In their first ten years together, Canadian band April Wine went through several changes in style and personnel with Myles Goodwyn the only enduring original member of the band, which was first put together in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1969 by brothers David and Ritchie Henman, and their cousin Jim.
Their first album got the band to Montreal, where one of the brothers left immediately to return to university. The other two Henmans left a couple of albums later, leaving Myles to re-shape the group.
The group’s first success came with their second album, On Record (1972), which reached the top 40 in Canada and yielded two hit singles – Bad Side of the Moon (a top 20 hit in Canada) and You Could Have Been a Lady,
In the summer of 1978, April Wine moved from London Records to the Capitol label, and success outside their own country came for the first time when Roller, a track from their First Glance album (their seventh LP), became a top 40 hit in the States. It stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for eleven weeks.
The follow-up album Harder . . . Faster (1979) yielded the singles Say Hello and I Like to Rock which were hits in the US and their homeland.
Just Between You and Me (1981) became April Wine’s biggest US hit single, propelling their Nature of the Beast album to platinum record status. Power Play followed in 1982, and 1984’s Animal Grace was their last album.
Myles Goodwyn recorded his first self-titled solo album in 1988. Four years later, all the original April Wine members regrouped for a Canadian tour, which convinced them to resume recording. If You Believe in Me, the band’s first single in eight years, was followed by 1993’s Attitude.
The band released another album in 2001, entitled Back to the Mansion and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jim Clench died of lung cancer in Montreal on 3 November 2010, aged 61. Steve Lang died on 4 February 2017 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 67.
Singer, guitarist and chief songwriter Myles Goodwyn nearly died from internal bleeding in 2008. He retired due to health concerns in March 2023, no longer wanting to travel frequently. He died at the age of 75 on 3 December 2023.
Myles Goodwyn
Vocals, guitar Steve Lang
Bass Gary Moffet
Guitar Brian Greenway Guitar, vocals Jerry Mercer
Drums David Henman
Guitar Ritchie Henman
Drums Jim Henman
Bass Jim Clench
Bass
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