Denny Laine, the original lead singer of the Moody Blues and Paul McCartney’s co-founder/guitarist in Wings, died December 5 after a short battle with Interstitial lung disease. He was 79.
“I was at his bedside holdings his hand as I played his favorite Christmas songs for him,” his wife Elizabeth Hines wrote in a statement. “My world will never be the same. Denny was an amazingly wonderful person, so loving and sweet to me. He made my days colorful, fun, and full of life – just like him.”
Denny Laine spent the Seventies touring and recordings with Wings, helping them craft classic songs like “Live and Let Die,” “Jet,” “Silly Love Songs,” and “Band on the Run.” He co-wrote 1977’s “Mull of Kintyre” with McCartney, and was the only member besides Linda McCartney to last through every incarnation of the band. They arguably reached the zenith of their creativity in 1973 with Band on the Run. “Me and Paul, we had the same influences musically and had known each other since the ’60s,” Laine told Billboard earlier this year. “It was just easy. It was easy to get a good groove on each other’s songs, and I think that’s what made the album popular.”
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, the band's future became uncertain. Denny 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.
He continued working with Paul on his solo albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, but they splintered apart due to business disputes. In the years that followed, Laine cut a series of solo albums, and he toured heavily. In recent years, he played a series of special shows where he played Band on the Run in full along with other classics by Wings and the Moody Blues.
Denny 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 an album of reworkings of Wings songs, entitled Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine.
From 1997 to 2002, he toured with the rock supergroup World Classic Rockers.He then toured with the Denny Laine Band, and teamed up with other bands on occasion.
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.
He was featured in three fanzines, including Ahh Laine. In 2018, he 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 US, including New York and Nashville, and said he was working on new material for an album.
Laine was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine, with whom he had a son and daughter. 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.
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