Post by wingsj0 on Dec 28, 2005 16:28:09 GMT
Denny Laine - Wings - By Jo Rishton.
Denny Laine was christened Brian Hinse and grew up in Birmingham, England. As a young boy he took up the guitar not under the influence of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, or even Scotty Moore. In fact his first love musically was Jazz and the first band he joined were called Denny Laine and The Diplomats – (this was how Denny chose that all important ‘stage name’ for Wings at the beginning of the seventies). The group’s line up consisted of future Move and Electric Light Orchestra's drummer ‘Bev Bevan’ and guitarist and singer Roy Wood. By the year 1964 Denny Laine had left the Diplomats and along with four musicians from the cities top bands formed a group that were to become ‘The Moody Blues’.
Around this time the British pop scene was constantly changing and The Beatles were causing mass hysteria wherever they went and were in the middle of organising a promotional tour of the USA. The British Beat scene was discovering new and exciting ‘Beat Bands ’and one of them was, not surprisingly, The Moody Blues. They were the next young band to storm the UK charts with a hit called ‘Go Now’. This song eventually became a great favourite of Sir Paul and Linda McCartney. The Moody Blues were asked to support The Beatles on their 1964 UK tour, the band accepted and this is how Denny Laine and Paul McCartney were first introduced. It was through this tour that they formed a friendship and a musical bond. Sadly, the Moody Blues initial success didn’t last too long and a string of commercial failures left the band languishing by the end of 1965. Denny Laine found himself leaving the group and The Moody Blues replaced him with new vocalist ‘Justin Heywood’. In Wingspan Paul admitted that he had always admired Denny's talent and vocally he thought he was a great singer, which was why he approached him to join Wings in 1970.
My Love
Denny Laine is a wonderful musician who has lasted four decades within the music business and is still performing as a professional musician today. I personally think his music is something to be admired. For me, Denny Laine was as important to Wings as John Lennon was to The Beatles. You felt his presence, you knew he was ‘important’ to the overall sound and where would Wings have been without him? I’ve always loved Denny Laine for two big reasons. Apart from the obvious one of him being a gifted songwriter, he truly had a professional attitude towards Wings and their music. Just listen to his work on Band on the Run, an album that to be fair only featured two musicians! (with respect to Linda of course). His passion and love shone through each performance and he always gave 100%. Denny lasted a whole decade and for me he has made his mark on the music business as a musical ‘legend’.
ROCKSHOW
Looking back on Wings live footage, Denny Laine's performance on the bands first ever movie, ‘Rock Show’, is simply amazing. This live footage features Denny Laine taking lead vocals on classic songs such as ‘Time To Hide’, ‘Spirits of Ancient Egypt’, and an outstanding performance of the song he made famous ‘Go Now’. Denny takes to the piano, while Paul and Linda share the mic and sing backing vocals. This sign told any ‘Wings’ fan that Paul considered Denny Laine and his voice as an important part of Wings theatrical performance. During a typical show he showed his prowess as a musician playing his Fender bass, piano, 6 and 12 string guitar with his Ibanez "double neck" (prominent in Band on the Run). One of my personal favourite album tracks from Denny is the beautiful ‘ Deliver Your Children,’from London Town, and not to mention a fabulous solo single he released in the 70's called Caroline, well worth hunting down!
Jo Rishton
Please note all articles on this site are (C) to The Beat Goes On And On Fanzine and may not be used without permission.
Denny Laine was christened Brian Hinse and grew up in Birmingham, England. As a young boy he took up the guitar not under the influence of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, or even Scotty Moore. In fact his first love musically was Jazz and the first band he joined were called Denny Laine and The Diplomats – (this was how Denny chose that all important ‘stage name’ for Wings at the beginning of the seventies). The group’s line up consisted of future Move and Electric Light Orchestra's drummer ‘Bev Bevan’ and guitarist and singer Roy Wood. By the year 1964 Denny Laine had left the Diplomats and along with four musicians from the cities top bands formed a group that were to become ‘The Moody Blues’.
Around this time the British pop scene was constantly changing and The Beatles were causing mass hysteria wherever they went and were in the middle of organising a promotional tour of the USA. The British Beat scene was discovering new and exciting ‘Beat Bands ’and one of them was, not surprisingly, The Moody Blues. They were the next young band to storm the UK charts with a hit called ‘Go Now’. This song eventually became a great favourite of Sir Paul and Linda McCartney. The Moody Blues were asked to support The Beatles on their 1964 UK tour, the band accepted and this is how Denny Laine and Paul McCartney were first introduced. It was through this tour that they formed a friendship and a musical bond. Sadly, the Moody Blues initial success didn’t last too long and a string of commercial failures left the band languishing by the end of 1965. Denny Laine found himself leaving the group and The Moody Blues replaced him with new vocalist ‘Justin Heywood’. In Wingspan Paul admitted that he had always admired Denny's talent and vocally he thought he was a great singer, which was why he approached him to join Wings in 1970.
My Love
Denny Laine is a wonderful musician who has lasted four decades within the music business and is still performing as a professional musician today. I personally think his music is something to be admired. For me, Denny Laine was as important to Wings as John Lennon was to The Beatles. You felt his presence, you knew he was ‘important’ to the overall sound and where would Wings have been without him? I’ve always loved Denny Laine for two big reasons. Apart from the obvious one of him being a gifted songwriter, he truly had a professional attitude towards Wings and their music. Just listen to his work on Band on the Run, an album that to be fair only featured two musicians! (with respect to Linda of course). His passion and love shone through each performance and he always gave 100%. Denny lasted a whole decade and for me he has made his mark on the music business as a musical ‘legend’.
ROCKSHOW
Looking back on Wings live footage, Denny Laine's performance on the bands first ever movie, ‘Rock Show’, is simply amazing. This live footage features Denny Laine taking lead vocals on classic songs such as ‘Time To Hide’, ‘Spirits of Ancient Egypt’, and an outstanding performance of the song he made famous ‘Go Now’. Denny takes to the piano, while Paul and Linda share the mic and sing backing vocals. This sign told any ‘Wings’ fan that Paul considered Denny Laine and his voice as an important part of Wings theatrical performance. During a typical show he showed his prowess as a musician playing his Fender bass, piano, 6 and 12 string guitar with his Ibanez "double neck" (prominent in Band on the Run). One of my personal favourite album tracks from Denny is the beautiful ‘ Deliver Your Children,’from London Town, and not to mention a fabulous solo single he released in the 70's called Caroline, well worth hunting down!
Jo Rishton
Please note all articles on this site are (C) to The Beat Goes On And On Fanzine and may not be used without permission.