Mike Pinder

English rock musician, a founding member and the original keyboard player of the rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's ninth album Octave in 1978. Pinder was renowned for his technological contributions to rock music, most notably in the development and emergence of the Mellotron in 1960s rock music. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues. He was the last surviving of the group's original five members.

Pinder was a vegetarian and family oriented. His first marriage was to Donna Roth, with whom he had his eldest son Daniel; the marriage ended in divorce. With second wife Tara Lee he had two sons, Matt and Michael Lee. The boys provided instrumental backup to their father's 1994 LP Among the Stars.

Mike Pinder died at his northern California home on 24 April 2024 at the age of 82. He had been suffering for some years from dementia.