The Angels

“One of the great mysteries of our time is not whatever happened to Amelia Earhart, but why the heck Angel City (The Angels) never clicked in America.”

American fan posting on Amazon.com website

Perhaps you had to have been there to fully appreciate the manic, communal full-house pandemonium that distinguished the golden age of The Angels playing live around Australia from early 1978 to well beyond 1981 following a landmark three-album trilogy that still resonate today. But hundreds of thousands of fans during that time were and now they have a wonderful opportunity to revisit those halcyon days.

The Angels in their prime were one of the truly great live bands internationally as many fans are happy to attest on the Internet now, along with the thumbs up from such notables as AC/DC, David Bowie, Keith Richard, Guns ‘N Roses, Kurt Cobain, Motley Crue, Cheap Trick, Pearl Jam and Great White, who were all admirers of that patented hard rock sound that used to fill Australian music venues to overflowing. In a one month period in late 1978 The Angels set 14 consecutive house records playing all of Sydney biggest venues and other major NSW cities at the time. But if the band was routinely enthralling receptive audiences wherever they played with their dynamic stage shows; they would mean little if they weren’t sustained by a body of classic songs to play to fans in the first place.

Hence today, there’s no question The Angels recorded legacy over many albums and some of those greatest songs brought together here for the first time on this ‘Wasted Sleepless Nights – The Definitive Hits’ compilation, provides all the evidence to show just why they inspired a whole generation of fans from the late 70’s and 80’s and were at the forefront of what is now deemed Australian pub rock. However, such was the concert level production of their stage shows by 1979 and the ambitious writing and playing that underpinned their records, they had clearly outgrown the basic conceit that characterised such a simplistic or limiting musical pigeon hole. They also subsequently wrote themselves into local rock history not only as worthy members of the ARIA Hall of Fame when inducted in 1998, but their enormous pulling power was perhaps most notoriously demonstrated when 100,000 attended their “riotous” free concert on the Sydney Opera House steps on New Year’s eve in 1979. Riotous because it ended in blazing headlines and TV news bulletins showing footage of two of the band being sensationally hit by flying bottles, along with a reactionary Sydney City Council ban on Opera House rock concerts for years after. But the fans angst stemmed from lack of sufficient exit points and a crowd crush up front, which was unfortunately ironic for a band who penned the classic song and title track to their 1979 album ‘No Exit’!

If the likes of Billy Thorpe, Coloured Balls, Skyhooks, Split Enz and numero uno AC/DC, were the earlier architects of what would become a massive sea change in the Australian live music scene heading into the late ‘70’s, it was the arrival of the next generation of energetic pub rock bands with attitude led by Rose Tattoo, Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil that really turned the live scene on its head. Of course there were others also blazing a trail at this time including a whole slew of punk or so-called new wave acts, but they were outside the genre and lacked the wider popular appeal of these more traditional acts filling the big beer barns.

But unquestionably with AC/DC having moved permanently overseas by 1978, above all it was The Angels delivering an intensely muscular and frenetic music that was invigorating a burgeoning local industry, and was also distinctly Australian in its roots. But it was also something of a roller coaster ride when it propelled them to infamy at the Sydney Opera House steps, while also ultimately seeing their hopes for a similar level of success overseas being dashed for a variety of reasons including their costly forced name change to Angel City in North America. Yet they also had their share of overseas triumphs including blitzing famous venues like London’s Marquee and the Whiskey in Los Angeles. It was at the Whiskey that one night they were joined for a rousing encore of the mighty ‘Marseilles’ Axl Rose and Slash from Guns ‘N Roses (then the hottest hard rock band on the planet) who were huge Angels fans and proved it by including ‘Marseilles’ in their own live shows.

So while like so many of our best acts The Angels didn’t smack the rest of the world for a home run when it came to selling records overseas; when it comes to eulogising the legacy left by one of the truly great Aussie bands –‘Wasted Sleepless Nights’ is the kind of definitive 20 song proof that should ring almost anybody’s bell!

Starting life in Adelaide as The Moonshine Jug & String Band

To trace the origins of The Angels you need to go back to Adelaide and Flinders Universities in 1970, where a bunch of friends or acquaintances got together and formed The Moonshine Jug & String Band. Its founders included brothers John and Rick Brewster, and subsequently saw a distant relative of Ned Kelly, Bernard ‘Doc’ Neeson also join the throng. If this shambolic outfit had its music rooted in an eclectic mix of old blues and jazz from the 1920’s, replete with washboard, washtub bass, banjo, harmonica and kazoos, bashed out with undergraduate enthusiasm; then by 1974, the brothers Brewster and Neeson had put away their more traditional toys and started rocking in a whole new direction!

Launching themselves as retro 50’s rock ‘n’ roll electric warriors - The Keystone Angels, they were no sooner basking in the glory of a standing ovation from their appearance at the famous Sunbury Pop Festival of 1975, than they found themselves touring with the legendary Chuck Berry as his backing band. But it was while supporting AC-DC also touring that year that they won over a powerful new fan club in Bon Scott, and Malcolm and Angus Young. So by the time they were playing at the famous Bondi Lifesaver towards the end of ’75, they had not only shed part of their name to become simply The Angels after being hugely impressed by AC-DC’s seismic energy, but also dropped the retro rock ‘n’ roll. They were now drawn to playing and writing material with a thoroughly contemporary harder edged sound, and it won them a record deal with AC-DC’s own label (Alberts). But crucially in what would prove to be a masterstroke for all concerned; The Angels now found themselves being produced by former Easybeats legends – Harry Vanda and George Young, who were of course then also producing AC-DC, with George the eldest of the three Young brothers.

The Angels couldn’t have been in better or more experienced hands, and once ensconced in the King Street studios of Alberts famous hit factory, they recorded their eponymous debut single – the Status Quo like nod of ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ (released May 1976). Today it’s a song as identifiably Australian as

Vegemite, meats pies and Holden cars with its now infamous and mandatory audience response chant of “no way – get fucked – fuck off” (but that’s another story); that ensures it remains one of the most iconic and best loved Australian rock songs of all time.

Following the debut single, the band recruited a new drummer Graham ‘Buzz’ Bidstrup, and then at the start of ’77, Chris Bailey took over from Doc Neeson on bass, as Doc concentrated his considerable energies into being very much the lead vocalist. While the self-titled album (August 1977) garnered critical acclaim, it was more a case of the calm before the storm! A year later with the release of the seminal ‘Face to Face’ album that remained on the album charts for a propitious 78 weeks and unleashed a stash of classic songs typically driven by a high energy mix of muscular rhythmic guitars underscored by a pile driving rhythm section, topped off by the often manic vocals of their charismatic and hyper kinetic lead singer; was it any wonder you literally had stampeding hordes of fans flocking to venues everywhere? Just as crucially these fans became essential accoutrements in producing a unique participatory bonding tribalism, which made them as integral to an Angels show as the band themselves. Fans would joyfully sing along to anthemic classics ‘Coming Down’, ‘Take A Long Line’, ‘I Ain’t The One’, ‘Be With You’, ‘Straightjacket’, ‘After The Rain’…and air guitars all round for the climatic show stopper ‘Marseilles’. No wonder then they end up in all their digitally remastered glory on the ‘Wasted Sleepless Nights’ compilation!

After that there was no stopping The Angels juggernaut, so by the time their follow up album ‘No Exit’ outsold its predecessor and presented another clutch of classics including the punchy (sic) ‘Shadow Boxer’ and brain snapping ‘Mr Damage’, and hard on its heels a national tour supporting David Bowie, this was a band now stretching its wings and also aiming at overseas success. Yes the band would become a critical success and won over highly influential friends during their foreign campaigns over the next decade, particularly in the north-west US market centred on the future grunge capital of the world; but the big breakthrough never eventuated.

Yet their influence on some of America’s biggest bands of the last two decades, particularly those coming out of the Seattle region in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s is beyond dispute.

But if the band’s efforts to make it overseas eventually floundered, Australia remained steadfast. From the release of their most musically ambitious album yet ‘Dark Room’ in June 1980, which spawned their biggest ever hit single ‘No Secrets’ and the brilliant ‘Face The Day’, followed by a succession of other charting albums and singles that stretched into the ‘90s that are also represented on this collection, the band could have no complaints about their longevity. While John Brewster who helped co-write some of their most famous songs departed by early ’86 (he later rejoined in 1993), Rick and Doc Neeson remained as the one constant over the band’s entire career that only came to a halt literally just an hour or two into the new millennium in 2000. Doc Neeson was forced to retire from live performances thus bringing the curtain down on The Angels career, after performing at a special New Year’s Eve Millennium concert in Darwin, following complications from a car accident just a few weeks earlier.

With the release of ‘Wasted Sleepless Nights – The Definitive Hits’ that for the first time gathers together the band’s most celebrated and successful work previously spread between record labels; this long overdue 20 “guns” salute in all its freshly wrought digitally remastered polish, rams home just how timeless is The Angels song cannon. These classics have never sounded better and while older fans will need no convincing to revisit this musical history; it’s also an opportunity for a new generation of fans to discover what they’ve been missing.

And naturally as a soundtrack to a narcissistic multitude of “wasted sleepless nights” to be wickedly indulged; it’s only right to take on board the good Doctor’s own advice: “this is it folks...over the top”!

Written By Ross Stapleton – June 2006

(Ross Stapleton is a long-time music journalist and record label executive who covered The Angels in their heyday as well as writing for NME and other major UK publications while living and working in London. He’s also a former Head of Artist Development and PR flak for Virgin Records in London for several years and among the bands he had under his A&R and media supervision were virtually the cream of the label then in their prime including The Human League (‘Dare’), Simple Minds (‘New Gold Dream’), Heaven 17-BEF, Devo, Magazine, Tom Verlaine of Television, The Ruts, The Skids, Tangerine Dream and China Crisis. He threatens one of these days to write the real story behind some major Virgin history that he says will run contrary to the various published rewriting of history since!)

THE ANGELS – TIMELINE

1971 in Adelaide Moonshine Jug & String Band debut with singer Doc Neeson and guitarists Rick Brewster and John Brewster.

1974 Electricity and become The Keystone Angels. Doc played bass. Charlie King Joined in 1973 to play drums for the first recording of “Am I ever Gonna SeeYour Face Again”. Support and & band for Chuck Berry in Australia.

1976 Change name to The Angels , relocate to Sydney and tour with AC/DC. Release debut single ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ Bassist Chris Bailey and drummer Graham ‘Buzz’ Bidstrip joined the band.

1977 Release self titled debut album. Recorded at Alberts Studios and produced by Harry Vanda & George Young. IN Australia it has been re-released 4 times and achieved platinum status.

1978 Release second album ‘Face to Face’. Recorded at Alberts Studios and produced by the Brewster brothers & Mark Optiz with Harry Vanda and George Young as production consultants. Part of this album was released worldwide with tracks from ‘No Exit’. It achieved multi platinum status.

1979 Release ‘No Exit’ album. Production credits as per ‘Face To Face’ It achieved multi platinum status. Sign to Epic international Tour USA and Europe as Angel City. Release ‘Greatest Hits 1’ On New Years Eve on the steps of Sydney Opera House Doc & Chris are felled by missiles and the crowd of 60,000 riot.

1980 Release ‘Dark Room’ album. Recorded at Paradise Studios and mixed at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles. Produced by John Boylan & the Brewster brothers.. Worldwide release on Epic. Achieved multi platinum status. ‘No Secrets’ becomes their first national Top 10 single. Tour Europe and the USA with The Pretenders and Cheap Trick. Sellout headline tour of USA and Canada.

1981 Tour USA with The Kinks and are kicked off the bill for being too good. Drummer Brend Eccles replaces Graham Bidstrup. Release ‘Night Attack’ album. Recorded at EMI 301 Studios and mixed at Cherokee Studios Los Angeles Produced by Ed Thacker & mixed by Rick & John Brewster. Worldwide release. Achieved platinum status. Release ‘Never so Live’ EP. Now definite collectors item.

1982 Bass player Chris Bailey leaves and is replaced by Californian Jim Hilbun. Sellout headline tour of USA and Canada.

1983 Perform at Narara, film entire show and release video. Video achieves gold status and becomes the highest selling Australian music video. Release ‘Watch The Red’ album. Recorded at Rhinoceros Studios. Produced by The Angels. Australian release only. Achieved gold status.

1984 Relocate to Los Angeles to record ‘Two Minute Warning’ at The Power Plant, A&M and MCA Whitney. Produced by Ashley Howe. Released internationally by MCA and the first album for Mushroom in Australia. Achieved gold status. Rhythm guitarist John Brewster leaves and is replaced by Bob Spencer.

1986 Release ‘Howling’ album. Recorded at Rhinoceros Studios. Produced by Steve Brown and mixed by Bill Price in Wessex Studios London. Australian release only. Achieved multi platinum status. Doc shatters kneecaps during Australian tour and after operations performs from dentists chair.

1988 Release ‘Liveline’ double live album. Achieves platinum status.

1989 Bass player Jim Hilbun leaves and is replaced by James Morley. Relocate to Memphis to record ‘Beyond Salvation’ album at Ardent Studios. Produced by Terry Manning. First international release by Chrysalis Records. First ever national #1 album in Australia, and achieved multi platinum status. Bring out Cheap Trick for national Australian tour.

1991 Drummer Brent Eccles replaced John Woodruff as manager. Release ‘Redback Fever’ album. Recorded at Trackdown Studios and produced by Steve James and The Angels. Released in Australia only. Achieved gold status.

1992 Support the National Drug Offensive on their ‘alcohol related violence’ campaign.

1993 Rhythm guitarist Bob Spencer leaves and is replaced by founding member John Brewster. Bass player James Morley leaves and is replaced by Jim Hilbun.

1994 Release ‘Evidence’ album – a definitive compilation including two new tracks. New tracks recorded at Alberts Studios and produced by Paul Northfield. Tour “The Barbed Wire Ball” nationally, play to 29,000 people – sold out.

1995 ‘Hard Evidence national tour – 2 one hour sets – old and new material and for the first time an acoustic set. Release ‘Hard Evidence Tour’ EP – 4 new tracks. Total sellout.

1996 Begin recording new album and release the first finished track ‘ Call That Living’ to radio only. On 23/7/96 it is the #9 most played rock track on Australian radio. Tour the country extensively to sellout houses.

1997 Tour Australia for 4 months playing acoustic instrument – The Lounge Lizard Tour. Complete recording 11th studio album. Produced by guitarist Rick Brewster and mixed by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley. Album is recorded on bands own equipment and mixed at EMIM 301. Sign new recording deal with Shock Records. First single released on Shock is ‘Caught In The Night’ which is instantly added to most major radio stations. The Angels tour the country with The Screaming Jets & Horsehead on the ‘Barbed Wire Ball’ number two.

1998 “Caught In The Night” #1 most added Rock Track in Australia Janurary 1998 three months after it’s release. Release new studio album Skin & Bone and tour nationally. Album immediately gains international interest and deals are struck for USA & Europe.

Tour Nationally with Rose Tattoo. Tour is sellout playing to 40,000 people.

Inducted into the Aria Hall of Fame.

1999 Shock records re-release a digitally rematered version of the definitive double live album LiveLine complete with bonus tracks produced by Rick Brewster. The band take to the road and present LiveLine '99, a three hour show in three parts. Right across Australia, LiveLine '99 is a sellout tour and the band have to add more dates to the tour to keep up with demand. The year ends with The Angels playing Darwin Casino Lawns for New Years Eve 2000. This is the last time The Angels play live anywhere.

July 2006

Currently Rick Brewster & John Brewster play as The Brewster Brothers and a often joined by Buzz Bidstrup & Chris Bailey performing as "The Original Angels Band". Doc Neeson formed a new group "Red Phoenix" with Jim Hilbun on bass guitar and they released a self titled album in 2005 but the group has since disbanded. Brent Eccles no longer lives in Australia and is a concert promoter based in Auckland New Zealand. Bob Spencer lives in Melbourne and James Morley in Perth and both continue to play live.

Liberation re-release the classic catalogue from ‘Dark Room’ on, including ‘Night Attack’, ‘Watch The Red’, ‘Two Minute Warning’ ‘Howling’ Beyond Salvation & Red Back Fever. ‘Liveline’ is re-released, Digitally remastered in a double digi pak with a stunning 64 page booklet

And for the first time ever, the release of ‘Wasted Sleepless Nights – The Definitive Greatest Hits’ celebrates 20 classic songs from one of the hardest rockin’, hardest workin’ bands in Australian music history
Ref : The Angels