The band had a string of US and Canadian hits in the 1970s and 80s, including power ballad Just Between You and Me

Myles Goodwyn, who fronted the popular Canadian classic rock band April Wine from its formation in 1969 until earlier this year, has died aged 75. His death was announced by his publicist, who did not give the cause but heralded Goodwyn’s “distinctive and immediately recognisable” voice and prolific songwriting.

Goodwyn formed the band in Nova Scotia, after suffering the death of his mother to brain cancer as a boy alongside his two brothers. “Four males living under the same roof, but there were never any hugs, never any communication,” he later said of his home life. “We were four lost souls roaming around that household. So I took to music. It was music that saved me.”