Wings, Moody Blues guitarist starts GoFundMe after COVID, canceled Fort Myers shows

Denny Laine’s had a rough go since getting COVID-19 last year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has been in and out of the hospital for a collapsed lung, a bacterial infection and other issues, and he was forced to cancel two planned summer concerts in Fort Myers.

But Laine is getting better every day, says new wife Elizabeth Hines.

The former Wings and Moody Blues member isn’t feeling well enough for an interview, Hines says, but his spirits have improved since he got discharged Thursday, Sept. 21, from Naples' NCH Baker Hospital.

And he can’t wait to start playing guitar again.

“He’s too weak at the moment,” she says. “He doesn’t have the dexterity to hold the guitar and play it. But that’s his goal: He wants to get back to the guitar.

"That’s his own little hobby. It’s his therapy.”

GoFundMe started for Denny Laine's medical bills

Still, there are mounting medical bills to pay, she says. And Laine ? like many musicians ? doesn’t have health insurance.

That’s why they started a GoFundMe fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 22. So far, it’s raised about $20,000 of its $100,000 goal.

“I’m asking for financial help to get Denny the medical care and recovery time he requires,” Hines wrote on the GoFundMe page. “It’s important he concentrates on healing during this time. Our goal is to have Gypsy Den home in time for his birthday (Oct. 29).”

The North Naples resident was set to perform and talk about his long music career in July at Fort Myers' Alliance for the Arts. He postponed that concert to September due to his illness, and later had to cancel that show, too.

Laine was the original lead singer and guitarist for classic-rock greats The Moody Blues. He also worked side-by-side with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney 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.”

It wasn’t easy for him to cancel those Fort Myers shows, Hines says.

“He never cancels or postpones,” she says. “The show must go on. … When he was in Wings, he went on with a 102-degree fever.”

Denny Laine’s fight with COVID-19

Laine’s current health problems started when he got COVID in March 2022, Hines says. He recovered within five days, she says – or so they thought.

But more issues kept coming up, including an ongoing bacterial infection in his blood and a recent collapsed lung, which required surgery to insert a chest tube.

“He’s been in and out of the hospital since July,” Hines says.

After being discharged last week from NCH Baker Hospital, Laine will be recovering in a Naples rehabilitation center for about a month, Hines says. Things are looking promising, she says, and his bacterial infection seems to be under control.

Laine can’t wait to get home, she says. “Denny doesn’t like to be caged up. So there’s nothing worse for him than having to sit still in a hospital bed.”

Laine and Hines were married July 11 after seven years together, she says. They moved to North Naples about three years ago.

“I wanted to get out of the New York weather,” he told the Naples Daily News/The News-Press in July.  “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.”

Laine and other members of The Moody Blues ? including John Lodge, also of Naples ? were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

To donate to Laine’s GoFundMe, visit tinyurl.com/59rjhf4h.

— Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at [email protected]. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), X (formerly Twitter) (@charlesrunnells), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Wings, Moody Blues guitarist leaves Naples hospital, starts GoFundMe