Justin Hayward

As the guitarist and songwriter of symphonic pop crooners The Moody Blues, Justin Hayward notched up record sales of over 70 million and wrote their classic worldwide hit Nights In White Satin about his wife. Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Hayward took up the guitar as a ten-year-old after hearing Buddy Holly and got his big break playing in Marty Wilde's backing group The Wilde Three. Joining The Moody Blues in 1966 on the recommendation of Eric Burdon, the band toured the world with their atmospheric, romantic, progressive ballads, topping the UK charts with three albums before taking a hiatus in 1974. Hayward used the break to collaborate with John Lodge on Blue Jays and released his debut solo album Songwriter, before contributing to the hugely successful concept album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of War Of The Worlds in 1978. Wayne repaid the favour by working on Hayward's Night Flight two years later, but solo albums Moving Mountains (1985), Classic Blue (1989) and The View From The Hill (1996) failed to match the success of The Moody Blues. Continuing to perform regularly, creating grand, orchestral rock music through the 2000s, Hayward released Spirit Of The Western Sky in 2013.