Ray Thomas is an english musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.
Although he most commonly plays flute, Thomas is actually a multi-instrumentalist, playing various other woodwind instruments, such as the oboe on the album, In Search of the Lost Chord, and saxophone on Octave. The 1972 video for "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" features Thomas playing the baritone saxophone, although Pinder has stated on his website that this was just for effect in the video, and that Thomas was not the sax player on the actual recording. Although typically comfortable singing in the lower tenor register, Thomas was also responsible for the distinctive falsetto voice on many of the group's earlier recordings, before the arrival of Hayward and Lodge.
Thomas retired at the end of 2002. The Moody Blues - now consisting only of Hayward, Lodge and Edge plus four long-serving touring band members, including Norda Mullen who has taken over Thomas' flute parts - have released one studio album, December, since his departure from the band.
