The Angels (Australian band)

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The Angels

The Angels are an Australian hard rock band from Adelaide . In North America, they are also known as Angel City . They have been successful in Australia for about four decades and had their most successful period in the 1980s.

Band history

The band started in 1970 in the Moonshine Jug and String Band , which performed as a student band in bars in the South Australian metropolis of Adelaide . The group consisted of John and Rick Brewster, Bernard Neeson, and two other fellow students. They even made recordings and had a chart hit in South Australia with Keep You on the Move .

The acoustic cover band became the rock 'n' roll band The Keystone Angels in 1974 , who accompanied Chuck Berry on a tour of Australia and celebrated festival successes. In 1976 she signed the Albert label . In addition to singer Doc Neeson and the Brewsters, drummer Graham Bidstrup and bassist Chris Bailey formed the band in the early years, which from then on was called The Angels for short . In the first two years the debut single Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? and the first album, named after the band, The Angels , which, however, was not yet very successful. They were produced by George Young and Harry Vanda, who also produced AC / DC . With AC / DC they also share a musical direction towards Australian pub rock and hard rock .

Breakthrough and international success

The breakthrough for the Angels came with the fourth single Comin 'Down , with which they first hit the charts in 1978. The following album Face to Face never climbed higher than number 16, but it stayed in the charts for a year and a half and sold over 280,000 times (equivalent to four times platinum ). The album No Exit , released in June 1979, brought them their first top 10 placement. Above all, the band with their front man Neeson made a name for themselves through their live performances and stage shows. In the same year they went on tour with David Bowie and on New Year's Eve 1979 they played in front of 100,000 spectators in front of the Sydney Opera House . However, the concert ended in a mass brawl in which the band members were also injured. It led to a ban on rock concerts at the New Year celebrations in Sydney .

A best-of album was their last release on Albert in 1980. The Angels signed with Epic , which they released in the United States. In the same year her first album was released there, also a compilation of her previous releases, which was released under the same name as the second album Face to Face . In the USA, however, they had to change their name to Angel City due to the risk of confusion with the hard rock band Angel . The album became a hit and hit the Billboard charts . They went on tour as the opening act for Cheap Trick and the Kinks . Two new albums followed in 1980 and 1981, which were similarly successful in the USA, but did not make their big breakthrough overseas. Nevertheless, they are considered an influential rock band that has been covered by Mötley Crüe and Guns N 'Roses , among others .

Appointments and further successes

In their homeland and in neighboring New Zealand, the Angels remained unbroken with Dark Room and Night Attack . With No Secrets from the first mentioned album, they had their first top ten hit in the Australian single charts. Nevertheless, the first break occurred afterwards. Bidstrup left the band and Brent Eccles became the new drummer. Jim Hilbun took over as bassist. The fourth epic album Watch the Red missed entry into the US charts and the contract with the label was not renewed. The album Two Minute Warning was released on the Mushroom label in 1984 . While it again missed the top 200 in the USA, it achieved second place in Australia, the best Angels ranking to date. With John Brewster, a musician left the band for the first time in February 1986, who was part of the core from the start. However, this did not affect the success. The album Howling , which was completed in the same year, brought the cover version of the Animals hit We Gotta Get out of This Place, their biggest single hit (number 7). With the live double album Liveline they reached number 2 in the album charts again the following year and in 1990 they took number 1 in the charts for the first and only time with Beyond Salvation .

After the album Red Back Fever could no longer build on the success, there were again changes to the line-up. Guitarist John Brewster returned as well as the meanwhile replaced bassist Jim Hilbun. Instead of a new album, only compilations were released and in 1995 they announced the breakup. The great success of the farewell tour led to a change of opinion and they carried on. However, they were initially without a record company and only came back under contract in 1998. Her comeback album Skin and Bone was only a moderate success this year. They played a guest role as a band in the film Holy Smoke . In the same year they were honored with the induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame .

Time out and a late career

When Doc Neeson had a serious car accident a little later, the band finally ended for the time being. Without their singer, the former members appeared under different names as a live band, the original Angels no longer existed in the 2000s. It was not until 2008 that Neeson decided to return for some concerts in the summer. The reunification lasted three years, then Neeson left again to start a solo career again. A little later, however, he fell ill with cancer. He died on June 4, 2014 at the age of 67. After bassist Chris Bailey died in 2013, the story of the Angels' original formation ended.

The Brewster brothers moved on in 2011, teaming up with Dave Gleeson, former singer with the Screaming Jets . Together they also produced new albums again. Take It to the Streets was released in 2012 and Talk the Talk two years later . Both releases were again successful in the Australian charts. John Brewster's son Sam has also been a bassist in the band since 2013.

Members

  • Rick Brewster, guitar
  • John Brewster, rhythm guitar
  • Dave Gleeson, singer
  • Nick Norton, drums
  • Sam Brewster, bass

Former members (excluding 2000–2008)

  • Bernard "Doc" Neeson († 2014), singer (1974–2011)
  • Charlie King, drums (1974-1976)
  • Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup, drums (1976–1981, 2008–2011)
  • Brent Eccles, drums (1981-2000)
  • Chris Bailey († 2013), bass (1977–1982, 2008–2012)
  • Jim Hilbun, Bass (1982-1989, 1992-2000)
  • James Morley, bass (1989-1992)
  • Bob Spencer, guitar (1985-1992)

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
AU AU NZ NZ US US
1977 The Angels - - -
1978 Face to face AU16
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(79 weeks)AU 		- -
1979 No exit AU8thAU - -
1980 Face to Face (US edition) - - US152 (7 weeks)
US
the US album contains songs from Face to Face and No Exit and was released like all US releases under the band name Angel City
The Angels' Greatest AU5AU - -
Dark room AU6thAU NZ37 (2 weeks)
NZ 		US133 (6 weeks)
US
the US album differs from the Australian edition in two songs
1981 Night attack AU11AU NZ14 (12 weeks)
NZ 		US174 (5 weeks)
US
the US edition contains an additional song
1983 Watch the Red AU6thAU NZ43 (3 weeks)
NZ 		-
1984 Two minute warning AU2AU NZ31 (3 weeks)
NZ 		-
1985 The Angels' Greatest Vol. II AU14thAU - -
1986 Howling AU6thAU NZ10 (16 weeks)
NZ 		-
1987 Liveline AU2AU NZ13 (5 weeks)
NZ 		-
1990 Beyond Salvation AU1
platinum
platinum

(26 weeks)AU 		NZ3 (14 weeks)
NZ 		-
1991 Red back fever AU14 (4 weeks)
AU 		NZ41 (4 weeks)
NZ 		-
1992 Red Back Fever / Left Hand Drive AU28 (4 weeks)
AU 		- -
1994 Evidence AU30 (5 weeks)
AU 		NZ44 (1 week)
NZ 		-
1998 Skin & Bone AU27 (4 weeks)
AU 		- -
2006 Wasted Sleepless Nights - The Definitive Greatest Hits AU22 (6 weeks)
AU 		NZ16 (4 weeks)
NZ 		-
2012 Take It to the Streets AU24 (1 week)
AU 		- -
2014 Talk the talk AU46 (1 week)
AU 		- -
40 Years of Rock - Vol 1:40 Greatest Studio Hits AU20 (7 weeks)
AU 		- -
40 Years of Rock - Vol 2: 40 Greatest Live Hits AU38 (1 week)
AU 		- -
Greatest hits AU26 (4 weeks)
AU 		- -

More albums

  • Their Finest Hour ... and Then Some (1992)
  • No Secrets (1998)
  • Greatest Hits - The Mushroom Years (1999)
  • Left Hand Drive (2000)
  • The Complete Sessions 1980-1983 (2002)
  • Live at the Basement (2005)
  • Take it to the Streets (2012)
  • Talk the Talk (2016)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
AU AU NZ NZ
1978 Take a long lin AU29AU -
1979 Shadow boxers AU25thAU -
Out of the blue AU29AU -
EP
1980 No secrets AU8thAU -
1981 Face the day - NZ30 (4 weeks)
NZ
Into the heat AU14thAU -
Never So Live AU17thAU -
EP
1982 Stand up AU21stAU -
1983 Eat City AU22ndAU -
Live Lady Live AU43AU -
1984 Between the eyes AU44AU -
1986 Nature of the Beast AU27AU -
Don't waste my time AU40AU NZ38 (3 weeks)
NZ
1987 We Gotta Get Out of This Place AU7thAU NZ13 (19 weeks)
NZ
1988 Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again (live) AU11AU -
Finger on the trigger AU34 (9 weeks)
AU 		-
1990 Let the Night Roll On AU17 (10 weeks)
AU 		-
Dogs Are Talking AU11 (18 weeks)
AU 		NZ12 (12 weeks)
NZ
Back Street Pickup AU23 (12 weeks)
AU 		NZ29 (2 weeks)
NZ
1992 Once Bitten Twice Shy AU43 (3 weeks)
AU 		NZ32 (2 weeks)
NZ
Tear Me Apart AU33 (5 weeks)
AU 		-

More singles

  • Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? (1976)
  • You're a Lady Now (1977)
  • Comin 'Down (1978)
  • The Tour (EP, 1978)
  • Poor Baby (1980)
  • Marseilles (1980)
  • Night Attack (1982)
  • Look the Other Way (1985)
  • Sticky Little Bitch (1985)
  • Underground (1985)
  • Can't Take Any More (1987)
  • Rhythm Rude Girl (1990)
  • Bleeding with the Times (1991)
  • Some of That Love (1991)
  • Don't Need Mercy (1994)
  • Turn It On (1994)
  • Caught in the Night (1997)

literature

  • The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop by Ian McFarlane, 1999, Allen & Unwin Academic, ISBN 978-1865080727 .

swell

  1. ^ ARIA Hall of Fame. Australian Recording Industry Association , accessed August 6, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b Chart sources: Australia (since 1988) - New Zealand (since 1975)
  3. ^ A b Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 by David Kent, 1993, Australian Chart Book, ISBN 0-646-11917-6 .
  4. ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .

Web links