McCartney bandmate discusses life in Naples, Wings, Moody Blues

For singer-guitarist Denny Laine, Paul McCartney isn’t some kind of rock ‘n’ roll god.

He’s just Paul.

“He’s just my mate,” Laine says. “He’s just my friend.”

Laine ― who now lives in Naples ― worked side-by-side with the ex-Beatle throughout the ‘70s in their hugely popular band Wings. Together, they packed arenas with hits like “Band on the Run,” “Live and Let Die” and “Silly Love Songs.”

And unlike McCartney’s time in The Beatles, Wings was relatively free of fighting and band drama. At least until 1981, when they parted ways over issues that included song royalties and a lack of touring.

“It came very easily because we shared the same background, if you like, musically,” says Laine, who was born in Birmingham, England. “It wasn’t something that’s like, ‘I’m in awe of Paul McCartney.’ I mean, no way. No, I’m not.”

The two came from the same British rock ‘n’ roll scene: McCartney in The Beatles and Laine in The Moody Blues (he was the band’s original lead singer and guitarist). So they had a lot in common.

“As far as I’m concerned, The Beatles were a rival band to The Moodys ― but in a friendly way,” Laine says.  “I think that’s why we became friends.”

Laine, 78, recently discussed his life, his music and more with us. Here’s what he had to say:

His quiet life in Naples

Laine says he moved to Naples from New York about three years ago. Now he lives here full-time.

“I wanted to get out of the New York weather,” he says and laughs. “But not only that, I love this sort of lifestyle. I like the sun, I like boats. I love Naples.

“I drove down the street here, sort of looking for somewhere to rent for the winter, really, and we ended up renting and staying because of the COVID thing. So I’m still here.”

The Moody Blues: John Lodge of Naples talks Rock Hall of Fame, death of Ray Thomas

Another Paul McCartney connection: Naples' Dominic Fike talks Grammy nomination, working with Paul McCartney, Justin Bieber

Laine says he likes to lay low in Naples when he’s not on the road. He spends most of his time writing songs and working on old cars.

“I live a very private life down here,” he says. “I see enough of people when I go out on the road. …

“But when I’m not working, I really take a lot of time for myself. Because I’m a writer. And I like to mess around with cars and guitars and recording.”

The Moody Blues’ John Lodge

You’d think Laine would be hanging out a lot with the other Moody Blues musician who lives in Naples: Current bassist-singer John Lodge.

But nope: They never do.

In fact, Laine says they’ve only met once: When Lodge, Laine and other members of The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

“He’s very cool,” Laine says. “A nice guy.”

Rock State: Southern rock to Miami sound: A look at Florida's most influential musicians

It’s just a coincidence that two musicians with Moody Blues connections live in Naples, he says. In fact, Laine said he didn’t even know Lodge lived in there at first.

“I know that he has a place down here,” Laine says. “I found out from a music store. His son goes into that music store all the time. Yeah, it’s a coincidence, really.”

His induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The British-born Laine admits getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame didn’t mean as much to him as it does to Americans.

“I hate to sound flippant about it,” he says, “but I wasn’t bothered either way.”

He blames his upbringing and home country.

“It’s not something that we have in England,” he says. “It’s not something we grow up with. Over here (in the United States), it’s a pretty big deal.”

Laine wasn’t even part of the initial group of The Moody Blues members announced for induction in 2018. But then Steven Van Zandt, Peter Asher and Laine's other famous rock ’n’ roll friends successfully lobbied the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to include him.

It felt good to be appreciated, Laine says. Plus it was great hanging out with the guys from The Moody Blues again at the induction ceremony.

“It was nice to see everybody there,” he says. “And of course, you know, I’m kinda flattered that I did get in there.”

Working with Paul McCartney in Wings

Laine knew McCartney for years before joining Wings in 1971. The Moody Blues had even toured with The Beatles, he says.

That relationship was partly why Laine ended up in Wings with McCartney and his wife Linda.

“I think he wanted somebody he knew, who wasn’t going to treat him like a superstar or whatever,” Laine says. “It was hard for him to start again, obviously (after The Beatles broke up). He had a lot to live up to, or at least he wanted to go in his own direction and see what people thought of it.”

Laine had to give up his solo career to join Wings, and that’s another reason he eventually left the band in 1981. “I wanted to be doing my own thing more, towards the end.”

Still, Laine says he learned a lot working with McCartney, and that helped him later in his solo career.

“I learned a lot about recording and all sorts of writing and playing different instruments," he says. "I got to do things that I didn’t get much of a chance to do before.”

Laine says it’s hard to nail down who wrote which songs in Wings. He says he co-wrote “Band on the Run” and "Mull of Kintyre,” for example, but other songs are a little harder to figure out.

“You can’t pin that down,” he says. “Either he would come up with a song and I would help him finish it, or vice versa. Or we’d sit down and say, 'OK, we’re gonna spend tomorrow writing songs.' And that’s what we’d do."

More about his time with The Moody Blues

As a founding guitarist and lead singer for The Moody Blues, Laine was there for the band’s first brush with success. That included the hit cover of Bessie Banks’ R&B song “Go Now.”

Of course, the band went on to even bigger success after Laine left. They transitioned from R&B to rock ‘n’ roll with the help of new members Justin Hayward and John Lodge, and then they scored even bigger hits with songs like “Your Wildest Dreams” and “Nights in White Satin.”

Seger to Summer: SW FL connections to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and who's been snubbed)

Laine says he’s just fine with that, too.

“I love the new Moodys,” he says. “I love that version of them. I always did. I thought they were good.

“And the fact that they did their own material and all that stuff ― that’s always what I wanted to do anyway with The Moodys.”

When he left, though, he didn't think the band had much of a future. “To me, they weren’t going anywhere,” he says. “They weren’t moving forward at the time.”

Besides, Laine says, he was ready for something new and different.

“I always feel like I want to keep moving forward,” he says. “Once you’ve done something, you know, you don’t want to just keep repeating it.

“I don’t want to keep going out on the road playing the same songs every night, you know, forever. We didn’t progress beyond that first album, as far as I was concerned.”

The wild success of Wings

Besides, Laine had his hands full with Wings, working with a legendary former Beatle and playing packed arenas.

“I was in his shadow, which was inevitable anyway because of his fame and talent,” Laine says. “I was like an intern in some ways. I learned by being there. And having the freedom to come up with ideas and whatever.”

The Moody Blues had never played arenas, and suddenly Laine found himself doing just that with Wings every night on tour.

“It went beyond The Moody Blues,” Laine says. “And of course we had a lot of huge hits as a result of it.

“But that was purely down to the fact that we worked so well together. I mean, that’s why I stayed around. A lot of people came and went, because they weren’t up for the job. Simple.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com.

You can also connect with him on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: McCartney bandmate on life in Naples, Wings, Moody Blues