The Moody Blues ( B16 )

Newly employed producer Tony Visconti and Barry Radman, a synth programmer formerly engaged by Moraz, delivered a modern sound the Moodies had been seeking in order to remain competitive with their pop contemporaries and the album's title song also charted in the US, at No. 58. The renewed interest in the band ensured a younger audience, with many of their longtime followers remaining loyal despite a fair number of older fans finding the albums of this period far more lightweight in content - for example, Lodge had gone from writing powerfully reflective mystical or humanitarian themed pieces such as "House of Four Doors", "Candle of Life" and "One More Time to Live" to quirkier items such as "Here Comes the Weekend", "Rock and Roll Over You" and "Love is on the Run (From Me)" while Hayward's songs seemed less the deeper drama of numbers such as "The Actor", "Dawning is the Day", "You Can Never Go Home", "The Land of Make Believe", etc., to pleasant (and more radio-friendly) perennial far simpler songs about lost love and romance ("Your Wildest Dreams", "No More Lies", "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" etc.). There were still some deeper songs being created by the band, ("The Voice", "22,000 Days", "The Other Side of Life", "The Spirit", "Deep", etc.) but the overall tone had noticeably become a more lightweight commercialised one; presumably this was with record company agreement to keep in accordance with the then prevailing times. Their live shows from this period included a good number of their 1980s album tracks. However, over time, more of the "Core Seven" album era favourites reappeared in their playlist, but Pinder's compositions were permanently retired from their setlists after his departure.

The Moody Blues performed live at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 which raised money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. The band played four songs, and later provided backup with Electric Light Orchestra for George Harrison.

The Moodies continued their early video-generation success with Sur La Mer (1988) and its video and single, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (No. 30 US, No. 52 UK, No. 2 US Mainstream Rock), a sequel to "Your Wildest Dreams". Their sound took on an ever-increasingly synthetic and technical quality as Moraz and Visconti began using modern sequencers, samplers and drum machines. 

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