Justin Hayward

Having chalked up over fifty years at the peak of the music and entertainment industry, Justin Hayward’s voice has been heard the world over. Known principally as the vocalist, lead guitarist and composer for the Moody Blues, his is an enduring talent that has helped to define the times in which he worked. Over the last fifty-five years the band has sold fifty-five million albums and received numerous awards. Commercial success has gone hand in hand with critical acclaim, The Moody Blues are renowned the world over as innovators and trail blazers who have influenced any number of fellow artists. Justin is honored with the Moody Blues on the Rock Walk Hall of Fame on Sunset Boulevard.

Born and brought up in Swindon in the UK, Justin’s interest in music started early when he was five years old and his grandfather bequeathed him his large collection of 78 rpm recordings. “It opened a world of imagination to me,” says Justin. Having taught himself to play the ukulele, he soon progressed to guitar and by his early teens he was playing in local groups. Upon leaving school at 17 he answered an advertisement in Melody Maker newspaper and successfully auditioned for UK Rock and Roll hero Marty Wilde.

When the Moody Blues took a break from touring in 1975, Justin worked on the Blue Jays album, followed by the hit single ‘Blue Guitar’ (recorded with the members of 10cc). Although the Moodies continued to record and tour at the highest level, Justin also found time to create several solo albums: ‘Songwriter’, ‘Night Flight’, ‘Moving Mountains’ and ‘The View From the Hill’.

He is consistently touring the globe with The Moody Blues, and as a solo artist – accompanied by Julie Ragins, and Mike Dawes, one of a new generation of young exceptional and gifted guitar players.

His latest album of new songs ‘Spirits Of The Western Sky’ – for Eagle Rock – was followed by several solo tours, and most recently a ‘live in concert’ DVD ‘Spirits…Live’, which reached No1 on the Billboard Video chart. “My acoustic solo tours give the perfect balance to the big production of the Moody Blues concerts. I’m so lucky to have both”. His live solo show was shown all over the USA on PBS TV.
Spirits Of The Western Sky (Eagle Rock Ent.) was followed by 2016’s All The Way (Eagle Rock Ent.) – a compilation of Hayward’s solo work and live performances of Moody Blues classics — and the recently released EP One Summer Day / My Juliette (Eagle Rock Ent.), featuring two brand new songs.

His is a talent that has helped soundtrack more than a generation and created a legacy that remains undimmed.

Mike Dawes is an English guitarist known for composing, arranging and performing multiple parts simultaneously on a single guitar. He is hailed as one of the world’s most creative modern fingerstyle guitarists with a repertoire spanning solo viral videos and popular arrangements, alongside mainstream chart success performing with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

Dawes was named ‘Best Acoustic Guitarist in the World’ two years in a row (2017 & 2018) by Total Guitar Magazine/MusicRadar reader polls and simply needs to be seen to be believed. His ability to combine the melody, bass, harmony and percussion all seamlessly together with just one guitar leaves audiences absolutely stunned, both with original music and popular covers.