When an Australian hears the song lyrics “am I ever gonna see your face again” we naturally respond in our head with something not fit to be written in an article… “No way! Get ….” Well, you know the rest.. Images are conjured up, of rock and roll in it’s hey day, live and raw, and above all energetic. It’s a similar energy that originally attracted members of The Angels to another iconic Australian rocker, Screaming Jets front man, Dave Gleeson. Now, 4 years into the collaboration, they hit the road with The Angels A-Z tour and from all accounts these hits (and some lesser known tracks) come across as electric as ever. We were privileged to speak with Dave in the lead up to their Melbourne shows, and hear all about touring with rock royalty.
PEARL: So, how was it decided you were the man for the job of lead singer of The Angels?
DAVE: Well, it came about because I saw them play as the Brewster Brothers at a restaurant near where I live and they got me up to sing. Once I sang with them they asked me to do some demos as Rick Brewster’s Angels, and there was a little bit of controversy about that. But that worked really well. I loved singing the songs and I think Rick and John really appreciated the gusto with which I was attacking them. And now, we’re 180 gigs and four years down the road..
PEARL: Wow… Have your heard anything from the other members of the Angels since then?
DAVE: I was lucky enough to speak to Doc Neeson about 12 months before his passing. I was at a memorial for a friend and someone approached me and said “Doc wants to see you” and I was like “oh no, here we go.” I knew social media had been giving it a bit of a stir up, but he spoke to me and he was really cool, and he made it very clear to me that he held no grudges and he thought it was a good thing for me to do. So it was nice to have that. I have a huge respect for Doc and what he did over the years, so I didn’t want to p*#s off one of the idols!
PEARL: No! And surely he and the band would be happy to have a voice like yours performing these songs?
DAVE: The very nature of The Angels songs was energetic and in your face and that’s what I was mindful of doing, bringing that energy that Doc brought to the band and to those songs that he wrote with the band. And I want to really try and do justice to those songs. You know, I’d hate for them not to be able to be played live by the people who wrote them. It’s a great thrill to be bringing these songs to life 41 years after some of them were written.
PEARL: How does this vary from your own projects over the years, such as The Screaming Jets?
DAVE: yeah, the Jets continue on. We have a new album we are working on at the moment, to come out later in the year. They are such different things. I work for the name of the Angels, and keeping true to the songs you place certain restrictions on what you do. Where as I place no restrictions on myself whatsoever in the Jets. I’m the front man and Pauly the bass player, we’ve been doing this together for the past 25 years and we’ll do as we please! Its not like I’m a school boy with The Angels but I’m definitely respectful of the fact that I’m not the creator of their sound.
PEARL: This tour seems pretty intensive, with HEAPS of dates around the country, I’m just wondering what its like to tour with The Angels?
DAVE: oh look, we have great fun, I mean, basically we are a four years old band so there’s still a lot of fun to be had. We tell off colour jokes, say ridiculous things, have a few beers, do what we do.
PEARL: in those four years, what has been the audience response to you leading The Angels?
DAVE: It’s been fantastic. It’s a real testimony to these songs being such strong songs and people want to see them live. It’s come to the point where people know, if they want to se The Angels as authentically as they possibly can they come to see us. And it’s not just Australia, we’ve toured Bali, England and a quick run through Europe, and the response over there has just been phenomenal. We’ve done two albums (“Talk the Talk” and “Take it to the Streets”) that are brand new, so we continue to grow; it’s an ongoing process. I’ve co-written half a dozen songs with them and to have a song writing credit with Rick Brewster or John Brewster is something I’d never dreamed of.
(Photo by Gary Bradshaw)
The Angels begin their Melbourne leg of the A-Z Tour this week so grab your tickets from the venues below or Moshtix!
Friday 17th July 2015
York on Lilydale, MT EVELYN VIC
www.yorkonlilydale.com.au
Saturday 18th July 2015
Sandbelt Hotel, MOORABBIN VIC
www.sandbelthotel.com.au
Friday 24th July 2015
Burvale Hotel, NUNAWADING VIC
www.burvalehotel.com.au
For more information and tickets, visit www.theangels.com.au