Pinder, Michael

(1941-) British music technologist, Mellotron innovator, and keyboard player for the Moody Blues from the band's formation until 1978. In the early 1960s, Pinder played in some bands that also included future Moodies Ray Thomas and John Lodge. One of these bands went to Germany and played in some of the same clubs where The Beatles were playing. The band ran out of money and Pinder and Thomas had to walk home from Germany to England. After his return, Pinder took a job with Streetly Electronics, the company that manufactured the Mellotron. Working there, he learned a great deal about the device, including how to load tapes and do repairs. He also started to develop some ideas about a way to play it that would be different from the "imitation band" uses that the company advertised.

While working at Streetly, Pinder and guitarist Denny Laine put together the original version of the Moody Blues in 1964. The original version of the band was in fact a blues band, hence the name. However, there were a number of membership changes over the first year, eventually resulting in the "classic" lineup of Pinder, Thomas, Lodge, Justin Heyward and Graeme Edge. Soon the band grew tired of doing blues covers and began to record its own material, which quickly evolved away from blues and into the then-infant genre of progressive rock. Pinder convinced his supervisors at Streetly to sell him a refurbished Mellotron Mk II at a discount; he replaced all the sound-effect and backing-track tapes with additional string, flute and horn tapes. He began to use this extensively with the band's recordings and developed his unique sound with the instrument, which caught the ears of listeners and contributed to the Moodies' quick rise to popularity.

Pinder developed keen skills in both performing with, and repairing, the Mellotron. He was noted for his ability to quickly fix tape jams and load new tapes on stage, and he often did repairs for other musicians using the instrument. He interested John Lennon in the Mellotron, which led to The Beatles using it on "Strawberry Fields Forever" and other songs of that period. He even developed a technique for pitch-bending chords using the motor speed adjustment control, notably on "Legend of a Mind".

The Moodies, burned out on touring and recording, decided to go on hiatus in 1974. During this time, Pinder decided to relocate to California. He recorded a solo album, worked with other musicians, and became interested in computer technology. By the time the other four Moodies decided to resume i 1977, Pinder had lost interest in being a full-time touring musician; he told the band that he would collaborate on the recording of the album Octave, but he had no interest in being a full time band member again. In the wake of this, part way through the sessions he either was dismissed or took his leave, ending his involvement with the band. (The other four band members completed the album with session keyboard players, and then hired Patrick Moraz.) Pinder then dropped out of the public eye for a number of years, working as a consultant with Silicon Valley tech companies (including Atari and Apple Computer). He re-emerged with a second solo album in 1994, and since had spent most of this time producing, advising other musicians, and recording various one-off efforts such as a spoken-word children's story album.