He is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter
born Brian Frederick Arthur Hines from Birmingham, England.He began to learn to play the
guitar as a child and when he was twelve he gave his first solo
performance.While still a
teenager was in the band Johnny Dean and the Dominators, using Johnny Dean as
his pseudonym. In 1962 he
became the frontman of Denny Laine and the Diplomats whose members included
Bev Bevan who would later become known for his involvement with The Move
and Electric Light Orchestra.When he was 20 he joined up with The Moody Blues and sang on their
first hit "Go Now".He stayed
with them until 1966 when he formed Denny Laine's Electric String Band,
which is said to have been one of the influences for Roy Wood and the
Electric Light Orchestra.Although they released two singles and appeared with Procul Harum
and The Jimi Hendrix Experience they received little public attention and
so they disbanded and he moved onto the band Balls in 1969 as well as
playing for Ginger Baker's Air Force.In 1971 he was a co-founder of the band Wings with Paul and Linda
McCartney and he would stay with them until their break up in 1981.His talents were used extensively
with Wings and he would sing backing vocals and occasional lead vocals as
well as provide lead, rhythm and bass guitars and keyboards.As a composer his songs include the hit "Say You Don't Mind"
which was recorded by Colin Blunstone in 1972 and he has co-written an
ecological musical. He moved to Los Angeles to become part of an "all star"
band before returning to solo recording.He has released 12 solo albums since 1973, established a
record label and two blues clubs and is working on his autobiography.
