Singer, guitarist and composer Denny Laine, the co-founder of Wings with Paul McCartney and also co-founder of The Moody Blues, has died at the age of 79.
Denny’s real name was Brian Hines. He changed the name to Denny Laine when he was 12, taking the ‘Laine’ from Frankie Laine’ and the Denny, from what the English called a backyard, a den. Denny was lead singer for the first Moody Blues hit ‘Go Now’ and also performed the song live with Wings.
Denny had a short stint with The Moody Blues. He left in 1966 and was replaced with Justin Hayward. He had another short period with Ginger Baker’s Air Force and played on the two 1970 albums ‘Ginger Baker’s Air Force’ and ‘Ginger Baker’s Air Force 2’.
He then caught up with Paul and Linda McCartney in 1971 and forming Wings. He stayed with Wings for 10 years until they disbanded.
As a member of Wings, Denny Laine played on the albums ‘Wild Life’ (1971), ‘Red Rose Speedway’ (1973), ‘Band On The Run’ (1973), ‘Venus and Mars’ (1975). ‘Wings At The Speed of Sound’ (1976), ‘London Town’ (1978) and ‘Back To The Egg’ (1979).
Denny sang lead vocal and co-wrote several Wings songs, ‘Time to Hide’, ‘Deliver Your Children’ and ‘Again and Again and Again’. He also co-wrote ‘Mull of Kintyre’.
Denny release a solo album in 1982 ‘Anyone Can Fly’ and continued to work on McCartney solo albums ‘Tug of War’ and ‘Pipes of Peace’. He wrote the b-side to the single ‘Ebony and Ivory’ titled ‘Rainclouds’.
Denny’s final solo album ‘The Blue Musician’ was released in 2008.
Denny Laine died of interstitial lung disease on 5 December 2023.
In a statement Paul McCartney said,
I am very saddened to hear that my ex-bandmate, Denny Laine, has died.
I have many fond memories of my time with Denny: from the early days when The Beatles toured with the Moody Blues. Our two bands had a lot of respect for each other and a lot of fun together. Denny joined Wings at the outset. He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player. His most famous performance is probably ‘Go Now’ an old Bessie Banks song which he would sing brilliantly. He and I wrote some songs together the most successful being ‘Mull of Kintyre’ which was a big hit in the Seventies. We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to reestablish our friendship and share memories of our times together.
Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people. He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends. I send my condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family.
Peace and love Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you.
Love,
Paul
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