The Moody Blues ( B15 )

Moraz was retained as the band's permanent keyboardist, though Pinder had originally understood that he would continue to record even if not touring with the band. Pinder took legal action to prevent the new Moody Blues album from reaching the public without his contributions, but he was not successful, and ultimately, he never returned to the fold. Nevertheless, when released in 1981, Long Distance Voyager was a colossal success, reaching No. 1 on Billboard and going Top 5 in the UK. The album yielded two hits, "The Voice", (No. 15 US) written by Hayward, and "Gemini Dream", (No. 12 US) written by Hayward and Lodge. John Lodge's "Talking out of Turn" also charted in the US, reaching No. 65. Edge provided "22,000 Days" (featuring Thomas as lead voice with Hayward and Lodge) while Thomas' contributions were the final portion of the set with his singing on the final two songs; "Painted Smile", "Reflective Smile" (a poem narrated by a DJ friend of the band) and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker". By now, the mellotron had long been set aside as their primary keyboard instrument on their studio albums and the band embraced a more modern, less symphonic approach, though still retaining a lush keyboard-led sound as Moraz gave a more contemporary edge. In live concerts, the mellotron was still used heavily by Moraz until the mid-1980s, including on songs that did not originally feature it.

The Present (1983), again produced by Williams, was less successful than its predecessor, though it spawned a UK Top 40 hit (No. 35) in "Blue World" (No. 62 in the US) and a US Top 40 hit in "Sitting at the Wheel" (which failed to chart in the UK). Videos were also produced for both singles. The Present was released in conjunction with Talencora Ltd shortly before Decca was bought out by Polydor Records.

The Other Side of Life, Sur la Mer

In 1986 they enjoyed renewed success with their album The Other Side of Life and in particular with the track "Your Wildest Dreams" – a US Top 10 hit (and No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart for two weeks) which garnered a Billboard Video of the Year award after being frequently featured on MTV. 

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