[3] In 2018 Hayward was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues[4] and in 2022 was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the music industry.

[6] He was playing in several bands as early as the age of 15, when he bought a Gibson 335, a guitar that appears on nearly all of his records throughout his career,[7] and a Vox AC30 amplifier.

[15] Hayward's driving rocker "Leave This Man Alone" was then used as the B-side of their next single on Decca, backing Pinder's "Love And Beauty" (1967), the first Moody Blues record to feature the Mellotron.

Hayward and Lodge's integration into the Moody Blues along with Pinder's use of the Mellotron sparked greater commercial success and recognition for the band, transforming them into one of pop music's biggest-selling acts.

The Moody Blues' attempts to come up with another hit single during 1967–68 had them record three other Hayward compositions; "Long Summer Days", "King and Queen" and "What Am I Doing Here?

In addition to delivering the lead vocals on his own compositions, Hayward took a featured lead or co-lead vocal on other band members' songs, including "Dawn is a Feeling" (Pinder); "Gimmie A Little Somethin'", "Isn't Life Strange", "Candle of Life" (Lodge); "After You Came", "I'll Be Level With You", "The Spirit" and "Nothing Changes" (Edge).

Hayward continued working with Lodge and producer Tony Clarke, using musicians from the Moody Blues' label, Threshold, and sounding very much like the mother group.

In April 2006, Hayward took part in the stage tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, reprising his role in autumn 2007 in Australia and in the UK in December 2007.

[19] On 10 December 2011, Hayward, along with Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull and Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, played a concert together at Canterbury Cathedral.

He toured solo with this album on the East coast of the US in August 2013, to much acclaim, with Moody Blues keyboardist Alan Hewitt and vocalist Julie Ragins.

Recorded at the Buckhead Theatre on 17 August, the resulting DVD, Spirits… Live (2014), features the full concert along with a one-hour behind-the-scenes documentary titled On The Road To Love depicting Hayward's 2013 American tour, also directed by Minasian.

[21] Following its release by Eagle Rock/Universal in August 2014, the DVD immediately rose to the #2 position on the Billboard Music Video charts[22] and would soon be broadcast by the PBS network.

[23] Two additional Hayward/Minasian collaborations quickly followed: a concert DVD filmed in Clearwater, Florida, titled Watching and Waiting, and The Story Behind Nights in White Satin, a documentary which chronicled the origins of Hayward's classic 1967 composition.

[27] Also featured was a bonus studio recording of a new song titled "The Wind of Heaven", a joint composition between Minasian and Hayward.

Intended as the main theme for a forthcoming motion picture, the song, with an elaborate music video directed by Minasian, was released ahead of schedule on the DVD to coincide with Hayward's 2016 US solo tour.

"[29] In 2022, Hayward rejoined the cast of Jeff Wayne's War of the World's "life begins again" UK tour, singing the thoughts of the journalist including "Forever Autumn".

[16] Written at the end of one love affair and the beginning of another, the 1967 song "Nights in White Satin" was, according to Hayward, "in adoration of all women".

[34] In 2004, Hayward was awarded the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters's (BASCA) "Gold Badge", for his contribution to Britain’s entertainment industry.