by Richard Skelly » Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:47 pm
Too bad April Wine never did an album of cover versions. They were certainly dab hands at reinvigorating this song which made some UK noise for, I believe, Hot Chocolate--but failed to chart in North America. Years later, Myles Goodwyn and his Wine boys revved up Sign Of The Gypsy Queen which had only been a Canadian turntable hit for Lorence Hud.
In his recent autobiography, Just Between You And Me, Goodwyn reflected on the sheer folly of the band's management ignoring the US concert market while You Could Have Been A Lady broke into the Billboard top thirty. Instead, the band--which included triple-threat singer, co-writer and bassist Jim Clench--continued to be booked into nondescript Canadian venues.
Surprisingly, April Wine retained the same management when they finally got their second chance at an American brass ring with Roller. By then, Clench had been replaced by Steve Lang and the quartet had added a fifth member, guitarist Bryan Greenway. For the Wine, the second time was a charm as they sold oodles of albums and singles Stateside.
These days, Myles continues to lead a four-man version with Greenway. Both Clench and Lang passed away in recent years. Drummer Jerry Mercer is long retired. And heyday guitarist Gary Moffit never rejoined the Wine when it revived in the early '90s after a long hiatus. Myles' book devotes many pages to the band's Maritime days when he, brothers David and Ritchie Henman and their cousin excelled in the Nova Scotia scene before gambling on bigger paydays in Montreal.