1964, recruiting Edge and Laine, with the line-up completed by Warwick after Lodge turned down an offer to join; the other members intended to move to London as a professional band after a few local gigs, while Lodge was still in college and determined to finish. The new band hoped to receive sponsorship from the local
Mitchells & Butlers Brewery (who owned numerous live music clubs), even naming themselves the M&B5, though the sponsorship failed to materialise. The band's name quickly evolved from the M&B5 to the Moody Blues. Pinder also stated in a later interview that, at the time, he was interested in how music can affect and change people's moods. where it was released on
London Records. Around this time, all the Moodies except Warwick – the only member who was married at the time – began living together in a rented house in
Roehampton.
Career struggles '' advertisement, 30 January 1965 The band struggled to continue the success of "Go Now". They enjoyed a minor British hit with a cover of
the Drifters' "
I Don't Want to Go On Without You", reaching No. 33 in February 1965. Wanting to capitalise quickly on the No. 1 hit, Decca had rush-released the single before the band had completed its recording (as Edge recalled in a 1978 interview regarding the track, "there's a great big bit in the middle where nothing happens, it was supposed to be Ray playing flute"). "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" was also included on a four-track EP, simply titled
The Moody Blues, in April 1965 which reached No. 12 on the UK EP chart. The other tracks included were "Go Now", "Steal Your Heart Away" and "Lose Your Money". Around this time Alex Wharton left the management firm, with the band's next single, the Laine/Pinder original "From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You)", being produced by
Denny Cordell, who would remain their producer into 1966. The single was released in May 1965 and did better than "I Don't Want to Go On Without You", reaching No. 22 in the UK. In June 1965, the Moodies were due to set out on their first tour of America, as support band to
the Kinks, but they were forced to pull out after they were unable to secure proper work permits. In July 1965, the band released their first album,
The Magnificent Moodies. It was a mix of rhythm and blues covers and Laine/Pinder originals, the latter showing more of a
Merseybeat influence. The album also included a cover of the
George and
Ira Gershwin standard "
It Ain't Necessarily So". The back cover featured a specially-written prose poem by
Donovan. The band held a launch party for the album, with guests including
George Harrison,
Paul McCartney and
Marianne Faithfull among others. While the Moodies' chart success was declining in the UK and US, they were still successful in some other countries during this time, particularly France where their cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "
Bye Bye Bird", from
The Magnificent Moodies, reached No. 3 when it was released as a single there in December 1965. In early December 1965, the Moody Blues were the support band for the Beatles on what would ultimately be
the Beatles' last British tour. The Moodies then spent late December 1965 into January 1966 on their first tour of North America. After unsuccessful attempts to recruit
Klaus Voormann (who took up a simultaneous offer to join
Manfred Mann instead) and
the Who's
John Entwistle, the band hired Rod Clark as Warwick's replacement on bass. At the beginning of October, Laine also left the band, followed by new member Clark a few days later. Shortly after Laine and Clark left, Epstein announced that he no longer represented the Moody Blues. with Cordell still producing. The album was shelved and "Really Haven't Got the Time" is the only song title mentioned in the article. In 2014
Cherry Red Records, on their
Esoteric Records imprint, released a double CD edition of
The Magnificent Moodies with a number of tracks from the attempted 1966 album included. Most of the songs for this second album were Laine/Pinder originals, with
Tim Hardin's "Hang On to a Dream" being the only cover. Laine would go on to join Paul McCartney's post-Beatles band
Wings in 1971. Along with Paul and
Linda McCartney, Laine was one of the three members to remain with Wings from their formation to their 1981 split. Hayward was formerly of the Wilde Three with famed UK singer
Marty Wilde (father of future pop star
Kim Wilde). He was recommended to Pinder by
Eric Burdon of
the Animals. Pinder phoned Hayward and was impressed when Hayward played him his single "London Is Behind Me" (released in January 1966) during their car ride to meet the other members in
Esher. Around this time "Boulevard de la Madeleine" became a hit single in
Belgium, and with the band's commercial success floundering in the UK, they relocated there almost immediately after Hayward and Lodge joined.
Meeting Tony Clarke and move towards psychedelia In April 1967 they were introduced to Decca staff producer
Tony Clarke, who produced the band's next single, their first record with Hayward and Lodge, "Fly Me High" (written and sung by Hayward) with "Really Haven't Got the Time" (written and sung by Pinder) as the B-side, released in May 1967. Sometimes known to fans as "the Sixth Moodie", Clarke would remain the band's producer for the next eleven years. "Fly Me High" picked up both radio airplay and favourable reviews, but failed to chart in the UK. The track showed elements of the
folk rock and
psychedelic styles that were pervading rock music during this time. The band went further in the psychedelic direction on their next single, Pinder's "Love and Beauty", which was issued in September 1967. This too was not a UK hit, but was significant for being the first Moody Blues track to feature
Mellotron, played by Pinder. Prior to the Moody Blues' formation, Pinder had worked for the company that manufactured the Mellotron, though he had not been able to afford one until 1967. Pinder's Mellotron work would become a major part of the band's sound for the next several years. Primarily playing harmonica up to this point, Thomas had played flute on some of the group's earlier recordings; however, it became a far more featured instrument from this point onwards as the psychedelic influences became stronger in the band's music. ==Classic years, 1967–1974==