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RIP Steve Lang of April Wine

April Wine has always been one of my guilty pleasures. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have most of the band’s 20 albums somewhere in my library. My favourite? Probably The Nature of the Beast from 1981 followed by Harder…Faster (1979). And how is it possible for a band with this many domestic and international hits to have never won a Juno?

Sad news this week as we hear of the death of bass player Steve Lang, who served with the band from 1976 until 1984. Guitarist Brian Greenway offered up this message:

It is with great sadness that I let you know that Steve Lang passed away last Saturday. I was in many bands with Steve. Steve was the bassist of April Wine 1975 to 1984. All the big hits. Steve also did very well as a Financial Investor with his own company. He was a friend of 50 years. Steve was 67. My sincere condolences to his family.

No cause of death has been released.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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4 thoughts on “RIP Steve Lang of April Wine

  • Probably seem them a dozen times at a dozen dive bars over 30 years. I remember seeing them at the Coronet in Kitchener in the 90’s, Goodwin broke his high E twice in the same show, 4 songs apart and they never even stopped playing, the guitar tech swapped out the busted bits twice, maybe he skipped 4 chords while they tuned it…always great stuff…

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    • Dive bars…excuse me?! You got the wrong band sparky. B|

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  • The fact that you can’t make it through a day of Classic Rock radio in Canada without hearing at least one April Wine track, coupled with the fact they’ve never won a Juno, affirms the position that awards and accolades mean little to the overall legacy of a performer other than to fuel ego, whether desired or not. This can be filed under the same ledger as when Rush finally made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the first time prior to their R40 tour. I mean, how could that have possibly happened? The fact that April Wine’s music has become as much a part of Canadian Music fabric as say, The Guess Who or even The Tragically Hip, puts the band in a category that hovers far above a Juno. The true litmus test: find a Canadian over 14 years old who has never heard an April Wine song (even if they can’t properly identify it) and you’ll find a unique specimen. Guilty pleasure, I can’t resist mentioning one of my favourite Trailer Park Boys vignettes when talking about both April Wine and Rush:
    Ricky: “Play I Like To Rock!”
    Alex Lifeson: “That’s April Wine…”
    Ricky: “Well then, play that Diane Sawyer song”

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  • Ive always loved APRIL WINE! Dont tell me ” they walked right outta my life and now its all over town “. .sadly missed…they were cool rockers!

    Reply

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