Rock Legends The Moody Blues to Embark on Cross-Canadian "Precious Cargo" Fall Tour This September 15 - October 8

LOS ANGELES, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Moody Blues will embark on their first cross-Canadian Fall tour in more than a decade, playing in 16 markets around the country.  The Canadian tour titled "Precious Cargo" will begin on September 15 in Halifax, NS and will continue through October 8 in Victoria, BC (see tour dates below).  The band will be touring in support of their new upcoming Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) greatest hits collection which will be released in two editions on July 19, as part of their highly successful Icon series. 

The latest Icon series releases available on July 19 -- Icon and Icon 2 -- single disc and double disc formats -- will include The Moody Blues' legendary hits and fan favorites from their 14 studio albums that have spanned more than 35 years of groundbreaking music:  Days Of Future Passed (1967), In Search Of The Lost Chord (1968), On The Threshold Of A Dream (1969), To Our Children's Children's Children (1969), A Question of Balance (1970), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971), Seventh Sojourn (1972), Octave (1978), Long Distance Voyager (1981), The Present (1983), The Other Side Of Life (1986), Sur La Mer (1988), Keys Of The Kingdom (1991) and Strange Times (1999).  The two-disc set will also include a bonus track from the band's holiday December (2003) album. 

The single disc version, Icon, will include 11 tracks:  "Nights In White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)," "Ride My See-Saw," "Question," "The Story In Your Eyes," "Isn't Life Strange," "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)," "Gemini Dream," "The Voice," "Your Wildest Dreams," and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere."  The double-disc version, Icon 2, will include the above tracks, plus 12 additional songs and a bonus track:  "Legend Of A Mind," "Voices In The Sky," "Watching And Waiting," "Lost In A Lost World," "Steppin' In A Slide Zone," "Driftwood," "The Voice," "Talking Out Of Turn," "Blue World," "Sitting At The Wheel," "Say It With Love," "Strange Times" and "December Snow" (bonus track).

UMe's Icon series features "great artists and great songs at a great price."  Each collection offers greatest hits, signature tunes and fan favorites; and previous Icon releases have included such legendary artists as Stevie Wonder, Rush, KISS, Johnny Cash, James Brown, Jackson 5 and Patsy Cline, and many more. 

The band's "Nights In White Satin" originally released in 1967 from their landmark "Days Of Future Passed" album, recently landed at #2 on the UK Rock Chart, and at #27 on the BBC Radio 1 chart, making it the fourth time that "Nights" has charted in its 40-plus year history.  The song's resurgence ignited from a recent cover performance by Matt Cardle, winner of Simon Cowell's hit UK show "The X Factor." The Moody Blues have sold in excess of 70 million albums worldwide and have been awarded an astonishing 14 platinum and gold discs.  Their incredible roster of hits has generated No. 1, Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 40, Multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold albums and singles.  The band has sold out tours on a consistent basis over the course of several decades, making them one of the all-time best-selling album and top-grossing touring bands in existence.

After warm-up dates in the U.S. on September 12 at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH and September 13 at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME -- the Fall Canadian "Precious Cargo" tour dates are as follows:

On the tour, The Moody Blues are offering two VIP experience options at select stops on the tour (see link below):  the ultimate Moody Blues VIP "Storytellers Experience" giving an intimate group of fans the rare opportunity to join the rock legends pre-show as they tell some of their wildest stories from decades of performing, while the Moody Blues' "Backstage Tour" includes a tour of the stage in which fans can meet some of the crew, see the band's instruments and perhaps catch a glimpse of the band members themselves.   Exclusive Moody Blues VIP merchandise and ticket packages will also be available.  For more information, including when VIP experience packages go on presale, be sure to visit the official Moody Blues website, managed by PAID, Inc. at http://www.moodybluestoday.com/index.cfm/pk/content/pid/401891

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises