Paul McCartney has paid tribute to his former Wings bandmate Denny Laine, who died Tuesday, December 5, at age 79 following a battle with interstitial lung disease. McCartney posted a lengthy homage to the talented singer and musician on his official website and social media pages, along with an archival photo of the two of them together taken by Sir Paul’s late wife and fellow Wings member, Linda McCartney.
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In 1971, Laine co-founded Wings with Paul and Linda McCartney, along with drummer Denny Seiwell, and he was the only constant member of the band besides the McCartneys for the group’s entire 10-year existence. Prior to Wings, Laine served as the original frontman of The Moody Blues, and sang that group’s first major hit, “Go Now,” which topped the U.K. singles chart and reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. Laine also would regularly perform “Go Now” at Wings concerts.
“I am very saddened to hear that my ex-bandmate, Denny Laine, has died,” McCartney 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.”
McCartney then reflected on Laine’s contributions to Wings.
“He was an outstanding vocalist and guitar player,” he noted. “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.”
McCartney then pointed out that he and Laine had “drifted apart” for quite some time, although in recent years they “managed to reestablish our friendship and share memories of our times together.”
McCartney went on to praise Laine as “a great talent with a fine sense of humour [who] was always ready to help other people,” adding, “He will be missed by all his fans and remembered with great fondness by his friends.”
McCartney also offered his “condolences and best wishes to his wife, Elizabeth and family.”
He concluded the tribute by saying, “Peace and love Denny. It was a pleasure to know you. We are all going to miss you.”
Meanwhile, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose also posted a tribute to Laine on his X page, writing, “Very sorry to hear of the passing of Denny Laine. Wings has always (on the daily) been a big part of my life. RIP.”
Guns N’ Roses, of course, famously covered the 1973 Wings hit “Live and Let Die” on their 1991 album Use Your Illusion I album, and continue to play the song in concert.
Interestingly, Laine’s death came on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. release of McCartney and Wing’s most successful album, Band on the Run.
The sad news of Laine’s passing was announced by his wife, Elizabeth, in a message posted on his official social media pages.
“My darling husband passed away peacefully this morning,” she wrote. “I was at his bedside, holding his hand as I played his favorite Christmas songs for him.”
