When Dave Gleeson stepped down from his 12 year stint as lead singer of The Angels, Nick Norton had some big shoes to fill. Much like the big shoes Dave had to fill after the final departure of Doc Neeson.
Watch the Noise11 interview with Nick Norton and John Brewster.
Nick joined The Angels around the same time as Dave so he knows the drill. Its all about the songs. Co-founders Rick and John Brewster, the driving force of the band, are the sound of The Angels. The two brothers on guitar give The Angels the same authenticity the Young brother Malcolm and Angus brought to AC/DC.
With Rick and John, it is still The Angels. In fact you can now double the Brewster quota with John’s two sons Sam Brewster on bass since 2013 and newly recruited Tom on drums taking over from Nick who is now out front.
Nick works because he doesn’t try and be Dave and he doesn’t try and be Doc. Nick is there to keep the essence of the songs alive and with The Angels you have one hell of a catalogue.
There is no deadwood in an Angels set. If you were a fan of those early days, these songs take you on a journey about the band biggest moments. There wasn’t one self-indulgent moment on either the Red Hot Summer shows or their own shows with Cheap Trick.
Check out the setlist from The Angels at the Palais, St Kilda on 13 March 2024. It is all killer, no filler.
After The Rain (from Face To Face, 1978)
No Secrets (from Dark Room, 1980)
No Exit (from No Exit, 1979)
Shadow Boxer(from No Exit, 1979)
Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again (from The Angels, 1977)
Devils Gate (from Dark Room, 1980) (John on harmonica)
Let The Night Roll On (from Beyond Salvation, 1979)
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (from Howling, 1986)
Take A Long Line (from Face To Face, 1978)
Be With You (from Face To Face, 1978)
Marseilles (from Face To Face, 1978)
At an Angels show you want the power. John and Rick are still there to still give it to you. As this band comes up to its 50th anniversary, there may have been some line-up changes along the way, but when it comes to sounding like The Angels, this is still most definitely The Angels.
The Angels play one final Red Hot Summer series three show this weekend at Seppeltsfield Wines in South Australia.
There is also the Fremantle Prison show in Western Australia on Thursday 21 March 2024 with Cheap Trick and Suzi Quatro.
Then the 50 Not Out tour with special guests Mi-Sex starts 28 June in Melbourne.
