Denny Laine

The Wings circlePart of the following line-ups • Wings 1971-1972Wings 1972-1973Wings 1973-1974Wings 1974-1975Wings 1975-1977Wings 1977-1978Wings 1978-1981Wings 1979 UK Tour line-up

Born:
Oct 29, 1944
Died:
Dec 05, 2023

Interviews of Denny Laine


Down Memory Laine

Nov 07, 1981 • From Sounds


Laine Longs For The Road

Jan 02, 1979 • From Daily Mirror



Denny Laine - The confident front-man

Oct 11, 1975 • From Record Mirror


Showdown in Nashville Tennessee?

Aug 31, 1974 • From Sounds


Right, now let's number that beat McCartney...

Aug 17, 1974 • From New Musical Express


Interview for Wings Fun Club newsletter

Circa June 1974 • From Wings Fun Club


Denny's writing a whole lot more

Jan 12, 1974 • From Record Mirror



Denny Laine - a special musical gift

Aug 11, 1973 • From Record Mirror

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About

From Wikipedia:

Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Arthur Hines; 29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1971 to 1981. Laine worked with a variety of artists and groups over a six-decade career, and continued to record and perform as a solo artist. In 2018, Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.

Early years

Brian Frederick Hines was born on 29 October 1944 to Herbert Edward Arthur Hines and Eva Lillian Hines (née Bassett) in Channel Islands, and he attended Yardley Grammar School. He took up the guitar as a boy, inspired by gypsy jazz musician Django Reinhardt. He gave his first solo performance as a musician at age 12, and began his career as a professional musician, fronting Denny Laine and the Diplomats, which also included Bev Bevan, future drummer with the Move and Electric Light Orchestra. Laine changed his name because he felt “Brian Frederick Hines and the Diplomats… wouldn’t work”, instead taking the surname of his sister’s idol, the singer Frankie Laine. The first name Denny came from the fact that at the time “everyone had a backyard, and a den to hang out. I think I got that nickname there.”

CareerThe Moody Blues

At the beginning of 1964, Laine left the Diplomats and in May of that year he received a call from Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder to form a new band, the M&B 5, who within a few months changed their name to the Moody Blues. He sang lead vocal on the group’s first big hit, a cover of Bessie Banks hit “Go Now“; other early highlights included another UK hit, “I Don’t Want to Go on Without You”, and the two minor UK chart hits “From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You)” and “Everyday”, both written by Laine and Pinder. Laine also sang on “Can’t Nobody Love You” and “Bye Bye Bird”, the latter of which was a hit in France. A self-titled EP and the album The Magnificent Moodies followed, on Decca Records. Laine and Pinder wrote most of the band’s B-sides during the period 1965–66, such as “You Don’t (All the Time)”, “And My Baby’s Gone” and “This Is My House”. However, Laine’s tenure with the Moody Blues was relatively short-lived, and after a number of comparative chart failures, Laine quit in October 1966. He was replaced by Justin Hayward. The last record issued by the Moody Blues that featured Laine was the single “Life’s Not Life” b/w “He Can Win”, in January 1967.

A compilation album of singles and album tracks of the early Moody Blues, led by Denny Laine, was released in 2006 under the title An Introduction to The Moody Blues.

CareerElectric String Band and early solo career

In December 1966, after leaving The Moody Blues, Laine formed the Electric String Band, featuring himself on guitar and vocals, Trevor Burton (of the Move) on guitar, Viv Prince (formerly of Pretty Things) on drums, Binky McKenzie on bass guitar, and electrified strings in a format not dissimilar to that of Electric Light Orchestra in later years. In June 1967 the Electric String Band shared a bill with The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Procol Harum at the Saville Theatre in London. However, they did not achieve national attention, and soon broke up.

At the same time, Laine recorded two singles as a solo artist, both released on the Deram label: “Say You Don’t Mind” b/w “Ask the People” (April 1967) and “Too Much in Love” b/w “Catherine’s Wheel” (January 1968). Both failed to chart, although “Say You Don’t Mind” became a Top 20 hit in 1972, when recorded by former Zombies front-man Colin Blunstone.

CareerBalls and Ginger Baker’s Air Force

Laine and Burton then went on to join the band Balls, from February 1969 until their break-up in 1971, with both also taking time to play in Ginger Baker’s Air Force in 1970. Only one single was issued by Balls, on UK Wizard Records: “Fight for My Country” b/w “Janie, Slow Down”. The top side was re-edited and reissued on UK Wizard, and in the United States on Epic Records, under the name of Trevor Burton; he and Laine shared lead vocals on the B-side. The single was reissued again as B.L & G. (Burton, Laine & Gibbons) as Live in the Mountains for ‘Birdsnest’, a small label distributed by Pye Records. Twelve tracks were recorded for a Balls album, but it has never been released.

CareerWings

In 1971, Laine joined forces with Paul McCartney and wife Linda to form Wings, and he remained with the group for 10 years until they disbanded in 1981, being the only three permanent members of the band. Laine provided lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar and woodwind, in addition to writing or co-writing some of the group’s material. Laine and the McCartneys were the nucleus of the band and were reduced to a trio twice: the most acclaimed Wings album, Band on the Run, and the majority of material released upon London Town, were written and recorded by Wings as a trio. Laine was also a frequent contributor to the songwriting process and as lead vocalist. He wrote and sang several songs himself (“Time to Hide”, “Again and Again and Again”), co-wrote a number of compositions on Band on the Run and London Town, and sang lead vocals on McCartney’s songs in full (“The Note You Never Wrote”) or in part (“I Lie Around”, “Picasso’s Last Words”, “Spirits of Ancient Egypt”). During Wings’ live concerts, Laine often performed “Go Now”, his hit with the Moody Blues, as well as “Time to Hide”.

During his time in Wings, Laine also released two solo albums, Ahh…Laine (1973) and Holly Days (1976), the latter of which was also recorded by Wings core trio of Laine and the McCartneys.

With Wings, Laine enjoyed the biggest commercial and critical successes of his career. The non-album single “Mull of Kintyre” co-written with McCartney, became a hit, reaching No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977 and being the highest-selling single in the country until 1984. “Deliver Your Children” (from the album London Town), similarly co-written with McCartney and sung by Laine, was released as a double A-side with “I’ve Had Enough” in the Netherlands, where it charted at No. 13.

In January 1980, after Wings leader McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana, on arrival at an airport in Japan where they were booked to perform a sell-out tour, the band’s future became uncertain. Laine released his third solo album, Japanese Tears, with the title track as the single; it included several songs recorded by Wings over the years. (Laine also formed the short-lived Denny Laine Band with Wings’ final drummer Steve Holley.) Though Wings briefly reunited in late 1980, on 27 April 1981, Laine announced he was leaving Wings, due to McCartney’s reluctance to tour in the wake of the murder of John Lennon.

Solo career

After leaving Wings, Laine signed with Scratch Records and released a new album, Anyone Can Fly, in 1982. He also worked on McCartney’s albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace and he co-wrote one more song with McCartney, “Rainclouds” (issued as the B-side of the No. 1 single “Ebony and Ivory“).

Laine continued to release solo albums through the 1980s, such as Hometown Girls, Wings on My Feet, Lonely Road and Master Suite. In 1996, he released two albums, Reborn and Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine, the latter an album of reworkings of Wings songs.

From 1997 to 2002, he toured with the rock supergroup World Classic Rockers, a group of rock veterans led by Nick St Nicholas of Steppenwolf. He then toured with the Denny Laine Band, and teamed up with other bands on occasion.[citation needed]

Laine’s final solo release was the 2008 album The Blue Musician. He also wrote a musical, Arctic Song.

In 2018, he performed with the nine-piece band Turkuaz, performing the music of Wings.

Laine was featured in three fanzines, including Ahh Laine.

In 2018, Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.

In January 2023, Laine announced tour dates in the U.S., including New York and Nashville, and said he was working on new material for an album.

Personal life and death

Laine was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine, with whom he had a son Laine Hines and a daughter Heidi Jo Hines. He had three other children from other relationships. Laine married Elizabeth Mele in July 2023 and the couple announced the marriage on the singer’s Facebook page. They resided in Florida.

Laine had COVID in 2022, and he then had multiple surgeries for lung issues, including a collapsed lung. After his wife launched a GoFundMe page, Laine’s musician friends and supporters organized a benefit concert at the Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood, California, on 27 November 2023.

Laine died from interstitial lung disease in Naples, Florida, on 5 December 2023, at the age of 79. His wife announced his death on his official Facebook and Instagram pages.


I knew Paul. We used to go out and see people. We’d go out and see Dylan or Jimi Hendrix or The Lovin’ Spoonful or whatever. We’d go see American bands that came over to England just because we were curious. So, I had pretty much a friendship with him because I was in London at the time. And that’s how I got to know him. George Harrison was also our neighbor when I was in The Moody Blues. … They (The Beatles) used to come by and play us their demos and their acetates. We were pretty close with them. We were both fans of each other. … We all started out together as kids, really.

Denny Laine, Interview with Tallahassee Democrat, 2017

[Denny Laine] came round to see me and brought a guitar and we played some things together. We showed him the chords and we went straight into the studios, worked on the backing tracks and, within two days, it was finished…

I was thinking of getting another guitarist and I knew Denny and thought he was a good singer. I thought Go Now was fabulous. He was an old school friend of mine. When we evacuated during the war, we went to Birmingham and then he was Brian Hines, which is his original name, and we went around a bit. I met him later when he was in The Moody Blues. We [The Beatles] toured with them and this cemented our friendship.

Paul McCartney

SO LONG DENNY. In April, Denny Laine left the band after having been a member of Wings for 10 years. We are all sorry to see him go and wish him all the best for the future. At the moment Paul has no immediate plans to tour and Denny likes live performance so he is hoping to tour on his own with a new band he is forming.

From Club Sandwich 24, 1981

How do you feel about the legacy of Wings?

“I’m not trying to downplay it, but I’m actually surprised we’re that well-remembered. I’m just a normal musician who doesn’t really think about the fame side of it. That always surprises me, the fame side of it. For example, a lot of my solo stuff, I never really had a big hit, but then people will come up to me and say, ‘I’ve got all of your solo stuff. I know every song you’ve ever written.’ 

“It’s a compliment and it does give you a good feeling. You’ve gotten across to a lot more people than you thought you did. And it’s the same with Wings. We don’t think of it in terms of how famous we were or how many people we influenced until we meet the fans. But it’s all about music for me. It’s all about moving forward. We’re never really satisfied. 

“Even when a lot of people say, ‘Oh, that’s the greatest album, or I love this or that,’ we don’t. We say, ‘We loved doing it, but in retrospect, I think I could’ve done that better.’ Or ‘I wish I hadn’t done that.’ You never stop creating, and therefore you’re never 100 percent satisfied. You can’t be. But when the finished product goes out and a lot of people are happy with it, that’s good enough encouragement for me.”

Denny Laine – From Guitar World, January 30, 2023

From Paul McCartney | News | Paul on Denny Laine – Photo by Linda McCartney
Denny Laine on stage with Wings in 1976
From Paul McCartney | News | Paul on Denny Laine – Photo by Henry Diltz
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – DECEMBER 3: Denny Laine of Wings performs on stage at The Lewisham Odeon on December 3rd, 1979 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Peter Still/Redferns)

From Record Mirror – May 24, 1980

Last updated on December 8, 2023

Songs written or co-written by Denny Laine



Children Children

Officially appears on London Town


Deliver Your Children

Officially appears on London Town


Denny's Song

Unreleased song



Find A Way

Unreleased song


I Would Only Smile

Officially appears on Japanese Tears


London Town

Officially appears on London Town



Recording sessions Denny Laine participated in


"Holly Days" sessions

Summer 1976 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Holly Days


Recording "Give Ireland Back To The Irish"

Feb 01, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Give Ireland Back To The Irish


Recording "Somebody Who Cares"

Feb 09, 1981 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Tug Of War


Overdubs for "All Those Years Ago"

March / April 1981 ? • Songs recorded during this session appear on All Those Years Ago / Writings On The Wall


Recording "Seaside Woman"

Mar 20, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Red Rose Speedway


Recording "Mary Had A Little Lamb"

Mar 27, 1972 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Mary Had A Little Lamb / Little Woman Love (UK)


Recording the "Wild Life" album

Jul 24 - Oct 17, 1971 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Wild Life


First rehearsals for Wings

July 20-22, 1971


Albums, EPs & singles by Denny Laine


Holly Days

By Denny Laine • Official album



Japanese Tears

By Denny Laine • Official album


Albums, EPs & singles which Denny Laine contributed to


Wild Life

By Wings • LP

Contribution: Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Performed by • 8 songs


Give Ireland Back To The Irish

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Backing vocals, Electric guitar, Performed by • 1 songs


Mary Had A Little Lamb / Little Woman Love (UK)

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar • 1 songs


Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar • 2 songs


Mary Had A Little Lamb / Little Woman Love (Germany)

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar • 1 songs


Mary Had A Little Lamb / Little Woman Love (France)

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar • 1 songs


Love Is Strange / I Am Your Singer

By Wings • 7" Single

Contribution: Bass, Electric guitar, Performed by • 2 songs


Band On The Run (UK version)

By Paul McCartney & Wings • Official album

Contribution: Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Percussion, Piano, Shaker, Vocals • 9 songs


Band On The Run (US version)

By Paul McCartney & Wings • Official album

Contribution: Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Bass, Electric guitar, Percussion, Piano, Shaker, Vocals • 10 songs


Concerts, TV & radio shows



Concert For The People of Kampuchea

Dec 29, 1979 • United Kingdom • London • Hammersmith Odeon

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Costa Levi 5 years ago

It was great to meet Denny Laine in person last Saturday night at Iridium. Great show, however, I expected the bass player to be more prominent with bass lines and appearance (he wasn't...) I said to Denny afterwards: Denny, the chorus from AAA is my favorite piece of Wings music - EmFBbC - he smiled... A great guy, a living history of RNR. Long Live Denny! Hope to meet you again.


The PaulMcCartney Project 5 years ago

Thanks @Costa for sharing your encounter with Denny !


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