Mike Pinder was certainly the foremost authority of the Mellotron, which gave the Moody Blues that “ethereal” astral sound. He worked in the original Mellotron factory and repaired them, which was quite often. Extremely finicky and complex musical instrument at that time.
He was a constant presence in Abbey Road Studios with the Beatles to keep the Beatles’ Mellotron up and running for Paul McCartney on songs like “Blue Jay Way,”“Strawberry Fields,” and “Flying.”
The far more popular and well known lineup of the Moody Blues still counts Justin Hayward and John Lodge as amongst the living. Justin’s voice is still “golden” and tours often with an extremely loyal fan base, spanning many generations.