Denny Laine has repaired whatever tore him apart from Wings in the early 1980s, adding that he and ex-bandmate Paul McCartney talk often – though not about collaborating.
“No, that’s never come up,” he tells Lucas H. Gordon. “Everyone once in a while, I’ll be in touch, but we haven’t planned on anything, no. He’s doing his thing, and I’m doing my thing.”
That’s included, for Laine, 1999’s A Tribute to Paul McCartney and Wings, his most recent wide-release effort – and the latest of several focusing on his 1970s tenure with the former Beatles star.
Over the course of nine albums (including the live sets Wings Over America and Concerts for the People of Kampuchea) and 10 years with Wings, Laine was the only consistent member, besides Paul’s wife Linda McCartney. Still, Laine says he never picked a favorite moment. “The most popular album, in terms of reaction from fans, is [1973’s] Band on the Run. We got together to do that one under extreme pressure, because two of the members of the band had left. I’m very proud of the fact that we got a good feel on that album. It’s probably the most popular.”
Along the way, Laine wrote or co-wrote “No Words,” “Time to Hide,” five songs London Town in 1978, and “Again and Again and Again” during the Wings years, a period highlighted by the multi-million-selling “Mull of Kintyre” — after rising to fame as a founding member of the Moody Blues, and voicing their early hit “Go Now.” Lane also fronted Wings for “Spirits of Ancient Egypt” and “Note You Never Wrote,” among others.
Laine’s most recent original project was 1998’s Artic Song. More recently, he has been putting the finishing touches on a long-awaited studio effort called Valley of Dreams, due this summer via New Legend Records.
“It’s basically all original songs about American influences that I have had musically,” Laine says, “all of the different styles of music that came from America to England — from an English person’s point of view. It should be out in a couple of months. I’m just working on promotion and stuff like that at the moment.”
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