The Moody Blues' co-founder and drummer Graeme Edge has died at age 80, according to Rolling Stone. No cause of death was announced. Guitarist Justin Hayward posted on Facebook, “It’s a very sad day. Graeme’s sound and personality is present in everything we did together and thankfully that will live on. 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.”
Bassist John Lodge saluted his friend and bandmate on Twitter: “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.”
Graeme Edge was part of the original lineup of the Moody Blues founded in 1964, which featured former Wings co-founder Denny Laine, Ray Thomas — who died in 2017, Mike Pinder, and Clint Warwick. He and Thomas stayed on as the band moved from their R&B British Invasion era through the psychedelic prog that was spearhead by new recruits Justin Hayward and John Lodge.