Angel (American band)

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:For Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist

Angel is an American rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1975 by Punky Meadows, Mickey Jones, and Gregg Giuffria. They were primarily known for their flamboyant glam stage presence and white satin outfits.<ref name="LarkinHM">Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Angel was discovered by Kiss bass player Gene Simmons performing at a nightclub and was eventually signed to the same label as Kiss, Casablanca.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Angel's image of dressing in all white was a deliberate contrast to Kiss, who wore black. Angel sported an androgynous image and elaborate stage sets. Frank Zappa wrote a satirical song about Punky Meadows, with Punky's approval titled "Punky's Whips".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Angel never achieved mass commercial success but acquired a following as a cult band.<ref name="LarkinHM"/>

Their first album was the self-titled Angel (1975) and consisted of guitarist Punky Meadows, bassist Mickie Jones, vocalist Frank DiMino, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria, and drummer Barry Brandt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This lineup would hold for the following two albums, Helluva Band (1976) and On Earth as It Is in Heaven (1977), after which Jones was replaced by Felix Robinson.<ref name="LarkinHM"/>

Angel made an appearance in the film Foxes (1980) and Frank DiMino sang "Seduce Me Tonight" and "Blood From a Stone" on the Flashdance (1983) soundtrack and Metropolis (1984) soundtrack, credited as Cycle V on both.Template:Why

DiMino and Meadows departed the band in 1981, and the remaining members brought in vocalist Fergie Frederiksen (later of Toto) and guitarist Ricky Phillips (later of The Babys, then Bad English, then Styx), but this lineup did not release new material and it dissolved shortly thereafter.

The former members of Angel 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 (1985/1986).<ref name="LarkinHM"/> Angel's keyboardist Gregg Giuffria had success as the leader of the band Giuffria during the 1980s as well as with the band House of Lords,<ref name="LarkinHM"/> who—sans Giuffria—reunited in 2002 and released a new album, The Power and the Myth on Frontiers Records.

In the late 1990s, Angel reformed with a new line-up: Frank DiMino, vocals; Barry Brandt, drums; Randy Gregg, bass; Steve Blaze, guitars; and keyboardist Gordon G.G. Gebert. Gebert left the band in 2002 and was replaced with Michael T. Ross on keyboards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band's 1999 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, including 16 songs.

In 2006, two compilations of career-spanning singles were released. "Better Days" from the White Hot (1977) album was notably replaced with "The Winter Song". It had only been previously released on a rare 7" single.

Bassist Mickie Jones (born Donald Eugene Jones on December 17, 1952, later changed to Michael David Jones in 1967), died in San Dimas, California on September 5, 2009, at the age of 56, 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 (recorded in 1973). Both Jones and Meadows were asked to join the New York Dolls but declined. After leaving Angel, he formed the Los Angeles band EMPIRE and was the lead singer. Empire included drummer Steve Riley (L.A. Guns). Over the years, he became interested in film production and would later work in the film industry.

Singer Frank DiMino now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He appeared on the Sin City Sinners Christmas album, singing lead vocals on the holiday classic "Winter Wonderland". In 2015 he released his solo album "Old Habits Die Hard", with Punky guesting on the song 'Never Again'.

Punky Meadows issued his first-ever solo album in 2016, Fallen Angel. Felix Robinson plays bass on the album. The deluxe edition had two bonus songs, one of which, 'Lost and Lonely', had Frank DiMino on vocals. Later Angel members Danny Farrow and Charlie Calv participate on this album as well.

In 2018, Meadows and DiMino toured together under the moniker 'Punky Meadows and Frank DiMino of Angel', performing a set of classic Angel songs and solo cuts. They are backed by a band featuring Danny Farrow on rhythm guitar, Charlie Calv on keyboards, Steve Ojane on bass and Billy Orrico on drums. In 2019, with the same lineup, the band reverted back to the name "Angel"—returning to wearing all white—and released a new album, Risen. The band returned with new music on the 2023 album Once Upon a Time.

Bassist Steve Ojane left the band at the end of 2023. Felix Robinson rejoined the band for select dates in 2024. Tommy Caradonna is announced as the new bass player.

Angel's logo is ambigrammatic; it reads the same when turned upside-down as when viewed normally.<ref name="LarkinHM"/>

Members

Current members

Former members

Timeline <timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:5 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:03/01/1975 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1976 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1976

Colors = 

 id:lvocals value:red         legend:Lead_vocals
 id:lguitar value:teal        legend:Lead_guitar
 id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
 id:bass    value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:keys    value:purple      legend:Keyboards
 id:drums   value:orange      legend:Drums
 id:bvocals value:pink        legend:Backing_vocals
 id:studio  value:black       legend:Studio_album
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

LineData = 

layer:back color:studio
 at:10/27/1975
 at:07/10/1976
 at:03/06/1977
 at:01/03/1978
 at:01/07/1979
 at:08/03/1999
 at:10/04/2019

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

BarData = 

 bar:FD    text:Frank DiMino
 bar:DF    text:Dennis Frederiksen

 bar:PM    text:Punky Meadows
 bar:RP    text:Ricky Phillips
 bar:RM    text:Richard Marcello
 bar:SB    text:Steve Blaze
 bar:DF2   text:Danny Farrow

 bar:MJ    text:Mickey Jones
 bar:FR    text:Felix Robinson
 bar:RS    text:Rudy Sarzo
 bar:RG    text:Randy Gregg
 bar:SO    text:Steve Ojane
 bar:TC    text:Tommy Caradonna

 bar:GG    text:Gregg Giuffria
 bar:GG2   text:Gordon Gebert
 bar:MR    text:Michael Ross
 bar:CC    text:Charlie Calv

 bar:BB    text:Barry Brandt
 bar:BO    text:Billy Orrico

PlotData= 

width:11
 color:lvocals
 bar:FD  from:start      till:07/01/1981
 bar:DF  from:07/01/1981 till:09/01/1981
 bar:FD  from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2008
 bar:FD  from:07/01/2018 till:end

 color:lguitar
 bar:PM  from:start      till:07/01/1981
 bar:RP  from:07/01/1981 till:09/01/1981
 bar:RM  from:01/01/1999 till:12/31/1999
 bar:SB  from:01/01/2000 till:07/01/2008
 bar:PM  from:07/01/2018 till:end

 color:rguitar
 bar:PM  from:start      till:07/01/1981 width:3
 bar:RP  from:07/01/1981 till:09/01/1981 width:3
 bar:RM  from:01/01/1999 till:12/31/1999 width:3
 bar:SB  from:01/01/2000 till:07/01/2008 width:3
 bar:DF2 from:07/01/2018 till:end

 color:bass
 bar:MJ  from:start      till:05/01/1977
 bar:FR  from:05/01/1977 till:07/01/1981
 bar:RS  from:07/01/1981 till:09/01/1981
 bar:RG  from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2008
 bar:SO  from:07/01/2018 till:10/01/2023
 bar:FR  from:02/01/2024 till:04/01/2024
 bar:TC  from:04/01/2024 till:end

 color:drums
 bar:BB  from:start      till:09/01/1981
 bar:BB  from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2008
 bar:BO  from:07/01/2018 till:end

 color:keys
 bar:GG  from:start      till:09/01/1981
 bar:GG2 from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2002
 bar:MR  from:07/01/2002 till:07/01/2008
 bar:CC  from:07/01/2018 till:end

 color:bvocals width:3
 bar:MJ  from:start      till:05/01/1977
 bar:BB  from:start      till:09/01/1981
 bar:FR  from:05/01/1977 till:07/01/1981
 bar:RG  from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2008
 bar:BB  from:01/01/1999 till:07/01/2008
 bar:DF2 from:07/01/2018 till:end
 bar:SO  from:07/01/2018 till:10/01/2023
 bar:BO  from:07/01/2018 till:end
 bar:FR  from:02/01/2024 till:04/01/2024
 bar:TC  from:04/01/2024 till:end

</timeline>

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album US<ref name="Chart History: Angel">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1975 Angel 156
1976 Helluva Band 155
1977 On Earth as It Is in Heaven 76
1978 White Hot 55
1979 Sinful 159
1999 In the Beginning —
2019 Risen —
2023 Once Upon a Time —

Live albums

Year Album US<ref name="Chart History: Angel"/>
1980 Live Without a Net 149

Compilation albums

  • Foxes (soundtrack) (two songs: "20th Century Foxes" and "Virginia") (1980)
  • Can You Feel It (1989)
  • An Anthology (1992)
  • A Rock and Roll Christmas II (1998)
  • Angel: The Collection (2000)
  • Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 1 (album) (2006)
  • Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 2 (album) (2006)

Box set

  • Angel: The Casablanca years (2018)

Bootlegs

  • Blowing Great Guns
  • White Heroes
  • 1981 demo

Singles

US singles, except where noted.

Year Single US
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1976 Rock & Rollers —
On and On (UK)
Anyway You Want It (JPN)
Feelin' Right (JPN)
1977 That Magic Touch 77
Telephone Exchange (JPN)
Winter Song Template:Efn-ua
1978 Flying With Broken Wings —
Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore 44
Don't Leave Me Lonely —
1979 Don't Take Your Love —
Tower (NL)
1980 20th Century Foxes —

Notes:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Notelist-ua

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Angel (American band)

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Angel_(American_band)&oldid=368952"