Despite the departures of three enigmatic frontmen over the past five decades, The Angels are still going strong.
And, that’s music to the ears of co-founder John Brewster.
In fact, if you listen to the band’s latest album, Ninety Nine, its first in 10 years, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s the 1970-80’s incarnation, which dominated the Australian charts.
Then, with Doc Neeson taking centre stage, The Angels enjoyed hit after hit with the likes Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, Take A Long Line, No Secrets, Shadow Boxer, Marseilles, I Ain’t The One, Comin’ Down, After The Rain, Dogs Are Talking, Let The Night Roll On and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.
Now, with Nick Norton behind the microphone, the new single, Ninety Nine (Go For Broke), is bound to follow the path of the classics before it.
The track, and subsequent album, also coincides with the group’s 50 Not Out tour, celebrating their 50th anniversary.
“Yeah, it brings a smile to my face,” John said ahead of The Angels’ Newcastle show at King Street on Friday 5 July.
“I must say 50 years is quite an achievement.
“We’re proud of that and we’re proud of everyone who’s been part of our journey.
“We think back to Doc (Neeson), the wonderful Chris Bailey (the bass player, not the Chris Bailey from the Saints) and Newcastle’s own Dave Gleeson.
“They all played major roles.
“But, we decided to move on [with Nick] because Dave’s got too many things in his life.
“I look at it… I’ve got family and I’ve got The Angels.
“Dave had family, The Angels, The Screaming Jets and Triple M, it’s just too much.”
Other bands ask: ‘what can you tell me about Newcastle?’ We always reply the crowds are brilliant.
John Brewster
That opened the door for Norton, who penned Ninety Nine (Go For Broke) with bass player Sam Brewster.
“It refers to the fact that 99% of us have to accept our lot, while the one per cent take the lion’s share,” John said.
“The super-rich are richer than they’ve ever been.
“However, Nick’s knocking everyone out.
“We’ve always known about him, he was at school with my son Sam.
“He’s a brilliant songwriter and singer, so it was very easy for us to ask him to step up the front.
“When we did the Red Hot Summer gigs and the shows with Cheap Trick, everyone loved him.
“It’s interesting because a number of people have actually made that comparison to Doc.
“I think Nick’s personality comes across on stage.
“And, that was the thing that Doc had, so did Dave (Gleeson).
“They have a certain magic to them.
“Honestly, I’m really proud of the album.
“And, I actually had the least to do with it creatively than I normally would have.
“There was a lot of spontaneity with Ninety Nine.
“If someone had an idea, we recorded it.”
The Angels story started in 1974 when the much-loved Adelaide group The Moonshine Jug and String Band went electric, debuting their outfit, The Keystone Angels, at the Modbury Hotel.
Rick Brewster put down the washboard, picked up the guitar and Australian music would never be the same.
After supporting Cheech & Chong at Adelaide’s Thebarton Theatre, they played at Sunbury, toured as Chuck Berry’s backing band, supported AC/DC on a South Australian tour and played with Ike & Tina Turner.
And then, after being urged by AC/DC’s Bon Scott and Malcolm Young, the legendary Vanda & Young signed them to the iconic Albert’s label.
Producer George Young suggested dropping Keystone from the band’s name and the classic Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again became the first release by The Angels.
In 1978, they toured with Meat Loaf and David Bowie, scored their first Top 40 hit with Take A Long Line and released the landmark Face To Face, which went quadruple platinum and spent 79 weeks on the charts.
The rest, as they say, is history, with The Angels landing eight Top 10 albums and 17 Top 40 singles.
“It’s been a hell of a ride,” John said.
“I liken it a bit to a rollercoaster – there have been lots of twists and turns and ups and downs.
“But, when you look at the whole trip, it’s just been great.”
After 12 years as the band’s drummer, Norton stepped out from behind the kit and became The Angels’ new lead singer in 2023, joining John and Rick.
However, the Brewster surname doesn’t stop there.
John’s sons Sam (bass) and Tom (drums) complete the line-up.
“I guess it doesn’t matter who’s on stage, it’s all about the repertoire,” John told the Newcastle Weekly.
“The fact that Rick and I are playing the guitars gives the audience some comfort.
“However, I reckon The Angels will go past the pair of us, too.
“I mean, this album’s got Rick’s son, Jode, playing sax on it and he’s also a wonderful guitar player.
“He played saxophone on two of the tracks.
“My other son, Harry, was staying with me in Adelaide.
“He played me this idea at breakfast and I said: ‘we’re going into the studio to record that, mate’.
“And, we did.
“That turned into the single Little Lies.
“There’s just so much spontaneity in the record.
“It was sort of done over a few years… we recorded a few tracks back then but hadn’t developed them.
“The whole thing was glued together by Ricky Ray, who’s mixed the album brilliantly.
“We love him and he’s done a great job.
“I have to tell you, life’s just fantastic at the moment.
“I haven’t been this excited about anything we’ve done in the studio for many, many years.
“Having our boys involved, and passing the baton, has got a lot to do with it.
“But, at the end of the day, it’s an Angels’ album; it sounds like us.
“No-one’s trying to reinvent the band.”
In fact, John believes Ninety Nine holds pride of place in the group’s catalogue.
“Over the years, we’ve made certain albums, which I’ve described previously as benchmark records,” he said.
“In particular, Face To Face, No Exit and Dark Room… the days when we first hit the big time.
“We toured the world just basically playing those three offerings.
“Then we came out with Howling, that’s also a great one.
“To me, another which I’d call special – that didn’t get the attention it deserved – was Skin & Bone.
“That actually turned out to be the last album Doc recorded with us.
“I think it’s fantastic.
“However, due to a couple of issues, it slipped through the cracks.”
Although in his 70s, John feels re-energised, mainly due to his fellow musicians and the adrenalin of performing “live”.
“It’s a funny thing about age,” he said.
“As you get to your 50s, you start to deny it, you don’t want to leave the 40s.
“Now, I’m in my 70s, I’m proud of it.
“Even though, I don’t like walking through the airport so much because everything’s so far away,” he added with a laugh.
“But, it’s all worth it, especially when you walk on stage for the kind of people we play to.
“We’re still packing out venues and entertaining fans; that side of things is really important to us.
“I probably retire for the evening a bit earlier than I used to.
“However, playing with the boys, it’s just incredible.
“Particularly, the way this thing landed.
“Four Brewsters performing in The Angels; it just happened.
“For instance, my son Tom has a major career in a completely different field to music.
“But, he happens to be a wonderful drummer.
“So, it’s really comfortable – and provides a bit of incentive – to have family members around.
“And, as far as I’m concerned, plus I know Rick would say the same thing, we feel Nick’s part of our clan, too.
“He could change his name to Nick Brewster… he’s family to us.”
The Angels last performed in Newcastle, earlier this year, with legendary US rockers Cheap Trick.
However, Brewster can’t wait to return.
“Newcastle holds a special place in our heart,” he said.
“Let’s not forget that’s where Dave (Gleeson) hails from; he’s always talking about being a proud Novocastrian.
“For us, it was also like the first town that we sort of hit the big time in.
“It’s such a rock ‘n’ roll city.
“But, I love it… the audiences have always been great.
“If you asked AC/DC, they would tell you the same thing.
“We’ve actually had discussions about it and talked about this stuff.
“Other bands ask: ‘what can you tell me about Newcastle?’
“We always reply the crowds are brilliant.
“And, I’m sure they will be again this week.”
Tickets are on sale now at theangels.com.au
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