Denny Laine – born Brian Hines in Tyseley, Birmingham, England on October 29, 1944 – was a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with both The Moody Blues and (Paul McCartney and) Wings. He began his professional career as leader of his own band, Denny Laine and The Diplomats, which featured drummer Bev Bevan, later of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra. He split his own band in 1964 when he got a call from Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder about forming a new group, which would then become The Moody Blues. While their first album, The Magnificent Moodies (1965), wasn’t a huge seller, the Denny Laine-led single “Go Now” was an international success. After several more singles failed to set the charts on fire, Denny Laine quit the group in 1966, which paved the way for Justin Hayward to join the band and lead them in a different – and far more successful – direction. In late 1966, Denny Laine formed The Electric String Band with Trevor Burton (The Move), Viv Prince (Pretty Things), and Binky McKenzie, but they split up the following year. In 1967, Denny Laine released two solo singles before forming Balls with Trevor Burton. The two musicians also ended up playing in Ginger Baker’s Aire Force in 1970. The following year, he got a call from Paul McCartney - who Denny Laine had befriended during his Moody Blues days – and was asked to join a new band Paul was putting together. Wings was officially formed in 1971 and while their first two years were not as successful as expected, the Band on the Run (1973) album changed everything, and they became global superstars. That same year, he issued his first solo album, Ahh…Laine, which he had been working on for more than a year. However, his work with Wings took precedence over his solo career and he didn’t release another album under his own name until 1977’s Holly Days, a collection of Buddy Holly songs that he had recorded with Paul and Linda McCartney. Denny Laine’s tenure with Wings continued until 1981, when McCartney dissolved the band and continued as a solo artist. Denny Laine’s next solo album was Japanese Tears, the title named after the song of the same name which vaguely addressed Paul and Linda’s marijuana bust in Japan at the beginning of 1980. Denny Laine continued recording solo albums – including Anyone Can Fly (1982), Hometown Girls (1985), Wings on My Feet (1987), Lonely Road (1988), Master Suite (1988), All I Want Is Freedom (1990), Reborn (1996), Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine (1996), and The Blue Musician (2008) – and played with various supergroups but was unable to escape from the shadow of Wings. In the end, he graciously accepted his place in rock history and attended Beatles conventions and McCartney tribute shows. Denny Laine died from interstitial lung disease on December 5, 2023, at the age of 79.
