FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
QUINTESSENTIAL CANADIAN ROCKERS
APRIL WINE
TO BE INDUCTED TO CANADIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Will be honoured Sunday, April 18
during THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS broadcast on CTV
Toronto, ON
(February 8, 2010) - The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
(CARAS) is pleased to announce the induction of hard-rock band,
April Wine, to the Canadian
Music Hall of Fame. In
2009, the group marked its 40th anniversary – a celebrated
span of time that has produced an impressive repertoire of hits among
its 16 studio albums – all which have surpassed gold status. April Wine
will receive their honour at THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS in St. John’s,
Newfoundland and Labrador, on Sunday, April 18th during CTV’s
live broadcast.
“With the release of their debut album in 1971, April Wine kicked off a
remarkable run of hit records both in Canada and around the world,” said
Melanie Berry, President & CEO of CARAS. “For 40 years, the band has
given music fans great songs to rock to and live shows to remember.
Their induction to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is
exceptionally deserving, and highlights a long history of musical
accomplishments.”
“To be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is a tremendous
honour; and on behalf of all April Wine members, past and present, a
heartfelt thank you to CARAS. I look forward to the presentation in
Newfoundland on April 18th,” said Myles Goodwyn, lead member
of the band.
About April Wine
In 1969, vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn, guitarist David Henman,
drummer Ritchie Henman and bassist Jimmy Henman, came together to form
April Wine in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The success of their debut self-titled album and hit lead single,
“Fast Train,” gave way to the sophomore release of
ON RECORD, produced by the
legendary Ralph Murphy. The
album spawned April Wine’s first No. 1 Canadian hit, “You Could Have
Been A Lady,” originally recorded by UK’s Hot Chocolate but which became
hugely popular for the group and cracked the US Top 30 charts.
Spurred by another cover single, Elton John’s “Bad Side of the
Moon,” ON RECORD went on to
achieve gold status but would be the last album recorded with the Henman
brothers.
Goodwyn and Jim Clench, who replaced Jim Henman on the previous album,
forged on to continue April Wine’s success with the introduction of new
members Jerry Mercer and Gary Moffet.
Reinvented with an edgier, flashier look and sound, the group’s
subsequent album ELECTRIC JEWELS
showcased the writing talents of Goodwyn and Clench with hits such as
“Weeping Widow” and “Lady Run, Lady Hide.”
It was around this time when the newly formed April Wine embarked
on their first national tour, The Electric Adventure, pioneering the use
of pyrotechnics and lighting displays that revolutionized concert
production.
With a steadily growing fan base and rising success, it wasn’t until the
release of STAND BACK (1975)
that April Wine began their real rise to Canadian rock icon status.
The album was the group’s first double-platinum achievement, with
classics “Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love,” and “Oowatanite.”
In 1976,
April Wine became the first Canadian band to achieve platinum advance
sales for the album, THE WHOLE
WORLD’S GOIN’ CRAZY, and the resulting tour was the first to gross
one million dollars.
Their next album, FOREVER FOR NOW
(1977), also went platinum and marked another milestone for the band
with their all-time best-selling Canadian single, “You Won’t Dance With
Me.” That year the band further enhanced its instrumental prowess by
adding third guitarist Brian Greenway, growing the foursome to five.
It was also in 1977 when April Wine infamously posed as the ‘smoke
screen’ for The Rolling Stones who decided to record
LOVE YOU LIVE at the El
Mocambo Club in Toronto. April Wine was billed as the headliner for a
charity event with a group called ‘The Cockroaches’ – but of course, to
the audience’s surprise and delight, The Cockroaches turned out to be
The Rolling Stones. This show was captured for a live record,
LIVE AT THE EL MOCAMBO, which
became another platinum success for April Wine.
The group went on to tour the U.S. with The Stones, and was also
requested to join such heavyweights as Styx, Journey and Rush on their
tours.
The seventh studio album, FIRST
GLANCE (1978) would prove to be the group’s turning point. The
single, “Roller,” made April Wine an international success becoming
their first gold record outside of Canada; and remained on Billboard’s
Hot 100 Singles chart for 11 weeks, mirrored by the album’s 11-week stay
Billboard’s 200 Album chart.
April Wine followed up with
HARDER…FASTER in the summer
of 1979 – one of the group’s the hardest rock album ever recorded. The
album included such powerful songs as
“I Like To Rock” and “Say
Hello” which went to the top of the charts in Canada.
Both FIRST GLANCE and
HARDER…FASTER went gold and
platinum in the U.S., and reached double and triple platinum in Canada.
International success continued to blossom during the ‘80s with the
release of NATURE OF THE BEAST
and lead single, “Just Between You and Me,” hitting Billboard’s Top 20,
Billboard’s Album Rock Track and Billboard’s 200 Album charts. The
single became April Wine’s biggest U.S. hit and skyrocketed the album to
platinum status.
On top of selling more than seven million records worldwide came
countless accolades and awards.
By 1983, April Wine had already won two Felix Awards and
cumulated an astounding 11 JUNO Award nominations.
Tour demand also hit fever pitch with the group performing
throughout Canada, the U.S., England and Germany.
Two more studio albums followed,
POWER PLAY (1982) and
ANIMAL GRACE (1984) which
would be April Wine’s last album following the decision to part ways,
but not without a final farewell tour.
Eight years passed before fans would see April Wine together again on
stage. In July of 1992,
April Wine played to a sold-out audience in Manitoba, before hitting
cities across Canada and the U.S. playing 80-100 shows a year. Their 13th
studio album went gold, and given the success of the single “If You
Believe In Me,” the band proved that they still had it.
Over the next decade, April Wine continued to tour extensively and added
a few more studio albums to their extraordinary catalogue of studio,
live and compilation albums, DVDs and videos.
Although the group has evolved over the years and band members
changed, their music has remained distinctly April Wine.
They have persevered and given fans rock ballads and anthems that
will forever be etched in music history.
Most recently, April Wine received The Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, and to this day continues
to perform across North America.
For more information about the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, or to
download photos of April Wine,
go to
www.junoawards.ca.
JUNO Week takes place April 12-18, 2010, in St. John’s, Newfoundland and
Labrador, culminating in the
live broadcast of THE 2010 JUNO AWARDS, Sunday, April 18 on CTV.
Sponsors of the 2010 JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada’s Private Radio
Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of
Canadian Heritage’s “Canada Music Fund,” with commitments from The
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, the City of St. John’s and Radio Starmaker
Fund.
Sponsors of The 2010 JUNO Awards broadcast include Chevrolet, Garnier,
Pepsi and Rogers.
Web Links:
Official JUNO Awards website:
www.junoawards.ca
CTV’s
JUNO Awards website:
www.junos.ctv.ca
CARAS website:
www.carasonline.ca
April Wine official website:
www.aprilwine.ca
Media Contacts:
For more information on the 2010 JUNO Awards, contact:
Chris McDowall
Tiffany Astle
416-628-5648
416-628-5603