After news broke that Denny Laine who co-founded Wings and The Moody Blues passed away yesterday, Paul McCartney took to Facebook to pay tribute to his former bandmate.
“I am very saddened to hear that my ex-bandmate, Denny Laine, has died,” he wrote.
“I have many fond memories of my time with Denny: from the early days when The Beatles toured with the Moody Blues. Our two bands had a lot of respect for each other and a lot of fun together. Denny joined Wings at the outset. He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player. His most famous performance is probably ‘Go Now’ an old Bessie Banks song which he would sing brilliantly. He and I wrote some songs together the most successful being ‘Mull of Kintyre’ which was a big hit in the Seventies. We had drifted apart but in recent years managed to re-establish our friendship and share memories of our times together.”
“Denny was a great talent with a fine sense of humour and was always ready to help other people. He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends. I send my condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family,” he added. “Peace and love Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you.”
Laine co-founded the Moody Blues in 1964 with Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas. He sang on the band’s first big hit “Go Now” and was part of the band until 1966, when he was replaced by Justin Hayward.
He spent the rest of the ’60s playing solo as well as in a variety of bands including the Electric String Band, Balls, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force.
In 1971, Laine cofounded Wings with Linda and Paul. He was part of the band until it broke up in 1981 and was the only constant member outside of the McCartneys.
After Wings disbanded, Laine continued his career as a solo artist and released his last album, The Blue Musician, in 2008. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Moody Blues.
He died on December 5 of Interstitial Lung Disease at the age of 79.
