CELEBRITY
Denny Laine Of Wings And Moody Blues Dead At 79
dennylaineofficialpage/Instagram
Denny Laine, who co-founded the Moody Blues before going on to co-found Wings with Paul McCartney, has died at the age of 79.
Laine’s wife, Elizabeth Hines, shared the news Tuesday on Facebook, revealing Laine died of unpredictable and aggressive interstitial lung disease.
I was at his bedside, holding his hand as I played his favorite Christmas songs for him. Hes been singing Christmas songs the past few weeks and I continued to play Christmas songs while hes been in ICU on a ventilator this past week, Hines wrote.
He and I both believed he would overcome his health setbacks and return to the rehabilitation center and eventually home, she said, but it wasn’t to be.
I thank you all for sending both of us love and support. It was my absolute honor and privilege to not only be his wife, but to care for him during his illness and vulnerability. Thank you to Dennys surgeons, doctors, specialists, physical therapists and nurses at Naples Hospital for working so hard to help him. Thank you for your compassion and support for me during these past several emotional months, she wrote.
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, she wrote. Thank you sweetie for loving me, for all the laughter, friendship, fun and for asking me to be your wife. I will love you forever.
The English rocker formed the Moody Blues with Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder in 1964, and reached No. 1 with their recording of Bessie Banks’ Go Now with Laine on vocals. Laine left the band soon after the release of their debut LP, The Magnificent Moodies, in 1965.
Laine went on to form Wings with Paul McCartney in 1971. The pair had met previously when McCartney was touring with the Beatles.
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, McCartney wrote in a tribute on Facebook.
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, he wrote.
When the Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, Laine was initially left out, and was surprised to be included in the end.
“I thought [the rest of the band] deserved it because of the amount of work and the popularity, and I thought thats the way it goes,” Laine told Billboard. “Obviously, Im very pleased Im going to be in there. Its an honor. I think Im at least a little part of their story, so I feel very content, really, that its all come full circle now.”
TMX contributed to this article.
