History & Biography Halifax (by way of New Brunswick and Ontario) teenager Goodwyn formed the band in 1969 with two Henman cousins, David and Ritchie, and a third cousin Clench. Newfoundland native Henman came up with the name. The band was a Canadian hit with its second record and even had a successful single in the form of You Could Have Been A Lady, which was a mere cover version. By this time, Jim Henman had left the band and was replaced by Jim Clench. Legend has it that songs were sent to Aquarius Records, which rejected the band and sent a letter back stating so. The band misread the communication and drove to Montreal to meet its new, erstwhile, label, Aquarius Records! The band opened a Toronto concert for the Rolling Stones who were playing a not-so-secret concert using the Cockroaches’ monicker. The night was immortalized as Live At The El Macambo. April Wine toured and opened for Rolling Stones and Styx next. In 1978, and after signing with Capitol, the band broke internationally and the hard rockers' albums became commercially successful world-wide. The band opened for Rush among others. The first Monsters Of Rock festival had Rainbow headlining over Judas Priest, Scorpions, April Wine, Riot and Saxon.
Even though the band had a major hit with Roller, Goodwyn put the band on ice in the mid-’80s, did some solo work and lived in the Bahamas for some time. The band came back in 1992 and released an album.
April Wine was one of the most successful and prolific of the Canadian hard rock bands alongside Rush, Triumph and Trooper. The band cancelled a Halifax show in early 2009 when singer Myles Goodwin was forced to enter the hospital after injuring his head in Montreal. Drummer Jerry Mercer who was ousted from the band in November of 2008 was left out of the band’s induction into Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame one year later. Jim Clench died in 2010. Steve Lang died in 2017.
Singer and guitarist Myles Goodwyn retired from touring due to his health including diabetes in 2023. Goodwyn would continue to write for the act. The frontman’s last concert was to be in Nova Scotia, Canada on March 2nd. Unknown Marc Parent was to replace him as the band intended to continue without any original members. Myles Goodwyn died on December 3rd 2023. He was 75. The band was booked for Monsters Of Rock Cruise in 2024. The famous final tour it was: Uriah Heep was conducting its final major tour over the "next few years." The Magician’s Farewell was starting in the UK in February 2025. The tour was to feature guests April Wine and Tyketto.
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