Are Paul McCartney and Denny Laine friends?

Paul McCartney fans know him for his part in the former Beatles’ 1970s band Wings, while others remember him for his lead vocal on The Moody Blues hit, “Go Now.”

He is Denny Laine, who for promotion sake is calling his new five-piece group The Moody Wing Band and kicking off a tour that begins Tuesday in Portland, Maine, followed by a performance in Boston at City Winery on Wednesday and ending at Hartford’s Infinity Hall on April 13.

Laine, a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, has enjoyed a lengthy and wide-ranging career since joining The Moody Blues in 1964 and singing lead on “Go Now.” He moved on to form the band, Balls, with the Move’s Trevor Burton, then joined Ginger Baker’s post-Cream band, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, performing on that band’s first two albums.

Following the breakup of The Beatles, McCartney tapped Laine to be his right-hand man in Wings. Laine played guitar, keys and sang with the band until it’s breakup in 1981. He co-wrote with McCartney the worldwide hit, “Mull of Kintyre,” which reached Number One in the UK in 1977, and has since been covered by numerous artists.

Laine is a four-time Grammy nominee, having won two Grammys in 1979 with Wings for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the song, “Rockestra Theme,” and in 1974 with Wings for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for “Band on the Run.”

Since Wings disbanded in 1981, Laine has had a prolific solo career, recording and releasing 12 solo albums and continuing to tour.

Laine, 74, took some time out to field a few questions about the upcoming tour and his lengthy career.

What will audiences hear at your show at Boston’s City Winery?

We will be performing the “Band on the Run” album I did with Paul and Linda McCartney (after drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough had left Wings), as well as well as The Moody Blues album, “The Magnificent Moodies,” which is the British version of the group’s first album in America. These are two albums I am especially associated with. We will also be playing several solo songs of mine. I want to emphasize that we are not a tribute band and don’t play these songs note for note. It’s a new style approach, very similar but with a different attitude

How did you become interested in music?

I had three sisters and brothers who were interested in dancing and listening to the music of the day, 50’s music. I was brought up on listening to 78 rpm records from crooners to opera singers to solo piano players. There was a ukulele in the closet and I started to play it…. my mom played a bit of piano. Early on I was more interested in gypsy jazz music until rock and roll came around and I listened to a lot of Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and skiffle singer Lonnie Donegan. So, I had a very mixed musical experience from classical to bluegrass to skiffle to rock and roll and jazz. I used those influence to create my own style music, not just copying what was out there.

Why did you leave The Moody Blues?

I began writing with Mike Pinder and eventually we went on to form a new band called The M&B, which later became The Moody Blues, what I would call a progressive blues band. I joined them because I wanted to become professional and we went off to London where all the action was and recorded the number one hit “Go Now” and went on tour, including with Chuck Berry and The Beatles on their second tour. After the first album, which Mike and I wrote a lot for, I wanted to go back into the studio and record another album, but they wanted to continue to tour instead. I thought that was a big mistake. And, that without another albums we would fade away into obscurity. It wasn’t that we had a falling out, just that I was young and headstrong and stuck to my guns and left them to eventually form my own Electric String Band in 1966. But I still have a good relationship with the band today.

How did your involvement in Wings come about?

Well, we knew The Beatles because The Moodies were one of the opening acts on their second tour. I knew George very well, he was a close neighbor, and I became friends with Paul who had seen me performing as an opening act for Jimi Hendrix at the Saville Theatre. And because he was impressed with seeing me trying to do something different onstage with my Electric String Band, and because we became friends, that inspired him to call me because he wanted to do something new and different…..and Wings was formed. We then went up to Scotland away from the public and press and played together and worked on material for the first Wings album called ‘Wild Life’ and eventually we became a touring band.

Do you have a favorite album you did with Wings or a favorite memory of your time with McCartney and the band?

I don’t do favorites. At the time, everything you do is your favorite. But the most important album to me is ‘Band on the Run’ because it was just me and Paul and Linda doing a few harmonies. As musicians, it was just Paul and me and the input I had on that album that made it special to me. He was on drums and I was on guitar and the album had a special feel to it, and that is why I think people liked “Band on the Run” so much.

One thing that did stand out for me with Wings was doing these large stadium tours that I had never done with the Moodies. Wings was one of the first bands in the 1970s to do stadium tours, as well as Led Zeppelin. We had all the most up-to-date equipment from monitor systems to a laser light show and that was like the biggest, most awesome experience for me.

What is your relationship with Paul today?

We are still in touch with one another, especially in the business sense through MPL (McCartney Productions Ltd., a holding company for the business interests of McCartney), which recently sent me the box sets. I did see two of his recent shows in Chicago, but didn’t go backstage… I’m not a backstage person. But I did sit with him at Wembley Arena at a UB40 concert a number of years ago. And, he lives around the corner from me in London, but it’s not often that we bump into each other.

Did you have any input in creating the two newly released Paul McCartney and Wings box sets of “Wild Life,” the first album, and “Red Rose Speedway?”

No, but I have done interviews to promote them and one of the songs I wrote called “I Would Only Smile” that didn’t make it onto “Red Rose Speedway,” which was initially to be a double album when it was released, is featured on the deluxe box set. The remastered up-to-date sound is great on the sets.

You will be making an appearance at The Fest for Beatle Fans in New Jersey, which kicks off its three-day run on March 29. What did you think when The Beatles made it big?

I saw The Beatles as being the future for a lot of bands. By that time I was already in a band and was encouraged that you could make it by being in a band and hoping to make a go at it professionally. Because of my parents and their backgrounds, I was encouraged to be in music, and that gave me a boost. And, I was just thinking that these guys (The Beatles) were gong to lead the way for us. They were a good band and wrote the own stuff, and that was the main thing for me…..being able to write your own music and not copy things that were on the charts.

Why do you enjoy The Fest for Beatle Fans?

You get to meet the fans, they want your autograph and it’s fun doing them, but I don’t like to do too many. I do enjoy hearing feedback from fans at the forums. I’ll also be performing a few songs at The Fest.

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