British music legend Denny Laine is dead

Denny Laine has passed away, the British musician died on Tuesday at the age of 79 due to lung disease. His wife announced this on Instagram. “I stood at his bedside and held his hand while I played him his favorite Christmas songs,” Elizabeth Hines captioned a shared photo.

She did this again and again in the days before his death, “while he was in the intensive care unit on a ventilator,” the widow continued. She and her husband believed until the end “that he would overcome his health problems, enter a rehabilitation center and eventually return home,” Elizabeth Hines reveals. “He fought every day. He was so strong and brave, he never complained.” But the interstitial lung disease (ILD) the musician suffered from was unpredictable and aggressive – and ultimately cost him his life.

“My world will never be the same again. Denny was a wonderful person, so loving and good to me. He has made my days colorful, fun and full of life – just like he was,” she continues, finally addressing her husband: “Thank you, my love, for loving me, for all the laughter, the friendship, the fun and for asking that I be your wife. I will always love you.”

Denny Laine was best known in the 1960s and 1970s as the lead singer of the Moody Blues and as a member of the Wings – Paul McCartney’s first band since the Beatles, whose focus was on songs he wrote with his wife Linda.

Laine grew up in Birmingham and, as a teenager, formed the group Denny Laine and the Diplomats with future Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan. However, he only became famous in 1964 when he formed the Moody Blues with Ray Thomas and Mike Ponder. Her cover version of the Bessie Banks song “Go Now” became a hit. His membership in the Moody Blues led to Laine’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

In 1971, Paul McCartney suggested to his old friend that he join his band Wings. Laine played guitar, bass and sang on hits such as “Jet,” “Band on the Run” and “Live and Let Die.” For the next ten years he was the only constant in the band’s ever-changing line-up alongside the McCartneys. In the ’80s, the Wings officially split, but Laine and McCartney stayed in touch and supported each other musically.

Laine’s last solo album, “The Blue Musician”, was released in 2008, although he continued to perform live. He had announced a tour for 2023, but had to cancel it for health reasons. The musician is survived by five children, two of whom he has with his late ex-wife Jo Jo Laine, and his widow Elizabeth Hines.