"[3][4] Keyboardist Mike Pinder adds, "To me, we were creating a rocket for every person who wants to go to the moon but couldn't, and would get to do so with the earphones on or the stereo turned up, lying on their backs on the carpet.

For Children, the band was inspired by the space race and the July 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, which occurred during the album's sessions.

But it was a baby of his, and his idea was really to try and coincide releasing an album - in our usual kind of pretentious way - with man landing on the moon.

'[7] Clarke confirms, "I very much wanted us to make a space album, and at the time I was very immersed in that sort of thing.

"[3] Bassist John Lodge remembers fleshing out the album by asking "What would it be like if we were the people on the rocket ship going out into space...going to the moon, going to Mars.

"[9] He continues, "The idea behind the album was to imagine that the record had been placed under a foundation stone and wouldn't be removed for a couple of hundred years.

The band had intended to begin the album with the actual recorded sound of the moon mission rocket launching, and contacted NASA who provided the group with tapes.

The sound proved unsatisfactory, inspiring the group to record their own interpretation on Mellotron and rock instruments.

Lodge remembers, "We actually got NASA to send over a recording of real rocket taking off, but when we listened to the tape it sounded like a damp squib!

"[10] Pinder varies the pitch of his vocal delivery on the track, with his voice becoming clearer and louder as the song progresses.

The idea is to give you the impression that you are going up into orbit, leaving the [booster] behind, as we've all seen film of the third stage separating and falling back to earth.

'[11] Flautist Ray Thomas' whimsical "Floating" imagines a low-gravity stroll on the moon[10] before an electric reprise of "Eyes of a Child."

"[6] "Beyond" includes instrumental sections performed by Pinder on his heavily customized Mellotron, dubbed the "Pindertron".

[12] The song uses the Mellotron and stereo panning to create otherworldly effects in order to convey the experience of observing the gas giants while traveling past, taking inspiration from The Planets by Gustav Holst.

"[3] In a 2014 interview, he recounts spending hours gazing at the stars as a child and how his interest was heightened by a pair of UFO experiences.

[14] The songs on side two explore the emotion of space travel, and coming to terms with the isolation and loss of personal connection that a long voyage alone would present.

Pinder explains the song's lyrics "So if you want to play, stay right back on Earth, waiting for rebirth" are intended as a wake up call.

Hayward remembers, "People were always telling me that I needed to write another song to equal 'Nights in White Satin'.

When the single failed to sell we were all mystified, although with the benefit of hindsight I do see why it didn't capture the public's imagination in the way 'Nights in White Satin' did.

"[7] The album was largely recorded at Decca Studio One in West Hampstead in May, June and July 1969 with additional overdubs in August and final mixing in September 1969.

According to Varnals' records, the backing tracks for songs "Gypsy", "Eyes of a Child" (I and II), "Sun is Still Shining", "Watching and Waiting", "Floating" and "Beyond" all date from May.

[3] The careful production, layers of overdubs and lush instrumentation made the album difficult to reproduce live in concert.

The Moody Blues were able to perform only "Gypsy" live at the time of its release, leading to a creative decision to strip back the production of their next album, A Question of Balance.

Hayward reflects on the situation and remembers the production as "completely obscure and self-absorbed...where we couldn't play the songs on stage – the overdubbing was so impossible, so much, and overlaid.

"[3] The band remembers the sessions fondly, being intensely creative and also marked by a wonder sense of teamwork.

Lodge remembers the group's motivation for having their own record company: "We wanted to have our own label, where we didn't have to argue about having gate-fold sleeves or inserts our albums.

One highlight of the band's "Threshold Roadshow" tour of the UK was a performance on 12 December 1969 at the Royal Albert Hall, which was professionally recorded.

In April 1971, English table tennis player Trevor Taylor was invited to play in China as part of the diplomatic mission centered around the sport.

[25] He purchased a copy of the record in Singapore en route to the tournament in Red China, and had his interpreter play it in public.

It was the first time the audience had heard western popular music, with no exposure to Elvis Presley or The Beatles.