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Angel (American band)

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Angel

Angel is a glam rock and heavy metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in the mid-70s by Punky Meadows and Mickie Jones. It was signed to Casablanca Records, and had the image of dressing in white.

History

Angel was discovered by KISS bass player Gene Simmons performing at a nightclub and was signed to Kiss’s record label Casablanca[1].

Angel's image of dressing in all white was a deliberate contrast to Kiss, which wore black. Angel sported an androgynous image and elaborate stage sets. It was slammed by rock critics, and Frank Zappa ridiculed the all-male band’s female appearance in the song “Punky’s Whips.” [2] Angel never achieved mass commercial success but acquired a following as a cult band.

Its first album was the self-titled Angel and consisted of guitarist Punky Meadows, bassist Mickie Jones, vocalist Frank Dimino, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria, and drummer Barry Brandt[3]. This lineup would hold for the following two albums, Helluva Band and On Earth as It Is in Heaven, after which Jones would be replaced by Felix Robinson.

It made an appearance in the film Foxes and Frank DiMino sang “Seduce Me Tonight” on the Flashdance soundtrack.

Although Angel never officially disbanded, members went on to other things following the release of their live album. Lead vocalist Frank Dimino joined UFO guitarist Paul Raymond in the Paul Raymond Project in which he sang lead vocals. Bassist Felix Robinson played on the debut album of the band White Lion, Fight to Survive. Angel’s keyboardist Gregg Giuffria had modest success as the leader of the band Giuffria during the 1980s as well as with the band House of Lords. The band (sans Giuffria) reunited in 2002 and released a new album The Power and the Myth on Frontiers Records. In 2006, Giuffira appeared as a guest keyboardist on World Upside Down. House of Lords released Come to My Kingdom in 2008 without Giuffria.

In the late ’90s, Angel reformed with a new line-up. Keyboardist Gordon G.G. Gebert joined the band in 1999 but left in 2002. Currently, the band members are Frank Dimino, vocals; Barry Brandt, drums; Randy Gregg, bass; Steve Blaze, guitars; and Michael T. Ross, keyboards[4]. The band’s 2000 release In the Beginning also features guest appearances by original guitarist Punky Meadows, as well as Robinson. In 2000 came the release of Angel: The Collection, making it the most extensive Angel greatest hits compilation that included 16 songs.

In 2006, Lilith released two singles albums which has singles released through the band’s career (1975-1981), and even though it has most singles released at that time it does not include “Better Days” which was taken off the White Hot album and replaced with “The Winter Song.” This song remains unreleased on CD or cassette format. It is however available as a 7" single but is very hard to find. Angel is now working on a new album, which so far has no name, but has three songs written for it. They are: “Worship the Sun”, “Hold On To Your Dreams”, and the third untitled song.

Bassist and founding member Mickie Jones died in San Dimas, California on 5 September 2009, after a long battle with liver cancer. Jones performed on four Angel albums (Angel, Helluva Band, On Earth As It Is In Heaven, and An Anthology). He toured extensively with the band in the United States for several years. Before Angel he played in the rock group BUX, which included guitarist Punky Meadows (Angel) and singer Ralph Morman (Joe Perry Project and Savoy Brown). BUX released one album on Capitol Records, We Came to Play in 1976. Both Jones and Meadows were asked to join the New York Dolls but declined. After leaving Angel he formed the LA band Empire and was the lead singer. Empire included drummer Steve Riley (LA Guns). Over the years he became interested in film production and would later work in the film industry.

Discography

Studio

Live

Compilation

Bootlegs

Notes and references

  1. ^ "RockNRollHell Angel Biography", rocknrollhell.com. Retrieved August 26 2008
  2. ^ http://www.chaoticworks.com/meadows/punkyswhips.html "Punky's Whips" song lyrics Retrieved August 26 2008
  3. ^ http://www.glory-daze.com/readarticle.php?article_id=2324 Glory Daze Retrieved August 26 2008
  4. ^ http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=100595 Blabbermouth.net News Archive ANGEL: In Writing Mode - July 9, 2008
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