Moody Blues drummer, co-founder Graeme Edge dies at 80

Graeme Edge, a drummer and co-founder of The Moody Blues, has died

LOS ANGELES -- Graeme Edge, a drummer and co-founder of The Moody Blues, has died. He was 80.

The band’s frontman Justin Hayward confirmed Edge’s death Thursday on the group’s website. The cause of his death has not been revealed.

Hayward called Edge the backbone of the British rock band, which was inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. The band's last album was released in 2003.

“When Graeme told me he was retiring I knew that without him it couldn’t be the Moody Blues anymore,” Hayward said. “And that’s what happened. It’s true to say that he kept the group together throughout all the years, because he loved it.”