April Wine Biography
Formed in 1969 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, this hard rock outfit became an immediate success, going on to make inroads in the American market after establishing itself as a platinum act in Canada. Through fluctuating line-ups they arrived at steady membership by the late 70s, including original lead singer Myles Goodwyn (23 June 1948, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), Brian Greenway (b. 1 October 1951; guitar), Gary Moffet (b. 22 June 1949; guitar), Steve Lang (b. 24 March 1949; bass) and Jerry Mercer (b. 27 April 1939; drums).
Among their early admirers were former Young Rascals members Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish, who produced early material for the group. The line-up for their first album had featured Goodwyn on guitar and vocals, David Henman on guitar, Jim Clench on bass and Ritchie Henman on drums. Electric Jewels saw the line-up change, with Gary Moffet joining on guitar and Jerry Mercer on drums to replace the Henman brothers. Clench was replaced on The Whole World's Goin' Crazy by Steve Lang, with Greenway added as third guitarist in time for First Glance. Despite uneven album performances, April Wine placed three Top 40 singles and five albums in the US charts, their greatest commercial successes coming with the gold album Harder ... Faster and the platinum The Nature Of The Beast. Further personnel changes hampered the band, and they broke up in the mid-80s with Goodwyn going on to record a solo album. Goodwyn, Greenway, Mercer, Clench re-formed the band at the turn of the new decade, recruiting new guitarist Steve Segal and releasing two new studio albums, 1993's Attitude and 1994's Frigate. Minus Segal, the original quartet continue to play to loyal audiences around their native Canada.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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