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Where will your curiosity take you?

  1. Erdington
  2. West Hampstead
  3. Kensington
  4. Afton Down
  5. Cobham
  6. Morrison
  7. Toronto
The five band members smiling in jumpers in front of foliage, in colour, 1968
The Moody Blues in 1968, a Deram photograph printed in Billboard. Deram Records (Billboard) · Public domain

Erdington · West Hampstead · Afton Down · Red Rocks · 1964 to 2018

The Moody Blues

Their breakthrough record was made in two halves: the band in Studio One, then an orchestra that never met them. Getting both onto one stage took twenty-five years.

Erdington, Birmingham · 1964

Named for a brewery that never paid.
Resident at the Carlton.

Shops along Erdington High Street on a summer day
Erdington High Street in 2014. Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0

The Carlton Ballroom, later Mothers · High Street, Erdington, Birmingham

The band formed in Birmingham in May 1964 as the M&B5, hoping for sponsorship from the Mitchells & Butlers brewery; it never came.

A few days later they played their first show at the Carlton Ballroom on Erdington High Street, and became its resident band.

The ballroom later became Mothers, a club that opened above an old furniture store on 9 August 1968 and closed on 3 January 1971.

A blue plaque went up on the former Mothers building on 13 July 2013.

A first-floor room on Erdington High Street with a blue plaque on its front; the sources read give no street number, so it is not pinned. The photograph is the High Street.

Programme notes
Five young men in late-1960s clothes posed together in a black-and-white publicity photograph
1968: the band that recorded Days of Future Passed. Deram Records (Billboard) · Public domain

In the summer of 1964 the band moved to London. Go Now came out that November and reached number one in Britain, their only British number one, and number ten in America.

Programme notes

165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead · 1967

Decca ordered Dvořák.
The band delivered a day.

Deramic Sound · a stereo demonstration

Decca’s new Deram label wanted a record to show off its stereo, Deramic Sound, with Dvořák’s New World Symphony played with an orchestra. The band made an album of their own songs instead, and did not tell the label first.

Dvořák · Symphony No. 9, From the New World

It was Mike Pinder’s first Moody Blues album on the Mellotron. He had worked at Streetly Electronics, which developed it, and used his contacts there to buy one cheaply; the Sunday Mirror put the price at £1,300, paid by the businessman Derek McCormick.

Nights in White Satin reached number 19 in Britain at the turn of 1968, then number nine on its 1972 reissue, and number two in America in 1972.

Programme notes
A long red-brick Victorian building on a West Hampstead street
Lilian Baylis House, the old Decca studios, Broadhurst Gardens, in 2023. Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0

Decca Studios, West Hampstead · 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead

The building opened in 1884 as the Falcon Works and was a private town hall from 1886 to 1928; Crystalate made it a recording studio.

Decca bought Crystalate’s business and studios in 1937 and recorded here until 1981; English National Opera then bought it and named it Lilian Baylis House.

It was listed at Grade II on 11 August 2021; the listing names the Moody Blues among the bands who made key records here in the late 1960s.

Days of Future Passed was recorded here from 9 May to 3 November 1967, with Nights in White Satin first, on 8 October.

Justin Hayward names Studio One as the four-track room the album was recorded in.

English National Opera’s rehearsal and workshop building, not open to visitors; the long brick front is seen from the pavement of Broadhurst Gardens. West Hampstead stations are a few minutes’ walk.

Programme notes

Studio One · the Albert Hall · Red Rocks · Toronto · 1967 to 2017

Two halves that never met.
Give the downbeat.

A conductor beats four in a bar: down, left, right, up. Give each bar and the story moves on, from an orchestra playing to tapes in 1967 to both halves on one stage.

  1. 13 November 1967
  2. 212 December 1969
  3. 39 September 1992
  4. 42017

Give the first downbeat: tap 1, at the bottom of the pattern.

The first bar opens Studio One, 3 November 1967.

Studio One · 1968 to 1970

Thirty-three instruments.
Then a record they could play.

The band playing on a lit stage in 1969, in black and white
On stage at the Grand Gala du Disque Populaire, 7 March 1969. Anefo / Nationaal Archief · CC0
  1. 1968In Search of the Lost Chord was made in Studio One in 1968, the band playing every part themselves on thirty-three instruments, sitar and tablas among them.
  2. 1969To Our Children’s Children’s Children was recorded mostly in Studio One from May to July 1969, drawing on the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Its layered overdubs made it hard to reproduce on stage: at release, Gypsy was the only song from it they could play live.
  3. 1970A Question of Balance followed in 1970, recorded at Wessex Sound Studios and here, as an effort to shed the lush sound so the songs could be played in concert. It came out on 7 August 1970 and went to number one in Britain.
Programme notes
Green chalk downland rising beside the sea on the Isle of Wight
Afton Down near Freshwater, 2009. The 1970 festival was on East Afton Farm, on the down. Editor5807 · Public domain

Afton Down, Isle of Wight · Sunday 30 August 1970

A record made to be played live.
Then a Sunday on the down.

  • 7 Aug A Question of Balance out
  • No. 1 in Britain
  • 30 Aug the band’s set
  • 600–700,000 the Guinness estimate of the crowd
Programme notes
Green chalk downland rising beside the sea on the Isle of Wight
Afton Down near Freshwater, 2009. The 1970 festival was on East Afton Farm, on the down. Editor5807 · Public domain

East Afton Farm, Afton Down · Afton Down, near Freshwater, Isle of Wight

The 1970 festival ran from 26 to 30 August on East Afton Farm on Afton Down, the only site the authorities offered.

The Moody Blues, veterans of the 1969 festival, played on Sunday 30 August, between Pentangle and Jethro Tull.

Their set was later released as Threshold of a Dream: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970.

The festival field is farmland; the open chalk down above it is the place to stand. Freshwater Bay is just below, and Dimbola, with its festival display, is on Terrace Lane by the bay.

Programme notes

Guinness World Records put the crowd at 600,000 to 700,000, though estimates vary.

Dimbola

Dimbola Museum & Galleries

Terrace Lane, Freshwater Bay · Daily, 10am–4pm

Julia Margaret Cameron’s old house by Freshwater Bay, with a permanent display on the history of the Isle of Wight festival. Usually closed for most of January. Pictured: Afton Down.

Plan a visit
The Albion

The Albion, Freshwater Bay

Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight

A hotel on the shoreline of Freshwater Bay, below Afton Down, where the 1970 festival was held; most rooms look out to sea. Pictured: Afton Down.

See rooms
The band walking across an airport apron in October 1970, in black and white
Arriving at Schiphol, 23 October 1970, two months after Afton. Anefo / Nationaal Archief · CC0

53 High Street, Cobham · 1971 to 2011

Their own label.
Their own shop on the High Street.

Shops on the High Street in Cobham, Surrey
Cobham High Street in November 2011, the year the Threshold shop closed. Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0

Threshold Records shop, Cobham · 53 High Street, Cobham, Surrey

Threshold Records was set up in 1969, under licence to Decca, and named after the album On the Threshold of a Dream.

The band formed the label so their LPs could have lavishly packaged gatefold sleeves.

The Threshold shop at 53 High Street opened in 1971 and closed to the public in February 2011.

The unit is now a tailor’s.

A shop on the High Street with a blue plaque; the record shop has gone, and the unit is now a tailor’s.

Programme notes

Cobham Heritage unveiled a blue plaque here on 13 December 2024.

Genoa’s old harbour with boats and waterfront buildings
Genoa’s old harbour, the Porto Antico, in 2019: a view of the city, not of a studio. Luciobocchi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Genoa · Genoa, Italy

The band’s own history places the sessions for Strange Times, which they produced themselves, in Genoa.

The band’s history names the city, not the studio, so nothing here is pinned. The photograph is the old harbour.

Programme notes

Strange Times, 1999: the band producing themselves, far from Studio One.

Cleveland, Ohio · 2018

Six names.
The lamps go down.

The glass pyramid of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame beside Lake Erie
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, May 2016. MusikAnimal · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Moody Blues were inducted as performers in 2018, introduced by Ann Wilson of Heart.

Denny Laine, Graeme Edge, John Lodge, Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas were inducted.

Open daily, 10am to 5pm, to 9pm on Thursdays from September to December; adult admission $36.99.

Programme notes
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland, Ohio · Daily 10am–5pm, Thursdays to 9pm · adults $36.99

The museum where the band were inducted in 2018. Timed tickets online.

Book tickets

Where it is now

7 places you can visit, in England and North America. No source read gives the Carlton Ballroom’s street number, so Erdington is named but not pinned; Genoa is named for Strange Times, but its studio is not, so it is not pinned either.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. English National Opera’s rehearsal and workshop building, not open to visitors; the long brick front is seen from the pavement of Broadhurst Gardens. West Hampstead stations are a few minutes’ walk.

  • Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working concert hall; check the Hall’s own website for concerts and tours. South Kensington station is a short walk south.

  1. A long red-brick Victorian building on a West Hampstead street
    Lilian Baylis House, the old Decca studios, Broadhurst Gardens, in 2023. Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0

    165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead

    Decca Studios, West Hampstead

    The building opened in 1884 as the Falcon Works and was a private town hall from 1886 to 1928; Crystalate made it a recording studio.

    English National Opera’s rehearsal and workshop building, not open to visitors; the long brick front is seen from the pavement of Broadhurst Gardens. West Hampstead stations are a few minutes’ walk.

    Programme notes
  2. The round red-brick Royal Albert Hall under a blue sky
    The Royal Albert Hall from the Albert Memorial, November 2012. David Iliff (Diliff) · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Kensington Gore, London

    Royal Albert Hall

    The live half of Caught Live + 5 was recorded here on 12 December 1969.

    A working concert hall; check the Hall’s own website for concerts and tours. South Kensington station is a short walk south.

    Programme notes

Stay

Sleep by the bay.

A hotel on Freshwater Bay, below Afton Down.

The Albion

The Albion, Freshwater Bay

Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight

A hotel on the shoreline of Freshwater Bay, below Afton Down, where the 1970 festival was held; most rooms look out to sea. Pictured: Afton Down.

See rooms

Go there

Walk in.

The festival display at Dimbola, the Hall of Fame, and London music walks.

Dimbola

Dimbola Museum & Galleries

Terrace Lane, Freshwater Bay · Daily, 10am–4pm

Julia Margaret Cameron’s old house by Freshwater Bay, with a permanent display on the history of the Isle of Wight festival. Usually closed for most of January. Pictured: Afton Down.

Plan a visit
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland, Ohio · Daily 10am–5pm, Thursdays to 9pm · adults $36.99

The museum where the band were inducted in 2018. Timed tickets online.

Book tickets
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London rock music tours

London

Live marketplace results for music-history walks in London. Check each itinerary for West Hampstead and Kensington.

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What’s on

An orchestra at Red Rocks.

A symphonic night on the stage where the band first played with a full orchestra.

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Take it home

Two records and a poster.

The 1967 album and the 1970 one, and an original 1969 Isle of Wight Festival poster with the band on the bill.

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Days of Future Passed

The Moody Blues with the London Festival Orchestra · LP, Deram SML 707, 1967

Deram’s 1967 British LP of the album made in Studio One.

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A Question of Balance

The Moody Blues · LP, Threshold THS 3, 1970

The record made to be played live, on the band’s own label; out three weeks before Afton Down.

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Printed Originals · Our poster store

Isle of Wight Festival 1969 (original silkscreen)

An original 1969 poster for the second Isle of Wight Festival, headlined by Bob Dylan, with the Moody Blues on the bill a year before Afton Down. 19 x 29 in, rolled.

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Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

Programme notes

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

9 of 9 places · 16 of 16 Moments

  • The Carlton Ballroom, later Mothers

    High Street, Erdington, Birmingham

    • A first show at the Carlton

      Days after forming as the M&B5, the band play the Carlton Ballroom and become its resident group.

    • Go Now

      Their only British number one, from a band just moved to London.

  • Decca Studios, West Hampstead

    165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead

    • Dvořák ordered, something else delivered

      Asked for a stereo demonstration of the New World Symphony, the band make an album of their own songs.

    • Nights in White Satin

      The first thing recorded for the album.

    • The orchestra’s three hours

      The London Festival Orchestra records Peter Knight’s links in one three-hour session, to tapes the band have already made.

    • Thirty-three instruments

      In Search of the Lost Chord: no orchestra, every part played by the band.

    • A record for the Moon year

      To Our Children’s Children’s Children, the first Threshold release, recorded in Studio One.

    • A record to play live

      A Question of Balance strips the sound back so the songs can be played on stage; it goes to number one.

  • Royal Albert Hall

    Kensington Gore, London

    • Caught live

      A concert at the Royal Albert Hall is recorded; it is not released until 1977.

  • East Afton Farm, Afton Down

    Afton Down, near Freshwater, Isle of Wight

    • Sunday at Afton

      Between Pentangle and Jethro Tull, on the last day of the festival.

  • Threshold Records shop, Cobham

    53 High Street, Cobham, Surrey

    • Threshold, 53 High Street

      The band’s label opens a record shop in Cobham; it trades for forty years.

    • A blue plaque in Cobham

      Cobham Heritage marks the shop.

  • Red Rocks Amphitheatre

    18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison, Colorado

    • With an orchestra, at last

      Their first concert backed by a full orchestra, filmed for PBS.

  • Sony Centre, now Meridian Hall

    1 Front Street East, Toronto

    • The whole day, live

      Days of Future Passed played in full for the first time.

  • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio

    • Hall of Fame

      Six members inducted as performers.

  • Genoa

    Genoa, Italy

    • Strange Times

      Self-produced sessions in Genoa.

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