The Angels are a truly iconic band for people of my generation. They burst onto the scene in the mid 1970′s and went from strength to strength. I first saw them at an all ages gig at Cabramatta Town Hall in 1978 where they absolutely blew the place apart. Each subsequent time I saw them they had the same drive and strength of performance. They really did shine on stage.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of their reunion gigs and they still have it. The crowds are still flocking in and rocking out. Like many Australian Pub rock bands, they didn’t really do that well overseas which is astonishing to me, but at home they are truly loved.
The Angels in the 70′s
The Angels have been through a number of distinct incarnations over their lifetime. They started life in Adelaide as the The Moonshine Jug and String Band, originally formed by the Brewster brothers around 1970. By 1974 they’d become the Keystone Angels and were starting to come to the attention of a wider audience. In 1975 they dropped the “keystone” to become The Angels and had released their first single “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again” in April 1976. At that time they were performing as a 4 piece band with Doc Neeson handling vocals and bass, Charlie King on drums and John & Rick Brewster on guitars.
Around this time Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup had replaced Charlie King on drums and Chris Bailey joined soon after on bass to make the band a 5 piece. This is really the first “classic” lineup of the band. Their big break came with 1978′s Face to Face album, reaching number 16 in November and staying on the Australian charts for 79 weeks. This album also gave them their first big hit with “Take a long line”.
The 80′s & 90′s
Buzz Bidstrup left in early 1981 and was replaced by Brent Eccles & about 12 months later Chris Bailey also left to be replaced by Jim Hilbun. They had a number of successful albums during this period including “Night Attack”, “Watch The Red” & “Two Minute Warning”.
The next significant lineup change was when John Brewster left and the job went to ex-Skyhooks guitarist Bob Spencer in March 1986. By the mid to late 1990’s the band had tried to crack the US market with limited success but support in Australia had remained fairly solid. All this time the band toured relentlessly and were famed for their energetic live performances and on 20 October 1998, The Angels were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
They performed their “last” gig on New Years Eve of 1999. Doc Neeson, having suffered spinal & neck injuries in a car accident, announced he was leaving.
For most of the 2000’s there was some animosity between various members and a few disputes over the name. Doc Neeson toured for a while under the name “Doc Neeson’s Angels” with a band containing Jim Hilbun, Dave Leslie, Paul Wheeler and others. The Brewster brothers teamed up with Buzz Bidstrup & Chris Bailey to form “The Original Angels Band” but in 2008 differences were sorted and the band reformed again as The Angels.
At the time of writing this (2010) they are still performing to packed out houses across Australia and sounding as good as ever.
Members
- Chris Bailey – Bass
- Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup – Drums
- John Brewster – Guitar, Vocals
- Rick Brewster – Guitar
- Brent Eccles – Drums
- Jim Hilbun – Bass, Sax
- Charlie King – Drums
- James Morley – Bass
- Bernard “Doc” Neeson Doc – Vocals, Bass
- Bob Spencer – Guitar, Vocals
Images
Known gigs for The Angels
| Date | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 09/12/77 | The Angels in Moore Park | Hordern Pavillion |
| 11/08/79 | The Angels in Caringbah | Caringbah Inn |
| + The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 02/09/79 | The Angels in Wollongong | Wollongong Leagues Club |
| + The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 05/09/79 | The Angels in Blacktown | Comb And Cutter Hotel |
| + The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 06/09/79 | The Angels in Fairfield | Millers Hotel |
| + The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 07/09/79 | The Angels in Sydney | Stagedoor Tavern |
| + Mental As Anything, The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 22/09/79 | The Angels in Newcastle | Newcastle Workers Club |
| + The Lonely Hearts | ||
| 01/12/79 | The Angels in Edensor Park | Marconi Club |
| + Cold Chisel, Flowers, Dave Warner, The Hitmen, Rose Tattoo | ||
| 23/02/81 | The Angels in Moore Park (NSW) | Sydney Showground |
| 15/05/83 | The Angels in Bankstown | Bankstown Paceway |
| + The Radiators, The Church, The Expression | ||
| 09/07/83 | The Angels in Moore Park | Hordern Pavillion |
| + Rose Tattoo | ||
| 27/11/86 | The Angels in Dee Why, NSW | The Venue |
| 30/07/09 | The Angels in Wyong, NSW | Wyong Leagues Club |
| + Black Label | ||
| 21/10/10 | The Angels in Kingsford, NSW | South Sydney Juniors |
| supported by Black Label | ||
| 22/10/10 | The Angels in Rooty Hill | Rooty Hill RSL Club |
| supported by Black Label | ||
Albums
- The Angels – 1977
- Face To Face – 1978
- No Exit – 1979
- The Angels Greatest – 1980
- Dark Room – 1980
- Night Attack – 1981
- Watch The Red – 1983
- Two Minute Warning – 1984
- The Angels Greatest Vol 2 – 1985
- Howling – 1986
- Live Line – 1987
- Beyond Salvation – 1989
- Red Back Fever – 1991
- Their Finest Hour… and then some – 1992
- Evidence – 1994
- Skin and Bone – 1998
- No Secrets – 1998
- Greatest hits – 1999
- Left Hand drive – 2000
- The Complete Sessions 1980-1983 – 2002
- Live at The Basement – 2005
- Wasted Sleepless Nights – The Definitive Best Of – 2006
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
There was a big buzz about these guys doing pub gigs & me & my mates were wondering how they’d go when they were supporting Meatloaf on the Bat out of Hell tour at the Horden. They blitzed it! Very rarely do you see a support band get a reaction like they did that night. But they worked hard, very tight & intense. Next time I saw them on a big stage was supporting David Bowie at the Sydney showgrounds, Moore park. It was late afternoon so they didn’t have the advantage of the great lighting that they’d become renowned for. They went full on right from the first note, a great set. The punters loved it. Bowie was good don’t get me wrong but for me The Angels were the ones that day. Saw them many times and I never saw a bad show. I’m not a fanatic like a lot of their fans but many bands could’ve learned from watching them on stage. I know I watched their setup & lighting closely when I got the chance, very proffessional.
Best memory was the Keystone Angels playing at Glengowrie High School Adelaide SA in1975 they were fantastic . Great SA Band
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