I opened for Denny a few times. My observation of him these days, is of a guy that loves to play, he loves to tell stories, and he really loves meeting people and hanging out after the show. He was really gracious to me. Even invited me up to play some songs with him. I treasure the opportunity.
I met Denny last week and exchanged phone numbers. His business card has him playing bass in his Wings shirt from back in the day and he said that Paul is the best bassist ever. I didn’t ask him about Paul- he brought it up himself. He’s very low key and has a boat named Holly after Buddy Holly.
It just breaks my heart...as a fan of everything Beatles, that Paul and Denny ended cross with each other. As a fan...one has this romantic impression, that your heroes are all best friends. Used to break my heart about George and Paul's sort of falling out. Goes to show...in reality...in the real world...famous people...are just like us in the end. Just people.
Excellent video, James! I think Denny is fairly underrated as far as the history books are concerned and that’s a shame. He deserves better than that. I missed seeing him the last two times he came to Chicago. If he ever comes back, I’ll be sure to see him. I enjoyed his contributions to Wings. It would have been a different band without him.
Thanks Sean. It was awesome meeting Denny and talking to him about his recent-ish meeting with Paul. Quite a strange experience meeting someone whose face used to be on your bedroom wall when you were a kid. I can still vividly remember seeing the Mull of Kintyre video for the first time. I was sat in my grandparents' little house, in front of their fire, and the song and the video just blew my tiny mind.
All the Beatle folks out here in the VC doing numerous videos on their channels and no one has explored Denny's career in this manner until now...hard to believe. But you nailed it James! Great job! I met Denny at The Fest for Beatles Fans a couple of years ago and he was very accomodating and gracious. I always loved his presence in Wings and was sad to see he and Paul go their separate ways. I wish Paul would have him on stage some time before it's too late. Have a bit of a reconciliation. That would be nice.....thanks James....Matt
Hi Matt. Yeah I wish that too, wouldn't it be great? Did you know there's actually some footage out there taken on a home movie camera of Denny in the audience at a recent-ish Paul stadium show?
Living through the 70s, I clearly remember plenty of airplay, records on display and all the t shirts, posters etc. I won At the Speed of Sound by calling a radio station. Caller 93 I believe. Lol. ❤
Really enjoyed this James, glad someone has identified the wonderful sound of Macca, Linda and Denny as one of the great harmonies of the 70s without anyone really noticing. I love the haunting Note you never wrote it's sung with so much feel despite the nonsense words. Again again and again is indeed a classic pop tune and rivals No Words as his best piece of writing in Wings. Essentially Denny was a true hippy believing in music love and drugs and as you said spend it when you have it and drift about with Spanish gypsies when you don't! If you listen to his first interview on Take It Away podcast his music memory is excellent despite his apparent flakiness, so I'm sure he can write a book, but I thin specific dates and places is where he comes unstuck. Maybe he knows too much. I think he is a great musician and singer and wish a retrospective would surface to showcase his career with dignity as he deserves far more recognition, well done for getting the ball rolling
Thanks Warren, great to have your input on this. I've got a second channel called Beatle James which contains a lot of Wings content (and other stuff) you may enjoy.
James Griffiths will investigate, solo Macca is my bag even more than Beatles RUclips wise especially Wings. Really enjoy your pace and balance of journo chops mixed with a fan enthusiasm
@@warrenbutson349 Wow! That's so sweet of you to say my Dear, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
@@dennylaine8735 Wow a reply from the real Denny Laine (am I dreaming?!) Bought Wings Greatest when it came out and then Back To The Egg and so fell in love with the whole sound and back catalogue plus I knew Moody Blues/ELO (you came up with the idea first!) history so the whole way through my life you've been in it! I even love Live In Mountains (BLG/Balls) where is the rest of that album?? Amazed I only found out about 5 years ago you wrote Say You Don't Mind. There really needs to be a decent retrospective of your work there is so much to discover. Thank you so much for the music and I love hearing your stories on all these podcasts you appear on. Hope the guys at Nothing Is Real get to interview you they know their stuff x
@@warrenbutson349 Oh!!! Thanks once again for your love and affection which you’ve shown towards my music over the years. I’ve always been a passionate, affectionate and a loyal singer🤠🎶. Well do you mind if we text somewhere more private? Let me know if you're interested
James, you need a condenser mic. This is a fantastic vid! Denny Laine is so overlooked by a clueless music "inteligencia". I've always adored his work. I love the way his voice blends with Paul and Linda. Paul is the renaissance man of our time. The only thing that could possibly make me love him more, would be if he would write million dollar checks to the denny Laines in his life..... Frieda Felly, Geoff Emerick, etc, etc. I believe he can afford it.
Paul is a very cold person he would never do that. We all make one big mistake in life and now I have Denny’s big mistake was getting mixed up with Paul McCartney
Denny did get a big payday for Mull when Denny went bankrupt, and Paul offered to by the song rights from Denny long after the single finished selling) for around a million dollars.
Not true at all. there are many unpublicized stories from people who received money when needed, or medical bills paid by Paul. He didn't ask for publicity for any of it. So you didn't hear of it. @@thomasreed49 Paul also saved the high schools of him, George and John and gave millions and got other doners to turn it into a fame-like school for music etc. He even has handed out diplomas from what I read.
Permanent sideman status, I was just thinking that phrase a heartbeat before you said it. How ironic to crave your place in the spotlight yet continually end up in this journeyman role - and what a combination of talent, work ethic, and many other factors it takes to actually be the star of the show as it were. Lack of a recognizable or projectable image or persona is often a problem as well. Still if the choice is that or getting some 9 to 5 job to pay the bills surely the choice must be clear! Cheers for this spotlight James, makes a nice companion to your last video on the early Wings gig! Carrying on the story as it were. Take care, have a nice weekend!
Denny Laine and The Moody Blues toured with the Beatles in the early years, so they Denny and Paul became friends, mutual admiration. There are many interrelationships between the Moody Blues and The Beatles. Mike Pinder of MB was a constant presence at Abbey Road, keeping the finicky mellotron of Paul’s, up and running
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Philip🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Hi James, nice job doing this video. It's not often that we get a feature on Denny, so well done. I learned a number of things here that I didn't know. Up until only fairly recently I've pretty much only reckoned him as that other guy in Wings, though I knew about his association with The Moody Blues. Thanks!
Hi Joe. Glad you enjoyed it. Denny has always interested me for some reason....think when I was really young I didn't understand for a while that he and Paul were different from each other. Until I learned about the Beatles, Paul and Denny were just the two guys out of Wings!
Thanks for posting this! I just watched a Wings documentary. Look, Denny and the Moody Blues are not even within the same universe as Paul Mccartney! This notion that Denny would be frustrated about being in Pauls shadow is funny to me! What like there would be a remote probability of anything else? More people are familiar with Wings songs than Moody Blues!? Paul is a GOD and Denny is well Denny! When someone out sells, out writes, out plays, and out sings, theres going to be a shadow! I bet Wings helped gain Moody Blues fans their fan base! Moody Blues and the Beatles dont belong together within the same sentence
Wow! That's so sweet of you to say Linda🤠, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. So I thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
RANDY JUDAH TORREZ < The way I see it DL, had his chance to prove himself and couldn't deliver, as far as a successful solo artist ether you have it or don't simply. Playing guitar and singing back up vocals in a band with BILLY SHEARS is on thing but to have successful sONg written ability is a whole different animal period. 💯 that is wer the line is drawn separating a legend from obscurity.
Playing 2nd fiddle to Paul McCartney is still a pretty good fiddle, Denny could have capitalised more on his relationship with McCartney and Wings by dishing the dirt etc but remained loyal, Beatles did the entire 60s and Wings did the entire 70s, McCartney pulled at stumps with both bands at the right time imo, RIP Denny Laine.
Great video James...Denny is underrated for sure...I saw him at Wimbledon Theatre Jan 87 shortly after his declared bankruptcy...and then saw him throughout 1987 on the London pub circuit....got to hang out with him which was great. Hi favourite Wings LP was Band On The Run although I was always singing the praises of London Town and Back To The Egg....shame how it all ended but yes a pivotal part of Wings and i love him 'cos of that :- )
HI John. Amazing that you got to hang properly with Denny. Was the Wimbledon Theatre show in '87 a solo one, or was he with former Wings members at this point? I must have been hard for him throughout that year on the pub circuit, or was he good spirits? Sorry for all the questions, I'm intensely curious! I remember reading an interview with Denny where he said he liked London Town.
He was quite cool with us...we didn't discuss the bankruptcy! I liked him and I remember when I presented him with the Ahh Laine album to sign he wrote: 'Where did you find find this?'...and the 'Home town girls solo album he signed "Well John you must be serious!' :- )
Excellent. If you have a few Laine albums in your collection I'd love to see you do a video on them. I wonder what on earth has happened to his Valley of Dreams project? Denny is pretty hopeless when it comes to PR and promotion. There's no way of contacting him on his web-site. When I met him he told me he didn't do Facebook or other social media, which to me seems insane given he's still ostensibly trying to have some kind of music career!
Interesting doc-- when looking into people like Denny and other talents and their lives and careers there are a number of reasons why things happened as they did--Denny is a good singer, musician, songwriter but Paul casts a large shadow and had a better business sense,likewise although a songwriter Denny's songs didn't seem as "commercial" as Paul s you also have to have a strong personality when colab with Paul (songs,royalties, business)it's good to see Denny now getting the recognition he deserves thanks for the post A very informative video
Denny is now getting some well deserved recognition along with the other Moody Blues by being a well deserved induction into the RRHOF!! Denny said he doubts it will ever happened with wings...what a shame really some of his best work was with wings!!
wildcatter63 .. money grubbing wankers ! I can’t believe the Allman Brothers ( they have their place but c’mon ) and Wings aren’t. I met Denney last fall and he was such a funny, very nice guy and he signed all my stuff. A Go Now 45 fifty years old, a great picture of him playing that gorgeous double-neck guitar and a Wings ticket from 76. I guess I’m a hoarder, but it was worth it in this instance, & I got the feeling he appreciated every person there.
@@ronwhoyes1311 what's so hard to believe that the Allman Brothers are in the Hall of Fame I take it you've never seen them live in fact I'm willing to bet something quite large on it
I thought that Denny's contributions to Wings were pretty good - I always liked his vocal on "The Note You Never Wrote" in particular - but what has really impressed me are the live clips that I've seen of him, from the 1976 Wings Over America Tour, or with The Moody Blues 65' appearance at Wembley. He really shone as a live performer on par with the best of them...Excellent video James..
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Aria🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Malcolm🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Denny come and stayed at one of my dads partys brought one of his old camper vans so denny could travel around as was writing a book this must of been 30 years ago now my dads Dave Brock of the space rock band HAWKWIND see little link
Great clip James, your observations seem spot on about Denny, as a kid I always thought he was a pretty cool dude. I remember reading articles when he & his wife bad mouthed Paul & Linda for being very tight with their money etc, I always thought that was bad form on their part for spilling the beans on the man that gave him his fame. Cheers for making this clip as there is very little out there on Denny apart from those newish interviews with him on You Tube where he puts his own spin on things (fair enought too).
Wings gave Denny laine his fame ? - well being part of Wings would add to anyones reputation but to anyone in UK in 1960's Denny Laine was a big name from 1964/65 onwards.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic you’re welcome buddy..I watched one of your vids and the songs you were naming..think it was last songs on albums..Dylan/stones were all personal faves of mine
Denny knew Phil Ackrill (aka Billy Shears) when they were in The Diplomats together. On 9/11/66 Paul McCartney died in a car crash. Billy was his replacement so no surprise that Billy had Denny join Wings after he (Billy) broke up the Beatles.
Of course. It's so clear now!!!!!!!!!!! When famous people die, they do NOT "replace" them. Paul knew THOUSANDS of people in the industry personally by 1966. NONE including his father, brother and other relatives would accept such a lie. Paul went to his brother's wedding, and no one noticed a fake????????? Yet n0 one EVER told the story of him being fake? Get well soon!
Hey James. Glad you did this video. For me I always thought Denny's biggest contributions were on the London Town album. His harmonies and fine guitar playing all very strong on that album and during that time. Including the Mull of Kintyre/ Girls school. London Town's folk music elements were very much Denny's in my opinion. I always thought the folk music sounds were really strong for him. Always thought he should have done a full solo album of folk and acoustic music. Fun and interesting James. Thanks for posting. Brad in Canada.
Nah, he probably was given a fair deal for his contribution - he had a gig that most guitar-players / musicians would kill for... ain’t Bill’s /McCartneys fault if he never sort solid financial advice or managed his own finances..
He was a big part of the Paul McCartney and Wings and really that was all it was. Paul McCartney has major history behind him and Denny can't expect to be a famous musician just because of this. If he wasn't in Wings nobody would even know who he was. I say all this with the greatest of respect to Denny Laine and his family. RIP Denny Laine..
Great job James. Yeah. I see Denny at his shows and he's still doing great performances at Beatlefest. He's a great funny guy and still plays great. Hey, we've all made mistakes. What can you do? Move on.
Hi James - Wow, this was terrific to watch. Denny's presence certainly contributed a lot to some of the best Wings music, not least as you say for the distinctive backing vocals he provided. And a few of my favorite Wings moments are ones where he and Paul wrote and sang together ("No Words," "Deliver Your Children"). I never knew there was a video for "Again and Again and Again" (which I agree was another real high point). It was cool to see that clip here.
Thanks Jeff. There were promos for lots of the songs from BTTE. It was that period when record companies were willing to make promos even for album tracks - the same year in fact that ELO made a video for every song off Discovery!
This is a fantastic topic James !!!! I do miss Denny on Paul lp . You know with Paul touring all over the world and having gests get up on stage . I would love to see Denny be one of them you know !!! . Unless.. Paul has some resentment ?. Well don video James I like it a lot !!. You spark me to do a video no Joe English is it ok that I would come off of you or not ? . I don't wont to take thought away from you . So let me know what you think . Great video James . Another one of your best !!!!!!!!!!!!! .
Thanks so much for this fascinating piece, really enjoyed your style. Off to check out some of your other stuff now! Hope you are keeping well in this crazy year. In case you're interested I was born and brought up in Speke, Liverpool (round the corner from where Paul lived when he was young)
@@jamesgriffithsmusic I'm watching your other channel now James - have already subscribed! I shall be binge watching! Interesting to hear your story of starting off loving Paul and then loving The Beatles, for myself, obviously older than you, it was the other way around! Love how your Dad quite obviously instilled a great respect for treating albums with loving care.
@@paulinemorgan2939 Wow! That's so sweet of you to say my Dear, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Thomas🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Thank you for this very well documented video, I have troubles being interested in Denny Laine. I never really understood why Paul chose him. He is vain in interviews, his songs looks like bad copies of the Beatles. The best song he co-wrote with Paul would be "No words" according to me, but it seems it was mainly Paul's doing. I did not really like the other songs, except go now, despite the negative message, and again again again. you forgot to talk about his guitar playing in the end?
Thanks for watching...Denny is great guitarist from what I've seen him do live. He does regularly perform No Words in concert. He's a good musician but I get the impression he's not particularly together as a person.
I heard Young Scottish Jimmy kept throwing Eggs at Maccas windows one day while Jimmy was drunk, Paul got pissed off and after many warnings asking him to quit, finaly Paul sacked him...I heard he never worked again, tho could be wrong...Then Denny sold his story to the 'News Of The World' and said a few not so nice things about Paul, and Paul never spoke to him again...I can remember reading that Newspaper article
Hey James, Very enjoyable feature on someone I had little familiarity with. I would imagine however good one may be, if you're playing with Paul, yes one would be considered 'second fiddle' at best. Indeed, business creeping in...doesn't always make it easy. Nice you got to meet him. Had been curious as I've bee watching, is that a large windowshade behind you, a screen, or something else? Thanks for sharing this. -Carm
Denny appears to be a reasonably talented guy with perennially poor decision-making skills. While Macca is notoriously frugal with his band mates, he also rightly knows that no one is paying $250 for a ticket to see Rusty Anderson now or Denny Laine in 1976.
You should do a bit more research, Denny earned millions when he needed money from Paul who bought the rights to the Mull song, (not the credits, still shared) when Denny went bankrupt. Both went to a few concerts together in the 2000's. If Linda had not died, there might have been a Wings reunion album with Denny aboard. Denny wasn't just another band member he was one of the core 3. He Linda and Paul won a Grammy for best vocal group!
Where's your evidence that Denny and Paul went to some shows together (beyond Denny claiming in one interview that they'd done that)? And what's your basis for saying there 'might' have been a Wings reunion had Linda lived? Did Paul ever intimate that this was a possibility? I've seen at least one recent-ish interview with Denny when he was asked about that and he explicitly said 'no, that's never come up'. Yes Denny was one of the core three, that was the entire slant of the video.
I bet George Harrison...and Denny Laine both...lived on the same wave length for a while. Bet those two...understand each other better than anyone. Too bad, if they do feel as though they were only in the shadows...because both are fantastic musicians in their own right. But like I said...bet George and Denny both have a lot in common psychologically. Love George and Denny. Have all of George's solo work...and much of Denny's. (Not all of it like I have George's, but quite a bit of it, and he is a fantastic musician).
Hi James, I love these long videos about topics not usually covered in the VC or in general. He was certainly important to the Wings sound with his backing harmonies, but at the end of the day it was Paul's band and Denny's songs on the wings albums are usually my least favorite, exception being Again and Again and Again.
I always wondered why he left the moodies, great “look-in” to the life of Denny Laine...I always liked the songs he did with Wings .... great job James .... take care- Lis
just rewatching this James.....i'm sorry but i can't feel too sorry for Denny.... at least in terms of money.....the main disappointment for me is that Paul never really made it with Denny...now that really is as shame......cos they were great partners for 10 years
What you need in order to make it big is being able to write great songs consistently. I don't think Denny had that, a song here and there isn't enough. And more importantly what happens behind the scenes, smooching up to the record executives and a&r men, perhaps he didn't have that either. If the money wasn't divided fairly it.must have created a rift between them, but then there's also the reality. It's easy to think that this band is making so much money,but it's not so easy to think how much money goes into keeping the band afloat. When it comes down to it,the leader, Paul, will take a larger cut and the rest will be divided among the rest.I think it's sad when people who are at the heart of commercial success like Denny end up with nothing. Like you said it's likely he didn't have that financial sense to look into the future. Pasi
Think you're right on all counts. It's quite telling that Denny's first band, The Diplomats, got a record deal with (I think) Pye in the early sixties and recorded a bunch of songs, but the record company couldn't find one that was strong enough to be a single. My impression of Denny is that he's a classic 'journeyman' musician, but with flashes of inspiration. I don't think he had the creative discipline or the organisation skills to become a star in his own right. He recorded a solo album called Valley of Dreams about 5 years ago, did a load of promotional work for it, then it just never came out. He has a Facebook page which never updates its content, and there's actually no way of contacting him on-line. Doesn't exactly indicate he wants to engage with the world of commercial success. Thanks for watching Pasi.
Denny was more known to the Beatles and to Billy then you think. Denny sang on Penny Lane. He and Billy were known to each other for a long time prior to forming wings. But that's just the opinion of conspiracy theorists or is it ? ruclips.net/video/Ji5SULDxukg/видео.html
Denny Laine was such a crucial part to Paul's development and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for helping Paul and Linda make all those great 70's (and early 80's) albums.
Kind of. Not that it would ever happen. Paul's fame eclipses everything, that's the problem. If he invited Denny to appear on stage with him, 80.000 people would applaud madly, but most of them would still only be applauding Paul welcoming Denny onto the stage.There's some video footage of Denny actually in the audience at a recent-ish Paul stadium gig, being completely ignored (unnoticed) by anyone.
Denny is battling serious health problems these days and can't afford a health insurance. It would have been be a nice gesture if former Wings partner McCartney who is a billionaire would step in and pay his medical Bills. But sadly it seems that McCartney doesn't care one bit about the guy he co-wrote Mull of Kintyre with.
Seen the Denny Laine version of Say You Don't Mind on RUclips a couple of years ago and was really impressed. Blunstone version is the business though.
The more I watched this interview I started thinking that you look like McCartney. Like you could be a nephew or something. I mean that as a compliment of course.
in regard to Mull Of Kintyre Paul did give Denny a writing credit, but when Denny was having money problems Paul gave him a loan with the condition that if he could not pay him back Paul would get full ownership of the song, Denny didn't pay him back and the rights went to Paul.
I really enjoyed this. I was told and read that he did record an album late 60s when he was doing his psych solo singles. Never came out of course and a lot of speculation about it. I bought holly Days . It was pretty good of buddy holly covers. Shame he never did a project with other ex members of Wings. That might be interesting.
James Griffiths Denny reminds me of Hilton Valentine of the Animals. He recorded one solo which he disowns as he does not make any money from it and Noel Redding. They never understood this is a business . They also don’t seem to have the discipline that is needed to do it.
When did Brian Hines become Denny Laine? What year? Interesting that Denny and JoJo’s son was names Laine Hines. Was friends with the son for some years in the 80’s and early 90’s. Now his name makes more sense.
Hi Chris. The Birmingham music scene was very close-knit back in the early sixties. There is s touring band to this day featuring lots of different musicians from the various bands. Did you have any luck finding that Rock Family Trees documentary? If not I can send you the link.
Excellent storytelling James, very illuminating. A great point on being a Lennon-esque 'substitute' of sorts, and the 'permanent-sideman' status anyone'd be doomed to if playing with an ex-Beatle. Also think there's a particular type of person that can be a long-time sideman to a couple in a band. A third wheel to a very close relationship in an already tight band atmosphere must be extreemly difficult to navigate at times. I can only think of James McNew from Yo La Tengo who has lasted nearly 25 years now. Regardless of financial aptitude, I feel like Laine could've only ever come second to McCartney in royalties for Mull of Kintyre - McCartney probably just did as was done to him in the Beatles - take care of No.1 first, i.e. Do or be done to! Would definitely leave a sour taste though.
Thanks Dean! Paul always maintained he had receipts in his office for £1 million paid to Laine over the time they were together...which in his eyes was ample renumeration. Thanks for your thoughts and feedback, always appreciated. Looking forward to your next video.
Royalties were shared equally or in proportion to contribution. Denny kept the songwriting money and sold his share of the song otherwise back to Paul when he went bankrupt. Paul said he gave Denny a million or more for Denny's efforts!
Denny working with Billy,er,Paul McCartney was no accident.After one of his solo gigs Laine and another act were drinking at a bar one night and the subject of Paul McCartney dying and being replaced by Bill Shepherd who btw was formerly in the Diplomats with Laine under the name Phil Ackrill was verifed by Denny.If youll notice it's not uncommon in showbiz to have several aliases & Bill Shepherd was a British session guy before taking on the role of McCartney.R.I.P.PAUL...Hello Billy.. ruclips.net/video/DZFOrOHGEIA/видео.html
Very sad I love Wings at the Speed of Sound and recently bought the new reissue, Denny sounds great on that. Surely he must still make one on Mull of Kintyre and from all the Wings reissues as a songwriter and contributing artist?
Hi Jon. Unfortunately not. I forgot to mention in this video that when Denny declared himself bankrupt in around 86-87, he had to sell his share of royalties for all the stuff he co-wrote or wrote with Wings back to MPL in order to pay off his debts. So now Paul owns sole copyright and publishing on Band on the Run, Mull of Kintyre etc etc.
Although yes he probably still makes money as a performer from the re-sales of those records. I guess he wouldn't have involved himself with contributing to some of the reissues if there was nothing in it for him.
Thank you for this story about Denny Laine. I was looking through the comments if someone had made a comment about Penny Lane/Denny Laine. Great job. How far back does there friendship go? I also reacted to the name of Dennys wife JoJo. (Get back JoJo) What ever happened to her memoirs?
@@janjohansenmusic .. Who is Danny?.. Brian Hines met the Beatles when The Moody Blues toured as their opening act in 1964, and at that time had already been using the stage name "Denny Laine" for nine years.. Jo Jo Laine had been going by the name "Jo Jo" ever since she was born Joanne LaPatrie in Danvers, Massachusetts on July 13, 1952
Patriot Warrior You know who I was referring to. Everybody is not English and a spelling genius like you. But I corrected my error and will repent my mistake forever! Still they sounds the same “Denny Laine” and “Penny Lane”! Like “Knowing she would/Norwegian Wood” A play with words to hide the true meaning.
Haven't finished yet James but nice work. I really wasn't familiar with Demny at all. I think a huge portion musicians start off wanting to be the star of the show but another good portion end up as side men and I bet a lot of them are happy with it and happy being able to make a living at it. Take care, have a great weekend.
Did you know that Denny Laine never actually wrote 'GO NOW'?!...It was written by a woman by the name of Bessie Banks, who a couple of years later he met!
Love the Dr. Who illustrations of your wall Patrick Throughten and Tom Baker very cool. I love it when I cam across a Paul McCartney/Wings/Beatles fan who is also a fan of Dr. Who. I don't meet many who love both. Denny and Linda's vocal harmonies were quite unique. I think he and Linda were quite fond of each other. Denny certainly held it together very well especially consider the various incarnations of Wings. I thought the Wingspan Documentary was to biased, having your own daughter interview you! In fact it was pretty crap as it was a very poor in actually focusing on the band.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Thanks I'll check it out. I may possibly have already seen it as I am a sucker for ranking posts. Have a great day fellow Doctor Macca fan.
"Denny never existed." is sadly the conclusion fact about him. "Wings" band is known... (I love them!!!!!) but was and will remain Paul McCartney's band. Paul is associated with Paul, the remain details is only known by "experts" with a good memory of the musical history of the 20th century. "Wings" in France ? _Wouingse? C'est quoi? C'est qui?_ (What is that? Who is it?). I have always been amazed that their collaboration lasted so long. Denny was very important in Wings' story_legacy just like Linda. In concert they were fantastic. Paul's band since 2002 is great but for me they are only talented extras (except the faithful Paul Wix since 1986 wow). Denny looks to me like a disappointed weird bitter man and that for at least 37 years. I find it very sad that he is not in the "Wingspan" documentary. It's unfair ... once again _(and again and again)._ Poor Denny... Strange Denny... _well maybe we should also add... Bossy Paul M._ It's not necessarily sad, but Denny often participates in many Beatles conventions around the world. It's paradoxical but you must be able to eat ... and without being so cynical, a musician needs and likes to play and if there is an audience it is even better... _and copyrights are paid to Mr. Paul once again. Haha!_ Money... Grab that ca$h with both hands and make a stash... *Ps and fun historical fact:* Paul Wix plays accordion on one track in the last Téléphone album "Un Autre Monde" 1984... _(and John Entwistle plays trombone on another track haha)_
Yes indeed, I forgot to mention the Beatles conventions. I think Paul's new band are fairly faceless compared to Wings. The 1990 band was more character-ful I think, though still not like Wings. Paul took a brave step in the seventies by trying to assemble a proper band, and in Denny he did try to create a proper right-hand man who was invested in the material. But ultimately it backfired. Can you imagine Paul repeating that experiment and trying to form a 'proper band' one last time before he retires? It would be great...but also impossible. Fun fact about Wix on the Téléphone album. A very talented person and probably much in demand! Merci Paul.
Aww poor Denny, you don't know the facts, you were not actually there leave Paul alone,you can't judge were you actually there to see all this? No of course you were not!
I like this video. I like Denny Laine. But there is a little bit of victim industry in this. He went bankrupt? Well, hate to say it, but whose fault would that have been? If Denny came to my neck of the woods, I'd go see him in the blink of an eye. if I ever met him I would be close to a state of genuflection. And there are thousands like me. That he didn't make the most of all that, well that is his story.
If you consider that video, "a bit of the ramble" you can investigate and fact gather for me any time👨🔬👨💻👮♂️ I always consider your videos as Rockumentaries any way.👍😁 Looking forward to your recent rock purchases. Can't wait to see who you dug up.😎lol
I opened for Denny a few times. My observation of him these days, is of a guy that loves to play, he loves to tell stories, and he really loves meeting people and hanging out after the show. He was really gracious to me. Even invited me up to play some songs with him. I treasure the opportunity.
Nice story, thanks!
WOW! Big Fan of Denny!
Lets ALL send Denny Positive THOUGHTS
Paul says more about Pete Best in the Beatles Anthology documentary than he does about Denny in all of Wingspan.
It’s sad. Really.
If somebody talked about my wife like that and she died before receiving an apology, I wouldn’t have anything to do with him either.
Ok Mr Phillips, care to elaborate on that a bit?
@@gregphillips2827 i think you’re thinking of Jimmy McCulloch
It is a sad thing that after wings ended Denny gave a mean interview that upset Paul Denny's wife said the worst of it.@@michaelmcclelland2896
I met Denny last week and exchanged phone numbers. His business card has him playing bass in his Wings shirt from back in the day and he said that Paul is the best bassist ever. I didn’t ask him about Paul- he brought it up himself. He’s very low key and has a boat named Holly after Buddy Holly.
Hi Kevin. Interesting! I'd heard Denny lived in Vegas, is that where you are?
Lol now I want a boat called holly
Thanks for that!!!
It just breaks my heart...as a fan of everything Beatles, that Paul and Denny ended cross with each other. As a fan...one has this romantic impression, that your heroes are all best friends. Used to break my heart about George and Paul's sort of falling out. Goes to show...in reality...in the real world...famous people...are just like us in the end. Just people.
It was George and John that didn't really get along and you should stop fucking with the Babe's name
We don't know what happened ignore all this it's all here say!
This video was like meeting a guy in the pub who's got a bunch of stories.
Great listening, James.
Wish I could get out to the pub! Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent video, James!
I think Denny is fairly underrated as far as the history books are concerned and that’s a shame. He deserves better than that.
I missed seeing him the last two times he came to Chicago. If he ever comes back, I’ll be sure to see him. I enjoyed his contributions to Wings. It would have been a different band without him.
Thanks Sean. It was awesome meeting Denny and talking to him about his recent-ish meeting with Paul. Quite a strange experience meeting someone whose face used to be on your bedroom wall when you were a kid. I can still vividly remember seeing the Mull of Kintyre video for the first time. I was sat in my grandparents' little house, in front of their fire, and the song and the video just blew my tiny mind.
I would like him to do a musical version of Rock Show
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Denny was an at least 50% co-writer - tune and lyrics.
Nice job, just saw him in Chicago at a Winery and he has blossomed doing so gs AND lots if stories . The small audience seems to be his thing!
Good to know that he's prospering!
All the Beatle folks out here in the VC doing numerous videos on their channels and no one has explored Denny's career in this manner until now...hard to believe. But you nailed it James! Great job! I met Denny at The Fest for Beatles Fans a couple of years ago and he was very accomodating and gracious. I always loved his presence in Wings and was sad to see he and Paul go their separate ways. I wish Paul would have him on stage some time before it's too late. Have a bit of a reconciliation. That would be nice.....thanks James....Matt
Hi Matt. Yeah I wish that too, wouldn't it be great? Did you know there's actually some footage out there taken on a home movie camera of Denny in the audience at a recent-ish Paul stadium show?
I took that video of Denny. We attended Psuls show at Tinley Park last Summer and we had s blast!
@@elizabethmele9375I haven't seen your video I would like to see it please.
Wings is the most underrated band ever...
One of them for sure
Underrated ? Are you living in the real world ?
I suspect you are one of these delusional hero worshippers who wants to deify people .
Living through the 70s, I clearly remember plenty of airplay, records on display and all the t shirts, posters etc. I won At the Speed of Sound by calling a radio station. Caller 93 I believe. Lol. ❤
Hardly “under” anything.
Really enjoyed this James, glad someone has identified the wonderful sound of Macca, Linda and Denny as one of the great harmonies of the 70s without anyone really noticing. I love the haunting Note you never wrote it's sung with so much feel despite the nonsense words. Again again and again is indeed a classic pop tune and rivals No Words as his best piece of writing in Wings. Essentially Denny was a true hippy believing in music love and drugs and as you said spend it when you have it and drift about with Spanish gypsies when you don't! If you listen to his first interview on Take It Away podcast his music memory is excellent despite his apparent flakiness, so I'm sure he can write a book, but I thin specific dates and places is where he comes unstuck. Maybe he knows too much. I think he is a great musician and singer and wish a retrospective would surface to showcase his career with dignity as he deserves far more recognition, well done for getting the ball rolling
Thanks Warren, great to have your input on this. I've got a second channel called Beatle James which contains a lot of Wings content (and other stuff) you may enjoy.
James Griffiths will investigate, solo Macca is my bag even more than Beatles RUclips wise especially Wings. Really enjoy your pace and balance of journo chops mixed with a fan enthusiasm
@@warrenbutson349 Wow! That's so sweet of you to say my Dear, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
@@dennylaine8735 Wow a reply from the real Denny Laine (am I dreaming?!) Bought Wings Greatest when it came out and then Back To The Egg and so fell in love with the whole sound and back catalogue plus I knew Moody Blues/ELO (you came up with the idea first!) history so the whole way through my life you've been in it! I even love Live In Mountains (BLG/Balls) where is the rest of that album?? Amazed I only found out about 5 years ago you wrote Say You Don't Mind. There really needs to be a decent retrospective of your work there is so much to discover. Thank you so much for the music and I love hearing your stories on all these podcasts you appear on. Hope the guys at Nothing Is Real get to interview you they know their stuff x
@@warrenbutson349 Oh!!! Thanks once again for your love and affection which you’ve shown towards my music over the years. I’ve always been a passionate, affectionate and a loyal singer🤠🎶. Well do you mind if we text somewhere more private? Let me know if you're interested
James, you need a condenser mic. This is a fantastic vid! Denny Laine is so overlooked by a clueless music "inteligencia". I've always adored his work. I love the way his voice blends with Paul and Linda. Paul is the renaissance man of our time. The only thing that could possibly make me love him more, would be if he would write million dollar checks to the denny Laines in his life..... Frieda Felly, Geoff Emerick, etc, etc. I believe he can afford it.
Glad you enjoyed it. I still don't have a mic, but I do use the audio compresser inside imovie now so lift the volume a bit.
Paul is a very cold person he would never do that. We all make one big mistake in life and now I have Denny’s big mistake was getting mixed up with Paul McCartney
Denny did get a big payday for Mull when Denny went bankrupt, and Paul offered to by the song rights from Denny long after the single finished selling) for around a million dollars.
Not true at all. there are many unpublicized stories from people who received money when needed, or medical bills paid by Paul. He didn't ask for publicity for any of it. So you didn't hear of it. @@thomasreed49
Paul also saved the high schools of him, George and John and gave millions and got other doners to turn it into a fame-like school for music etc. He even has handed out diplomas from what I read.
Wings = Paul, Linda and Denny and we loved them!
Permanent sideman status, I was just thinking that phrase a heartbeat before you said it. How ironic to crave your place in the spotlight yet continually end up in this journeyman role - and what a combination of talent, work ethic, and many other factors it takes to actually be the star of the show as it were. Lack of a recognizable or projectable image or persona is often a problem as well. Still if the choice is that or getting some 9 to 5 job to pay the bills surely the choice must be clear! Cheers for this spotlight James, makes a nice companion to your last video on the early Wings gig! Carrying on the story as it were. Take care, have a nice weekend!
Denny Laine and The Moody Blues toured with the Beatles in the early years, so they Denny and Paul became friends, mutual admiration. There are many interrelationships between the Moody Blues and The Beatles. Mike Pinder of MB was a constant presence at Abbey Road, keeping the finicky mellotron of Paul’s, up and running
Denny was great he knew what he was getting into he is a professional
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Philip🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
But Denny did that job of being Paul's right hand man really well!
Hi James, nice job doing this video. It's not often that we get a feature on Denny, so well done. I learned a number of things here that I didn't know. Up until only fairly recently I've pretty much only reckoned him as that other guy in Wings, though I knew about his association with The Moody Blues. Thanks!
Hi Joe. Glad you enjoyed it. Denny has always interested me for some reason....think when I was really young I didn't understand for a while that he and Paul were different from each other. Until I learned about the Beatles, Paul and Denny were just the two guys out of Wings!
Thanks for posting this! I just watched a Wings documentary.
Look, Denny and the Moody Blues are not even within the same universe as Paul Mccartney!
This notion that Denny would be frustrated about being in Pauls shadow is funny to me! What like there would be a remote probability of anything else?
More people are familiar with Wings songs than Moody Blues!?
Paul is a GOD and Denny is well Denny! When someone out sells, out writes, out plays, and out sings, theres going to be a shadow!
I bet Wings helped gain Moody Blues fans their fan base!
Moody Blues and the Beatles dont belong together within the same sentence
Happy to see that DL finally got the Rock n Roll hall of fame induction
Wow! That's so sweet of you to say Linda🤠, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. So I thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
RANDY JUDAH TORREZ <
The way I see it DL, had his chance to prove himself and couldn't deliver, as far as a successful solo artist
ether you have it or don't simply.
Playing guitar and singing back up vocals in a band with BILLY SHEARS is on thing but to have successful sONg written ability is a whole different animal period. 💯 that is wer the line is drawn separating a legend from obscurity.
RIP Denny 😢
Playing 2nd fiddle to Paul McCartney is still a pretty good fiddle, Denny could have capitalised more on his relationship with McCartney and Wings by dishing the dirt etc but remained loyal, Beatles did the entire 60s and Wings did the entire 70s, McCartney pulled at stumps with both bands at the right time imo, RIP Denny Laine.
He did dish the dirt once and it spoiled the relationship for years.
I recently visited House of Guitars in Rochester, New York where hangs on the wall a pair of Denny Laine's striped trousers. I was thrilled
Hope they'd been washed!
Great video James...Denny is underrated for sure...I saw him at Wimbledon Theatre Jan 87 shortly after his declared bankruptcy...and then saw him throughout 1987 on the London pub circuit....got to hang out with him which was great. Hi favourite Wings LP was Band On The Run although I was always singing the praises of London Town and Back To The Egg....shame how it all ended but yes a pivotal part of Wings and i love him 'cos of that :- )
HI John. Amazing that you got to hang properly with Denny. Was the Wimbledon Theatre show in '87 a solo one, or was he with former Wings members at this point? I must have been hard for him throughout that year on the pub circuit, or was he good spirits? Sorry for all the questions, I'm intensely curious! I remember reading an interview with Denny where he said he liked London Town.
He was quite cool with us...we didn't discuss the bankruptcy! I liked him and I remember when I presented him with the Ahh Laine album to sign he wrote: 'Where did you find find this?'...and the 'Home town girls solo album he signed "Well John you must be serious!' :- )
Excellent. If you have a few Laine albums in your collection I'd love to see you do a video on them. I wonder what on earth has happened to his Valley of Dreams project? Denny is pretty hopeless when it comes to PR and promotion. There's no way of contacting him on his web-site. When I met him he told me he didn't do Facebook or other social media, which to me seems insane given he's still ostensibly trying to have some kind of music career!
His solo albums are ok but i doubt i'd do a separate video on them..maybe a career retrospective like you've done
Interesting doc-- when looking into people like Denny and other talents and their lives and careers there are a number of reasons why things happened as they did--Denny is a good singer, musician, songwriter but Paul casts a large shadow and had a better business sense,likewise although a songwriter Denny's songs didn't seem as "commercial" as Paul s you also have to have a strong personality when colab with Paul (songs,royalties, business)it's good to see Denny now getting the recognition he deserves thanks for the post A very informative video
Cheers Bryan, glad you enjoyed it.
Denny is now getting some well deserved recognition along with the other Moody Blues by being a well deserved induction into the RRHOF!! Denny said he doubts it will ever happened with wings...what a shame really some of his best work was with wings!!
Hi Linda. I've just checked and remarkably Denny is listed as one of the nominees. I wonder if he'll attend the ceremony?
James Griffiths yes I am sure i read somewhere he will attend. Curious who will do the induction
I am a long time Moody fan.
wildcatter63 .. money grubbing wankers ! I can’t believe the Allman Brothers ( they have their place but c’mon ) and Wings aren’t. I met Denney last fall and he was such a funny, very nice guy and he signed all my stuff. A Go Now 45 fifty years old, a great picture of him playing that gorgeous double-neck guitar and a Wings ticket from 76. I guess I’m a hoarder, but it was worth it in this instance, & I got the feeling he appreciated every person there.
@@lala5732 .. RRHOF is a joke and about as meaningful these days as a membership approval at Sam's Club
@@ronwhoyes1311 what's so hard to believe that the Allman Brothers are in the Hall of Fame I take it you've never seen them live in fact I'm willing to bet something quite large on it
I really enjoyed this video so much. I really agree with everything you presented. Fabulous!
Thanks Linda, glad you enjoyed it.
I thought that Denny's contributions to Wings were pretty good - I always liked his vocal on "The Note You Never Wrote" in particular - but what has really impressed me are the live clips that I've seen of him, from the 1976 Wings Over America Tour, or with The Moody Blues 65' appearance at Wembley. He really shone as a live performer on par with the best of them...Excellent video James..
Hi Thomas. Sorry, I missed this comment of yours from several months ago. Glad you enjoyed the video, take care, James
Interesting overview of Denny Laine’s work with Wings!
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Aria🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
never underestimate Denny
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Malcolm🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Denny come and stayed at one of my dads partys brought one of his old camper vans so denny could travel around as was writing a book this must of been 30 years ago now my dads Dave Brock of the space rock band HAWKWIND see little link
Oh denny was amazing he helped Paul McCartney who is my favourite celebrity start a band
Great clip James, your observations seem spot on about Denny, as a kid I always thought he was a pretty cool dude. I remember reading articles when he & his wife bad mouthed Paul & Linda for being very tight with their money etc, I always thought that was bad form on their part for spilling the beans on the man that gave him his fame. Cheers for making this clip as there is very little out there on Denny apart from those newish interviews with him on You Tube where he puts his own spin on things (fair enought too).
Wings gave Denny laine his fame ? - well being part of Wings would add to anyones reputation but to anyone in UK in 1960's Denny Laine was a big name from 1964/65 onwards.
James LOVE your channel buddy fantastic
Thanks Martin. I love your comments!
@@jamesgriffithsmusic you’re welcome buddy..I watched one of your vids and the songs you were naming..think it was last songs on albums..Dylan/stones were all personal faves of mine
Informative stuff I need to catch up on McCratney' solo work after Wings
There are some good albums. Check out my other channel, 'Beatle James', as I'm reviewing them all there.
Excellent insights and observations. Thank you.
Cheers John, glad you enjoyed it.
Denny knew Phil Ackrill (aka Billy Shears) when they were in The Diplomats together. On 9/11/66 Paul McCartney died in a car crash. Billy was his replacement so no surprise that Billy had Denny join Wings after he (Billy) broke up the Beatles.
Of course. It's so clear now!!!!!!!!!!!
When famous people die, they do NOT "replace" them. Paul knew THOUSANDS of people in the industry personally by 1966. NONE including his father, brother and other relatives would accept such a lie. Paul went to his brother's wedding, and no one noticed a fake?????????
Yet n0 one EVER told the story of him being fake?
Get well soon!
Hey James. Glad you did this video. For me I always thought Denny's biggest contributions were on the London Town album. His harmonies and fine guitar playing all very strong on that album and during that time. Including the Mull of Kintyre/ Girls school. London Town's folk music elements were very much Denny's in my opinion. I always thought the folk music sounds were really strong for him. Always thought he should have done a full solo album of folk and acoustic music. Fun and interesting James. Thanks for posting. Brad in Canada.
Thanks Brad. Yeah, LT was a very strong album for Denny, and I think he knew that. Band on the Run also. A talented guy!
Nah, he probably was given a fair deal for his contribution - he had a gig that most guitar-players / musicians would kill for... ain’t Bill’s /McCartneys fault if he never sort solid financial advice or managed his own finances..
He was a big part of the Paul McCartney and Wings and really that was all it was.
Paul McCartney has major history behind him and Denny can't expect to be a famous musician just because of this.
If he wasn't in Wings nobody would even know who he was. I say all this with the greatest of respect to Denny Laine and his family.
RIP Denny Laine..
Denny is up there now with the best of them!
Excellent, thank you.
You're very welcome, Mark.
🎶 🎵 MOODY BLUES ❤⏹️ 🪕 🎼
Great job James. Yeah. I see Denny at his shows and he's still doing great performances at Beatlefest.
He's a great funny guy and still plays great.
Hey, we've all made mistakes.
What can you do?
Move on.
Thanks Harvey, glad you enjoyed the video!
"The Barber shaves another Customer, Denny Laaaane"
He wasn't the only one from the start to finish of Wings! - So was Linda!
Hahaha
Hi James - Wow, this was terrific to watch. Denny's presence certainly contributed a lot to some of the best Wings music, not least as you say for the distinctive backing vocals he provided. And a few of my favorite Wings moments are ones where he and Paul wrote and sang together ("No Words," "Deliver Your Children").
I never knew there was a video for "Again and Again and Again" (which I agree was another real high point). It was cool to see that clip here.
Thanks Jeff. There were promos for lots of the songs from BTTE. It was that period when record companies were willing to make promos even for album tracks - the same year in fact that ELO made a video for every song off Discovery!
This is a fantastic topic James !!!! I do miss Denny on Paul lp . You know with Paul touring all over the world and having gests get up on stage . I would love to see Denny be one of them you know !!! . Unless.. Paul has some resentment ?. Well don video James I like it a lot !!. You spark me to do a video no Joe English is it ok that I would come off of you or not ? . I don't wont to take thought away from you . So let me know what you think . Great video James . Another one of your best !!!!!!!!!!!!! .
Hi Brad - yeah I would love to see joe English video from you, go for it!!
Thanks .
Thanks :}. I know that it wont be as nearly as good as yours !!! .
Thanks so much for this fascinating piece, really enjoyed your style. Off to check out some of your other stuff now! Hope you are keeping well in this crazy year. In case you're interested I was born and brought up in Speke, Liverpool (round the corner from where Paul lived when he was young)
Thanks Pauline. I have more Beatles-related content over on my other channel which is called 'Beatle James'.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic I'm watching your other channel now James - have already subscribed! I shall be binge watching! Interesting to hear your story of starting off loving Paul and then loving The Beatles, for myself, obviously older than you, it was the other way around! Love how your Dad quite obviously instilled a great respect for treating albums with loving care.
@@paulinemorgan2939 Wow! That's so sweet of you to say my Dear, didn't expect to get such a beautiful comment from you. Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Great Video
Oh! Thank you so much for being such an amazing fan of my music Thomas🙏🤠. I hope you never stop being a fan and also stop listening to my songs🎶. Well could you kindly tell me how long you've been a fan my music???
Thank you for this very well documented video, I have troubles being interested in Denny Laine. I never really understood why Paul chose him. He is vain in interviews, his songs looks like bad copies of the Beatles. The best song he co-wrote with Paul would be "No words" according to me, but it seems it was mainly Paul's doing. I did not really like the other songs, except go now, despite the negative message, and again again again.
you forgot to talk about his guitar playing in the end?
Thanks for watching...Denny is great guitarist from what I've seen him do live. He does regularly perform No Words in concert. He's a good musician but I get the impression he's not particularly together as a person.
I heard Young Scottish Jimmy kept throwing Eggs at Maccas windows one day while Jimmy was drunk, Paul got pissed off and after many warnings asking him to quit, finaly Paul sacked him...I heard he never worked again, tho could be wrong...Then Denny sold his story to the 'News Of The World' and said a few not so nice things about Paul, and Paul never spoke to him again...I can remember reading that Newspaper article
Hey James, Very enjoyable feature on someone I had little familiarity with. I would imagine however good one may be, if you're playing with Paul, yes one would be considered 'second fiddle' at best. Indeed, business creeping in...doesn't always make it easy. Nice you got to meet him. Had been curious as I've bee watching, is that a large windowshade behind you, a screen, or something else? Thanks for sharing this. -Carm
Hi Carm....it's a roll-down blind! Glad you enjoyed the video, looking forward to checking out your 4th anniversary video this evening....
Enjoyed your view Thank You
You're welcome, John.
Denny appears to be a reasonably talented guy with perennially poor decision-making skills. While Macca is notoriously frugal with his band mates, he also rightly knows that no one is paying $250 for a ticket to see Rusty Anderson now or Denny Laine in 1976.
Fair comment Laura.
You should do a bit more research, Denny earned millions when he needed money from Paul who bought the rights to the Mull song, (not the credits, still shared) when Denny went bankrupt. Both went to a few concerts together in the 2000's. If Linda had not died, there might have been a Wings reunion album with Denny aboard. Denny wasn't just another band member he was one of the core 3. He Linda and Paul won a Grammy for best vocal group!
Where's your evidence that Denny and Paul went to some shows together (beyond Denny claiming in one interview that they'd done that)? And what's your basis for saying there 'might' have been a Wings reunion had Linda lived? Did Paul ever intimate that this was a possibility? I've seen at least one recent-ish interview with Denny when he was asked about that and he explicitly said 'no, that's never come up'. Yes Denny was one of the core three, that was the entire slant of the video.
Greetings James ✌ Came across this video you made on Denny Laine, Great One! Loved it 👍
- One thing too add that Ive read that Paul has always been tight when it comes down to money and Not very generous to his musicians.
Excellent Ernie, thanks for watching!
@@jamesgriffithsmusic 👍✌
I bet George Harrison...and Denny Laine both...lived on the same wave length for a while. Bet those two...understand each other better than anyone. Too bad, if they do feel as though they were only in the shadows...because both are fantastic musicians in their own right. But like I said...bet George and Denny both have a lot in common psychologically. Love George and Denny. Have all of George's solo work...and much of Denny's. (Not all of it like I have George's, but quite a bit of it, and he is a fantastic musician).
Hi James, I love these long videos about topics not usually covered in the VC or in general. He was certainly important to the Wings sound with his backing harmonies, but at the end of the day it was Paul's band and Denny's songs on the wings albums are usually my least favorite, exception being Again and Again and Again.
Thanks Ross, glad you enjoyed it. I really enjoy being self-indulgent and making these videos. Hopefully I can think of a few more to do.
I always wondered why he left the moodies, great “look-in” to the life of Denny Laine...I always liked the songs he did with Wings .... great job James .... take care- Lis
Thanks Lis, glad you enjoyed it and always great to hear from you.
just rewatching this James.....i'm sorry but i can't feel too sorry for Denny.... at least in terms of money.....the main disappointment for me is that Paul never really made it with Denny...now that really is as shame......cos they were great partners for 10 years
Agreed John. Thanks for checking back in with this ancient video in which I look like a tramp.
Cool laid back video, really enjoyed sitting back and listening, you look like Paul McCartney..a bit! - ;)
Glad you enjoyed it!
What you need in order to make it big is being able to write great songs consistently. I don't think Denny had that, a song here and there isn't enough. And more importantly what happens behind the scenes, smooching up to the record executives and a&r men, perhaps he didn't have that either. If the money wasn't divided fairly it.must have created a rift between them, but then there's also the reality. It's easy to think that this band is making so much money,but it's not so easy to think how much money goes into keeping the band afloat. When it comes down to it,the leader, Paul, will take a larger cut and the rest will be divided among the rest.I think it's sad when people who are at the heart of commercial success like Denny end up with nothing. Like you said it's likely he didn't have that financial sense to look into the future.
Pasi
Think you're right on all counts. It's quite telling that Denny's first band, The Diplomats, got a record deal with (I think) Pye in the early sixties and recorded a bunch of songs, but the record company couldn't find one that was strong enough to be a single. My impression of Denny is that he's a classic 'journeyman' musician, but with flashes of inspiration. I don't think he had the creative discipline or the organisation skills to become a star in his own right. He recorded a solo album called Valley of Dreams about 5 years ago, did a load of promotional work for it, then it just never came out. He has a Facebook page which never updates its content, and there's actually no way of contacting him on-line. Doesn't exactly indicate he wants to engage with the world of commercial success. Thanks for watching Pasi.
Denny Laine sang Penny Lane for The Beatles after JPM died in ‘66 and before William Shepherd took over the role of Paul!
Denny was more known to the Beatles and to Billy then you think.
Denny sang on Penny Lane.
He and Billy were known to each other for a long time prior to forming wings.
But that's just the opinion of conspiracy theorists or is it ?
ruclips.net/video/Ji5SULDxukg/видео.html
You have misunderstood totally! - we loved Linda and Denny!
Very much underrated. Really do think Paul should have used his talents a lot more than he did and maybe listened to his input/ ideas a bit more...
Great job, very interesting.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Denny Laine was such a crucial part to Paul's development and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for helping Paul and Linda make all those great 70's (and early 80's) albums.
I agree! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Do you think if (somehow) Paul and Denny made an album together and released it today would it be a big deal?
Kind of. Not that it would ever happen. Paul's fame eclipses everything, that's the problem. If he invited Denny to appear on stage with him, 80.000 people would applaud madly, but most of them would still only be applauding Paul welcoming Denny onto the stage.There's some video footage of Denny actually in the audience at a recent-ish Paul stadium gig, being completely ignored (unnoticed) by anyone.
Awesome music he gave us
Oh yea oh yeah well alright
Love Linda’s harmony
Remember when Denny did the 1776 drum show on stage for the American anniversary? Let em in???
Ah yes, a real show-stopper!
I’m sorry but to me, Laine is only a little star into the great McCartney universe.
It was hard for Denny...because he was the star in the Diplomats with Phil Akril aka Macca.
Denny is battling serious health problems these days and can't afford a health insurance. It would have been be a nice gesture if former Wings partner McCartney who is a billionaire would step in and pay his medical Bills. But sadly it seems that McCartney doesn't care one bit about the guy he co-wrote Mull of Kintyre with.
James, excellent video video...
Thanks Lee, glad you enjoyed it.
Seen the Denny Laine version of Say You Don't Mind on RUclips a couple of years ago and was really impressed. Blunstone version is the business though.
Yeah, Colin's version is great. Must do a video on him at some point.
Excellent video. Very interesting. If you haven't read it, I recommend Tom Doyle's Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s.
HI, yes got that one, an excellent book indeed. Thanks for watching!
The more I watched this interview I started thinking that you look like McCartney. Like you could be a nephew or something. I mean that as a compliment of course.
In my dreams...
Wrote most the Beatles songs fair play to him.
in regard to Mull Of Kintyre Paul did give Denny a writing credit, but when Denny was having money problems Paul gave him a loan with the condition that if he could not pay him back Paul would get full ownership of the song, Denny didn't pay him back and the rights went to Paul.
I really enjoyed this. I was told and read that he did record an album late 60s when he was doing his psych solo singles. Never came out of course and a lot of speculation about it. I bought holly Days . It was pretty good of buddy holly covers. Shame he never did a project with other ex members of Wings. That might be interesting.
Thanks Rick. I have a feeling that Denny did have a brief live project with Steve Holly and Lawrence Juber in the nineties (maybe called Phoenix?)
James Griffiths Denny reminds me of Hilton Valentine of the Animals. He recorded one solo which he disowns as he does not make any money from it and Noel Redding. They never understood this is a business . They also don’t seem to have the discipline that is needed to do it.
When did Brian Hines become Denny Laine? What year? Interesting that Denny and JoJo’s son was names Laine Hines. Was friends with the son for some years in the 80’s and early 90’s. Now his name makes more sense.
I don't know. I read a story that he may have been called Denny since his schooldays, as he was always in the habit of building dens!
Thanks James. I have a much better picture of Denny, now. Interesting that he was involved with two future members of the Move.
Chris
Hi Chris. The Birmingham music scene was very close-knit back in the early sixties. There is s touring band to this day featuring lots of different musicians from the various bands. Did you have any luck finding that Rock Family Trees documentary? If not I can send you the link.
I think that I have found them. I will start with Birmingham and Manchester. Many hours of viewing ahead. Thanks.
I really like denny, he seems kinda undermined but I love some of his songs with wings deliver your children, the note you never wrote etc
Excellent storytelling James, very illuminating. A great point on being a Lennon-esque 'substitute' of sorts, and the 'permanent-sideman' status anyone'd be doomed to if playing with an ex-Beatle. Also think there's a particular type of person that can be a long-time sideman to a couple in a band. A third wheel to a very close relationship in an already tight band atmosphere must be extreemly difficult to navigate at times. I can only think of James McNew from Yo La Tengo who has lasted nearly 25 years now. Regardless of financial aptitude, I feel like Laine could've only ever come second to McCartney in royalties for Mull of Kintyre - McCartney probably just did as was done to him in the Beatles - take care of No.1 first, i.e. Do or be done to! Would definitely leave a sour taste though.
Thanks Dean! Paul always maintained he had receipts in his office for £1 million paid to Laine over the time they were together...which in his eyes was ample renumeration. Thanks for your thoughts and feedback, always appreciated. Looking forward to your next video.
Royalties were shared equally or in proportion to contribution. Denny kept the songwriting money and sold his share of the song otherwise back to Paul when he went bankrupt. Paul said he gave Denny a million or more for Denny's efforts!
Denny Laine e Paul McCartney são uns gênios da música Saudades do grupo Wings ok galera
Denny working with Billy,er,Paul McCartney was no accident.After one of his solo gigs Laine and another act were drinking at a bar one night and the subject of Paul McCartney dying and being replaced by Bill Shepherd who btw was formerly in the Diplomats with Laine under the name Phil Ackrill was verifed by Denny.If youll notice it's not uncommon in showbiz to have several aliases & Bill Shepherd was a British session guy before taking on the role of McCartney.R.I.P.PAUL...Hello Billy..
ruclips.net/video/DZFOrOHGEIA/видео.html
Very sad I love Wings at the Speed of Sound and recently bought the new reissue, Denny sounds great on that. Surely he must still make one on Mull of Kintyre and from all the Wings reissues as a songwriter and contributing artist?
Hi Jon. Unfortunately not. I forgot to mention in this video that when Denny declared himself bankrupt in around 86-87, he had to sell his share of royalties for all the stuff he co-wrote or wrote with Wings back to MPL in order to pay off his debts. So now Paul owns sole copyright and publishing on Band on the Run, Mull of Kintyre etc etc.
Although yes he probably still makes money as a performer from the re-sales of those records. I guess he wouldn't have involved himself with contributing to some of the reissues if there was nothing in it for him.
Denny Laine is only one character away from being Penny Laine.. coincidence? Not likely.
@ryan brown .. Brian Hines started using the stage name "Denny Laine" in 1957, Paul McCartney wrote "Penny Lane" in 1966
The song is Penny LANE, not Penny Laine.. Do you think it's a coincidence that @ryan brown rhymes with "Lyin' Clown"?
Thank you for this story about Denny Laine. I was looking through the comments if someone had made a comment about Penny Lane/Denny Laine. Great job. How far back does there friendship go? I also reacted to the name of Dennys wife JoJo. (Get back JoJo) What ever happened to her memoirs?
@@janjohansenmusic .. Who is Danny?.. Brian Hines met the Beatles when The Moody Blues toured as their opening act in 1964, and at that time had already been using the stage name "Denny Laine" for nine years.. Jo Jo Laine had been going by the name "Jo Jo" ever since she was born Joanne LaPatrie in Danvers, Massachusetts on July 13, 1952
Patriot Warrior You know who I was referring to. Everybody is not English and a spelling genius like you. But I corrected my error and will repent my mistake forever! Still they sounds the same “Denny Laine” and “Penny Lane”! Like “Knowing she would/Norwegian Wood” A play with words to hide the true meaning.
He helped me write a book on Paul called Blackbird
Hi Geoffrey...I know your book very well. I read it inside out in my younger days and still have it on my shelf today. Cheers!
I have that one too. Plus the one you did with Julia Baird and the one you did on George.
+ he is still going!
Another great video James. Thanks for spending some time discussing an underrated artist.
Thanks James. Sorry missed your comment at the time.
Isn't the intro copywrite
Haven't finished yet James but nice work.
I really wasn't familiar with Demny at all.
I think a huge portion musicians start off wanting to be the star of the show but another good portion end up as side men and I bet a lot of them are happy with it and happy being able to make a living at it.
Take care, have a great weekend.
Thanks Bill, great to hear from you.
Did you know that Denny Laine never actually wrote 'GO NOW'?!...It was written by a woman by the name of Bessie Banks, who a couple of years later he met!
Yes indeed, I have the original on a CD compilation, great track.
Love the Dr. Who illustrations of your wall Patrick Throughten and Tom Baker very cool. I love it when I cam across a Paul McCartney/Wings/Beatles fan who is also a fan of Dr. Who. I don't meet many who love both. Denny and Linda's vocal harmonies were quite unique. I think he and Linda were quite fond of each other. Denny certainly held it together very well especially consider the various incarnations of Wings. I thought the Wingspan Documentary was to biased, having your own daughter interview you! In fact it was pretty crap as it was a very poor in actually focusing on the band.
Nice comment thank you. I have done a Dr Who classic series ranking video btw.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic Thanks I'll check it out. I may possibly have already seen it as I am a sucker for ranking posts. Have a great day fellow Doctor Macca fan.
I would like him to do a musical version of Rock Show.
Yeah, that'd be cool
Billy Shears Wings . . .
"Denny never existed." is sadly the conclusion fact about him. "Wings" band is known... (I love them!!!!!) but was and will remain Paul McCartney's band. Paul is associated with Paul, the remain details is only known by "experts" with a good memory of the musical history of the 20th century. "Wings" in France ? _Wouingse? C'est quoi? C'est qui?_ (What is that? Who is it?).
I have always been amazed that their collaboration lasted so long. Denny was very important in Wings' story_legacy just like Linda. In concert they were fantastic. Paul's band since 2002 is great but for me they are only talented extras (except the faithful Paul Wix since 1986 wow). Denny looks to me like a disappointed weird bitter man and that for at least 37 years. I find it very sad that he is not in the "Wingspan" documentary. It's unfair ... once again _(and again and again)._ Poor Denny... Strange Denny... _well maybe we should also add... Bossy Paul M._
It's not necessarily sad, but Denny often participates in many Beatles conventions around the world. It's paradoxical but you must be able to eat ... and without being so cynical, a musician needs and likes to play and if there is an audience it is even better... _and copyrights are paid to Mr. Paul once again. Haha!_ Money... Grab that ca$h with both hands and make a stash...
*Ps and fun historical fact:* Paul Wix plays accordion on one track in the last Téléphone album "Un Autre Monde" 1984... _(and John Entwistle plays trombone on another track haha)_
Yes indeed, I forgot to mention the Beatles conventions. I think Paul's new band are fairly faceless compared to Wings. The 1990 band was more character-ful I think, though still not like Wings. Paul took a brave step in the seventies by trying to assemble a proper band, and in Denny he did try to create a proper right-hand man who was invested in the material. But ultimately it backfired. Can you imagine Paul repeating that experiment and trying to form a 'proper band' one last time before he retires? It would be great...but also impossible. Fun fact about Wix on the Téléphone album. A very talented person and probably much in demand! Merci Paul.
@@jamesgriffithsmusic .. very well said here James, spot on
denny's wife once said that Paul used to hide behind the amplifiers with giant burgers!
I would take that with a pinch of salt. Jo-Jo Laine was notorious for shouting her mouth off.
Aww poor Denny, you don't know the facts, you were not actually there leave Paul alone,you can't judge were you actually there to see all this? No of course you were not!
I like this video. I like Denny Laine. But there is a little bit of victim industry in this. He went bankrupt? Well, hate to say it, but whose fault would that have been?
If Denny came to my neck of the woods, I'd go see him in the blink of an eye. if I ever met him I would be close to a state of genuflection. And there are thousands like me. That he didn't make the most of all that, well that is his story.
Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. Thanks for tuning in.
If you consider that video, "a bit of the ramble" you can investigate and fact gather for me any time👨🔬👨💻👮♂️ I always consider your videos as Rockumentaries any way.👍😁 Looking forward to your recent rock purchases. Can't wait to see who you dug up.😎lol
thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Stand by for the treasures!