The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist and vocalist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ray Thomas, guitarist and vocalist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist and vocalist Clint Warwick. The band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick left the band by the end of 1966, being replaced by guitarist and vocalist Justin Hayward and bassist and vocalist John Lodge. The band went on hiatus in 1974 and reformed in 1977, though Pinder departed the following year. Edge was the group's sole continuous member throughout their entire history. Originally part of the British beat and rhythm and blues scene of the early–mid 1960s, they embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the latter part of the decade, with their second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums". The group released six more albums and toured extensively until their 1974 hiatus. In 1978, after Pinder left a year into their reunion, he was replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz, formerly of Yes. In the following decade they took on a more synth-pop sound. 1986's The Other Side of Life included the US Top 10 single "Your Wildest Dreams", which made them the first act to earn each of its first three Top 10 singles in the United States in three different decades. Moraz departed in 1991 followed by Thomas in 2002; Thomas died shortly before the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. The band's last studio album was the Christmas album December (2003), after which they decided against recording any further studio albums. However, they continued to tour throughout the 2000s and later reunited periodically for events, one-off concerts, short tours and cruises, until Edge's retirement in 2018; he died in 2021. The Moody Blues' most successful singles include "Go Now" (1964), "Nights in White Satin" (1967), "Tuesday Afternoon" (1967), "Question" (1970), "Isn't Life Strange" (1972), "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" (1972), "Gemini Dream" (1981), "The Voice" (1981), "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986) and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (1988). The band has sold 70 million albums worldwide, which includes 18 platinum and gold LPs.