The Moody Blues
"Go Now" | ||||
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Single by The Moody Blues | ||||
from the album The Magnificent Moodies | ||||
B-side | "It's Easy Child" "Lose Your Money" |
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Released | November 1964 | |||
Format | 7" | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Decca Records (UK) London Records (U.S.) |
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Writer(s) | Larry Banks, Milton Bennett | |||
Producer | Alex Wharton | |||
The Moody Blues singles chronology | ||||
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"Go Now" was made popular internationally later in 1964 when an English beat group from Birmingham named The Moody Blues recorded it, with Denny Laine on guitar and lead vocals. When Denny Laine first heard Bessie Banks's version, he immediately told the rest of the band that they needed to record the song. The song reached number one in the UK in late-January 1965 and number ten in the US. A short film clip used to promote the single used a striking visual style that pre-dated Queen's similar Bohemian Rhapsody video by a full decade.
Laine continued to perform the song in concert during his years in Wings, and it is included in the group's Wings over America live album. He also sang the song at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 raising money for the local children's hospital.
The Moody Blues had little success with singles after "Go Now" in the mid-'sixties, which led to Denny Laine's departure from the band, later being replaced by Justin Hayward. Bassist Clint Warwick had also departed the band at this time, and he was immediately replaced by John Lodge. With the new lineup, The Moody Blues continued to perform "Go Now" for a short time, up until they began writing their own material. Hayward sang the song during his first year with the band, and Ray Thomas attempted to sing it a couple of times himself.
The next chart successes for The Moody Blues would be with "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon" in 1968.
In contrast to other songs from their debut album "The Magnificent Moodies", "Go Now" contained many early elements of what later would become progressive rock, such as the lush instrumentation, the innovative variations of the Fifties Progression, as well as strong baroque elements that would later become hallmarks of prog rock.
At the time the single was released it was being promoted on TV with one of the first purpose-made promotional films in the pop era (produced and directed by their co-manager Alex Wharton), very much before The Beatles did with the promotional films of their singles "Rain" and "Paperback Writer", both released on 1966.
On June 21, 22, and 23, 1976, at The Forum in Inglewood,CA., Denny Laine performed "Go Now" with the band Wings accompanying himself on piano, along with Paul McCartney on bass and vocals, Linda McCartney on vocals, Jimmy McCullough on lead guitar and Joe English on drums. This version of "Go Now" appears on the Wings Over America live album.
In January 1997, "Go Now" was released on The Very Best of the Moody Blues; its release on this album was the first time it had been released on a Moody Blues compilation album. "Go Now" was also released on the subsequent Moody Blues' two-disc compilation album Anthology.
The version by The Moody Blues was famously used on the satirical British television show Spitting Image in a scene concerning then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"Go Now" was performed by Denny Laine with The Fab Faux on December 11, 2010 at Terminal 5 in New York City and February 26, 2011 at the State Theatre in Easton, PA.
Read more about this topic: Go Now (song)
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