By Loretta de Haan
September 05, 2019
When it comes to two of the greatest rock bands in Australian music history, it doesn’t get much better than The Angels and the Baby Animals.
Now, for the first time, these two legendary bands are joining forces and heading out on the road together for a massive They Who Rock national tour, making this the rock event not-to-miss in November and December 2019.
To top it off, the bands have recorded their own versions of each other’s songs for a limited single release to celebrate the tour – with The Angels laying down the smash hit One Word, and the Baby Animals tracking the cult classic Marseilles.
The Angels need little introduction to rock music fans – they are what has made rock music great in Australia.
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We had a chat to Rick Brewster from The Angels about the ‘They Who Rocks’ tour and the music and legacy of The Angels.
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We are excited to be welcoming you back to Wollongong in December, along with Baby Animals as part of the ‘They Who Rock’ tour. What can fans expect from the show?
Well with two rock bands it will be a night of pure rock ‘n’ roll with some great songs. We haven’t started the tour yet but it will be good!
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Are you looking forward to playing with the Baby Animals again?
I have loved the Baby Animals ever since I first saw them and toured with them back in the 80’s. They are a great band and I am very much looking forward to playing with them again.
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Do you think there might a rock duet between Suze DeMarchi and Dave Gleeson?
Well time will tell but I can say we are talking about it and don’t be surprised if there is some kind of collaboration between the bands at some point during the show.
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Do you alternate the playing order between the two bands during the tour?
No, Baby Animals will open the show and we will follow on after them.
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So how did the idea of recording one of each other’s songs come about, with The Angels doing ‘One Word’ and Baby Animals doing ‘Marseilles’
Well it was just an idea that came up but I can’t remember who thought of it. I think it was Dean from our record company who said “Why don’t you record one of their songs” So we put it to the Baby Animals and they said yes. It was a great experience as we haven’t done many covers during our life and that one was a really good one to do.
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You both must have felt the pressure to produce a cracker version of each other’s songs!
Yeah it hasn’t been released yet but it’s coming out very soon. It sounds pretty good!
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You are a man of many talents. I believe Dave Leslie proudly wore a Rick Brewster made studded guitar strap for many years.
That’s true he did! I had forgotten about that. Back then in the 80’s I used to dabble in a bit of leather work and I made Dave a guitar strap. These days I like working with wood and last year I made a guitar for the first time. I started playing it at shows and it has become my favourite guitar to play. That’s what happens when you make something yourself, you get very attached to it. It feels great and it sounds great too. I am very happy with that.
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It’s been over four decades that The Angels have been making music. What do you think the secret behind the longevity of your music is?
Look it’s all about the songs I think. It’s the single most important factor in any band you can name that’s been around for a long time. Whether it’s The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Queen, the list goes on. It’s all just one great song after another. That’s what you take home with you after a show. You remember the songs and that’s why people come to see bands, they want to hear those songs played live.
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What are some of your memories from the heyday time of The Angels and how does it compare to playing today?
In the late 70’s and 80’s it’s kind of like nothing has changed except that the door limits were not enforced like they are these days. So you could play a venue like The Stagedoor Tavern in Sydney that was licensed for 350 people and we played there to like 1500 people! There was literally no room to move. It was a bath of sweat coming off the ceiling. It was like rain coming down from the ceiling but was condensation from all those people’s sweat! That’s where I reckon the Pogo dance came about because there was literally no room to dance so you just had to jump up and down! It’s a bit different nowadays you have more breathing space.
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The Angels have been blessed with two amazing frontmen, first with Doc Neeson and now with Dave Gleeson. What has Dave brought to the band?
Oh he is just a monster of a performer! A great singer and a great performer. You know he is different to Doc and doesn’t try to be Doc Neeson. He is very respectful of Doc, he grew up listening to this band and watching Doc. He loves what he did but he does his own thing. He does it well, he is a good man.
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You trained as a classical pianist until you were lured to the ‘dark side’ of rock. How did that training influence your style of playing and writing music?
Quite a lot actually. It’s a bit subliminal but the influence is definitely there especially when it came to writing melodies. Whether it be a vocal melody or guitar solos I have always leaned towards a melody that you can sing and I’m sure that came from my classical piano playing.
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What is one of your favourite Angels songs to either play or that you are most proud of writing?
There are a lot of them that I love playing but I particularly like playing ‘Skid Row After Dark.’ There is just something about that song that I like. We revisited a song that we wrote in the 90’s and we have been playing that lately and loving it. It’s called ‘My Light Will Shine’ we never did a lot with it back then but it’s a great song to play and Dave Gleeson does a wonderful job of singing it. So it’s an alternative to a song we have played for years ‘Be With You’ that has a slower tempo, almost like a ballad. ‘My Light Will Shine’ is in that direction of style.
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Jimmy Barnes described The Angels as “A band that changed Australian music forever and an example of great Australian pub rock”. Just part of his praise for you in the ‘Forword’ of your ‘The Angels’ book. Having grown up going to Angels gigs I have to agree with Jimmy. How does that make you feel?
It was very nice of Jimmy to write that and I can’t disagree, It changed us forever that’s for sure! Those times were amazing with the amount of bands that formed in the 70’s to the 80’s and from there on. Cold Chisel was one of them and Midnight Oil, Divinyls, Baby Animals came about in the 80’s and blew us away. It was all about great songs and performing them live. The live scene was so healthy in those days, so different to now.
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I have to ask where did that now infamous chant for ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ eventuate from? As it wasn’t always around. I remember as I went to a lot of those early gigs.
I thought you came up with that (laughs) I can’t count the number of people that have claimed that they were the one that came up with it and I don’t believe any of them. Someone did obviously but nobody knows. There were no mobile phones back then, no internet, no social media, it was just bush telegraph and it spread like wildfire.
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What’s next for The Angels? Any new music in the pipeline?
Yeah there is but we are doing so much touring it’s hard to fit it in! We started working on a new album a couple of years ago now and whenever we get a chance we’ll bang out another song in the studio and it’s very much song by song but we are getting there. It’s probably half or two thirds finished so there will be a new album down the track. We have been playing a new song lately called ‘Under The Stone’ and that’s been going down well. That will be on the new album.
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I see you are a keen photographer with some of your work being used for album covers and other Angels artwork. What particular albums were they and do you still contribute?
I photographed Doc’s eyes for the ‘Dark Room’ album, ‘Watch The Red’ was another. The album we recorded with the new lineup with Dave Gleeson ‘Take It To The Streets’ featured a few of my cityscape photos. I love photography but don’t do it as much as I used to. I used to be obsessed with it and had my own darkroom which is kinda where the whole ‘Dark Room’ album name came from. I was heavily into it, mostly Black and White. Photography has changed so much now, it’s gone digital and is done on the computer with programs like Photoshop. It used to be done all in the darkroom. I tried to explain to my kids what film was but they have no concept of it.
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You were known for your statuesque stage personality and dark glasses and I believe fans were always trying to make you smile. What were some of the things they did?
Look they did all sorts of things like pulling faces obviously, people eating onions & lemons in front of me, taking their tops off (that nearly worked). Anything to get a reaction.
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You would have to be one of the hardest working rock bands and are constantly touring. Do you ever get tired and if so how do you combat it?
No not really. The hardest part about touring is the actual travelling be it by plane, the airports and hire cars. The motel rooms but that is just part of the job and it is all worthwhile once you get on stage for those couple of hours. That makes it so worthwhile.
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Thanks again for your time today Rick and also a big thank you for the contribution The Angels have made to the Australian rock scene, to my life and the lives of all your dedicated fans. Thank you for the music, may it live on forever! I Look forward to rocking out with you and Baby Animals at Waves in December for ‘They Who Rocks’
Thank you so much. Sounds great and we are looking forward to it! See you then.
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Catch The Angels along with Baby Animals as part of their ‘They who rocks’ tour Friday 13th December 2019 at Towradgi Beach Hotel & Waves.
Get tickets here
For more information visit www.theangels.com.au & www.thebabyanimals.com
