Mike Pinder was born on Dec 27, 1941, in Birmingham, England.
As a
founding member,
keyboard player, and singer of the
Moody Blues, Mike Pinder was a key influence on
progressive rock in the late 60's and early 70's. As one of the first musicians to use the electronic keyboard instrument the
Mellotron, which synthesizes orchestral sounds, Pinder was the model for musicians who would later put the instrument to use, including
Barclay James Harvest's
Woolly Wolstenholme, and
Blue Weaver of
the Strawbs,
With the Moodies, Pinder created amazingly full and melodic sounds and beautiful pieces of music with the mellotron. The sounds created through his techniques created such huge sounds that the speakers onstage actually produced wind. His techiniques with the instrument were so refined and uniqe that they earned the press nickname "
Pinder-trons". During the group's temporary berakup in teh mid-70's, Pinder recorded a solo album,
The Promise, one of
New Age music's seminal albums. He returned to the Moodies for one last album, (
Octave), and then retired, wanting to take life slowly rather than go on yet another world tour. More recently, Pinder has written and released several more albums of New Age muisic on his own
One Step label. These include
A Planet With One Mind and
A People With One Heart, both based on
mythologies drawn from different
cultures around the world. Pinder was one of only a few great melotron players in classic rock, and managed to obtain exquisite sounds from the difficult instrument.
Discography:
With the
Moody Blues:
Solo Records: