1944-2023
Denny Laine
1944-2023
Denny Laine
Brian Frederick Hines took on the stage name Denny Laine in his first band Denny Laine and The Diplomats, later founding two legendary bands in the British music scene: The Moody Blues and Wings. His name refers to the “den” that he and his friends would hang out in, and he took the surname of his sister’s idol, singer Frankie Laine. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Moody Blues. With over 600 music credits to his name, it’s easy to see why so many would consider him underrated.
Denny Laine was born in Birmingham, England on October 29, 1944. He was inspired by the jazz musician Django Reinhardt to play guitar and had his first solo performance at 12 years old. The start of his professional music career can be traced back to Denny Laine and The Diplomats in 1962 at just 18. The band had no recorded releases but was still one of the best-known bands in Birmingham. After two years, Laine left the band and formed The M&B 5 with Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas, which was renamed The Moody Blues. Their cover of “Go Now” by Bessie Banks instantly became their biggest single, reaching no. 1 on the British charts and no. 10 in the United States. Moody Blues were unable to match their success afterward, and Laine left the band in 1966. He was replaced by Justin Hayward.
Denny Laine
Laine continued his career, forming and joining various bands such as the Electric String Band, Balls, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force. These new projects did not see the same success as Laine had with The Moody Blues, and by 1971 he had moved on from all of them. His next venture was to form the band Wings with Paul and Linda McCartney, and they worked together for the next decade. During this time, Laine also released his first solo album Ahh...Laine (1973) and Holly Days (1976). Wings’ first album Wild Life (1971) was heavily criticized as people had very high expectations for the former Beatles and Moody Blues members. As a group, they released 7 studio albums and became one of the best-selling acts of the decade with their fifth album Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976). Their biggest single was “Mull of Kintyre,” charting at no. 1 in 1977 on the UK charts, and they appeared on the charts again at no. 13 with “Deliver Your Children” (1978).
Laine and the McCartneys had a falling out by 1981, leading to the end of Wings. Despite the break-up, Laine and Paul McCartney continued to work together, with Laine making appearances on McCartney’s Tug of War (1982) and Pipes of Peace (1983). Laine continued his solo career and signed with Scratch Records, releasing four albums through 1988: Anyone Can Fly (1982), Hometown Girls (1985), Wings on My Feet (1987), Lonely Road (1988), and Master Suite (1988). He had much less public visibility at this point but re-emerged in the late 90s with a reworking of Wings songs Wings at the Sound of Denny Laine (1996) and Denny Laine: A Tribute to Paul McCartney & Wings (1999).
From 1997-2002 Laine toured with World Classic Rockers, playing works from Wings and he now continues touring with The Denny Laine Band. A compilation of singles and album tracks of the early Moody Blues was released in 2006 called An Introduction to the Moody Blues, while his last album was The Blue Musician (2008). Just recently, Laine announced performance dates, with his next one in November later this year.
