Denny Laine, the main vocalist of the Moody Blues and a guitarist for Wings, a band led by Sir Paul McCartney, passed away at the age of 79.
He had a protracted fight with lung illness, according to his wife Elizabeth Hines.
Among her many accomplishments, Laine co-wrote the Wings hit Mull of Kintyre and sang on the Moody Blues’ multimillion-selling song Go Now.
On Instagram, Sir Paul paid homage to the artist, praising him as “an outstanding guitarist and vocalist.”
“Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people,” he said.
“We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to re-establish our friendship and share memories of our times together.”
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Laine, who was raised in Birmingham and was inspired to play the guitar by jazz great Django Reinhardt, was born Brian Hines in the Channel Islands.
His stage name is a combination of his sister’s favorite singer, Frankie Laine, and a childhood nickname, Denny. (The coincidence with his future Wings bandmate Penny Lane’s writing was intentional.)
His first professional gig was as the lead singer of a local group named Denny Laine and the Diplomats, which included drummer Bev Bevan, who would later play for ELO.
However, Laine departed to join The Moody Blues when the band was rejected at a record label audition.
From the bottom of my heart (I love you) and Bye Bye Bird are just two of the R&B-influenced hits he released after scoring a number one hit with Go Now.
However, Laine quit the band before they could rebrand themselves as a progressive rock group with hits like “Nights In White Satin” and their commercial popularity began to decline.
Following the failure of his next endeavor, the Denny Laine String Band, to find commercial success, the guitarist took a break to learn flamenco guitar in Spain. Later, he joined Ginger Baker, the drummer for Cream, in his hard rock group Air Force.
After the Beatles disbanded, McCartney then announced the formation of Wings in 1971. The band’s repertoire consisted mostly of songs he had written with his wife Linda.
Laine supported McCartney on singles like Band on the Run, Jet, and Live and Let Die with guitar, bass, and vocals.
Having backed The Beatles on tour in the 1960s with The Diplomats and The Moody Blues, he had known McCartney since then. Despite his background as a leader, he relished the independence that Wings provided.
“I was more in the background, but that didn’t bother me,” he said earlier this year in an interview with Billboard.
“I was having a great time in many aspects, learning a lot, and seeing the globe. In light of that, I found it to be simple.”
However, he was given exceptional solo roles during Wings Over America tour shows, where he sang a number of songs, including Go Now.
Laine remained as a solo artist after Wings disbanded; she had previously put out a few albums in the 1970s.
The Paul McCartney co-write Send Me The Heart was featured on the 1980 album Japanese Tear, along with a few other songs that Wings had recorded but never put out.
On Wings At The Sound of Denny Laine, released in 1996, the artist reworked some of Wing’s greatest songs. Other albums were Hometown Girls, Wings On My Feet, and Lonely Road.
Up until very recently, he toured and performed a selection of the songs he was connected with, drawing from his last solo album, The Blue Musician, which was published in 2008.
His passing occurs just after Wings said they will be reissuing Band On The Run for its 50th anniversary.
Laine said he “didn’t do favourites,” but he had a particular place in his heart for the album.
“The most important album to me is Band on the Run because it was just me and Paul and Linda doing a few harmonies,” he said.
“That CD was meaningful to me since Paul and I were the only musicians involved. The record had a unique vibe to it, with me on guitar and him on drums.”
Laine’s wife stated in a statement that while the musician anticipated to recover from lung illness, things had become worse during the last three weeks.
“He battled every day. She stated, “He never complained, was so strong and brave.”
“All he wanted was to be home with me and his pet kitty, Charley, playing his gypsy guitar.”
She expressed her gratitude to the public for their support before requesting “the time and privacy” the family would need “as we grieve for our loss”.
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