Little Angels
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Little Angels were a hard rock band of the late 80s and early to mid 90s.
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[edit] History and Members
Little Angels formed in Scarborough, England in 1984, under the name Mr Thrud. The founding members were Toby Jepson (Vocals), Mark Plunkett (Bass), Dave Hopper (Drums) and the brothers Bruce John and Jimmy Dickinson (Guitar and Keyboards respectively). Michael Lee joined the band to replace Hopper around 1988/89 when the band changed their name to Little Angels and began to achieve national success.
Lee, himself, was sacked from Little Angels during the Young Gods tour after it was discovered he had auditioned for The Cult behind their backs. He went on to play the full Ceremony world tour. He was replaced by Mark Richardson, who filled in for him on several tour dates before taking his place officially during the recording of the band's third record, Jam. Lee now plays with Robert Plant's band & has toured with Page and Plant.
"The Big Bad Horns" ("Big" Dave Kemp on saxophone and Grant Kirkhope on trumpet) had become synonymous with the 'Angels sound over the years, contributing to a large majority of their recorded output, and appearing live with the band more often than not. However, they were keen to remain independent from the band, so appearances on stage & record are credited to Little Angels & The Big Bad Horns.
They were successful in the UK and cracked the US to some extent, though not enough to satisfy their record label. Nonetheless, they had a massive profile in the UK, playing with Van Halen (who Jepson would be approached to join in 1996) and Bon Jovi, amongst others.
Despite the seemingly disappointing record sales, they followed the announcement of their split by playing a sold-out 6-date UK tour culminating in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Dickinson brothers would form b.l.o.w. with Richardson & former No Sweat vocalist Dave Gooding after the demise of Little Angels. Jepson recorded & toured an album "Ignorance Is Bliss" under the moniker "Toby and the Whole Truth" which was intended to launch a solo career.
When b.l.o.w. folded, Jimmy Dickinson became a member of Younger Younger 28's who had some success in Japan. Bruce went on to teach at, and manage, The Academy of contemporary Music in Guildford, Surrey, UK. He is now the Managing Director of the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. Mark Richardson joined Skunk Anansie to replace their original drummer, and when the band folded, he joined Feeder following the lose of their drummer Jon Lee and is now an established member of the band.
After a long while away from the spotlight, Toby Jepson recently made a return as a solo artist, supporting Thunder (band) on their 2006 UK tour.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- The 1987 EP (1987)
- Too Posh To Mosh EP (1988)
- Don't Prey for Me - Polydor (1989)
- Young Gods - Polydor (1991 - originally to be titled Spitfire) UK #17
- Jam - Polydor (1992) UK #1
- A Little of the Past (1994 - a "best-of" compilation with 2 new tracks) UK #20
- Too Posh to Mosh, Too Good to Last - Castle (1995) UK #18
[edit] Singles
- 90 In The Shade
- Big Bad EP featuring "She's a Little Angel" (1989) UK #74
- Big Bad World (Japanese only, 7 track CD)
- Do You Wanna Riot (1989) UK #91
- Don't Pray For Me (1989) UK #93
- Kicking up Dust (1990) UK #46
- Radical Your Lover (1990) UK #34
- She's A Little Angel (1990) UK #21
- Boneyard (1991) UK #33
- Product of the Working Class (1991) UK #40
- Young Gods (1991) UK #34
- I Ain't Gonna Cry (1991) UK #26
- First Cut is the Deepest (German only, according to the LotP inlay)
- Too Much Too Young (1992) UK #22
- Womankind (1993) UK #12
- Soapbox (1993) UK #33
- Sail Away (1993) UK #45
- Ten Miles High (1994) UK #18
- Live at Hammersmith
- All Roads Lead to You (never released)
[edit] Trivia
- Bruce John Dickinson used his middle name during the band's life to avoid any confusion with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame.
- Mark Plunkett was, for a time, Boyzone's tour manager, and now manages Ronan Keating.
- The band's last TV appearance (minus Toby Jepson) was as Ronan Keating's backing musicians in a live performance of Lovin' Each Day on The Pepsi Chart Show in 2001. They did not, however, play on the recorded version of the song.
- Bruce once mimed playing guitar for Boyzone on The National Lottery Show.
- Jepson was approached by Van Halen to replace Sammy Hagar in 1996.
