The Wild Angels (band)
| The Wild Angels | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Rock and roll |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Members |
Mitch Mitchell Wild Bob Burgos Keith Read Rusty Lupton |
| Past members |
Mal Gray John Hawkins Bob O’Connor John Huggett Rod Cotter Billy Kingston Geoff Britton Pete Scott Oz Garvey Freddie Ling Brian Francis Ray Firth |
The Wild Angels is an English rock and roll group. The group got their name from the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels starring Peter Fonda.[1]
Biography
The group was formed in 1967 with Mal Gray on vocals, John Hawkins on lead guitar, Pete Addison on rhythm guitar, Mitch Mitchell on bass guitar, and Bob O’Connor on drums. They were also Gene Vincent’s backup band during his comeback tour of the UK in 1969. Some of their recordings with Gene Vincent have been released on Gene Vincent compilations as well as the Wild Angels’ 2002 “Live, Wild, Red Hot ‘N’ Rockin’” 2-CD set and the 2007 Rockstar “Rock ‘N’ Roll Man” release. The group also appear in the Gene Vincent BBC documentary “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer” from 1969.[1]
The group signed with B&C Records in 1969. Mal Gray left the group in 1971 and the lead vocals were taken over by bass guitar player Keith Read. Mal Gray later worked as a solo act and also worked with Sha Na Na and Bill Haley. The group signed with Decca Records in 1972, releasing one album and several singles. One of their Decca singles from 1972 included three songs “Beauty School Dropout,” “Born to Hand Jive,” and “Greased Lightning” from the musical Grease. The Wild Angels later also joined the cast of the UK version of the stage musical.[1] In 1975, Pete Scott became their new lead singer and new bass player Billy Barnes Willie Bath and new drummer Oz Garvey replaced Geoff Britton, who later played with Paul McCartney and Wings. The group still continues to perform with Billy Kingston or Mal Gray as their frontman.[1] The band recently released an album in 2013 called “The Wild Angels Ride Again.”
Members
- Mal Gray (vocals)
- Mitch Mitchell (bass guitar, vocals)
- John Hawkins (lead guitar)
- Bob O'Connor (drums)
- John Huggett (keyboards)
- Rod Cotter (bass) (replaced Mitch Mitchell)
- Billy Kingston (piano)
- Keith Read (bass, guitar, lead vocals) (replaced Rod Cotter)
- Geoff Britton (drums) (replaced Bob O’Connor)
- Pete Scott (replaced Keith Road on lead vocals)
- Billy Barnes Willie Bath(bass)
- Oz Garvey (drums) (replaced Geoff Britton)
- Freddie Ling (saxophone)
- Brian Francis (bass)
- Ray Firth (guitar)
- Wild Bob Burgos (drums)
- Rusty Lupton (piano)
Discography
Singles
- Nervous Breakdown/Watch The Wheels Go Round (Ariola) (1968)
- Buzz Buzz A-Diddle It/Please Don’t Touch (B&C) (1970)
- Let The Four Winds Blow/Stuck On You (B&C) (1970)
- Sally Ann/Wrong Number, Try Again (B&C) (1970)
- Three Nights A Week/Time To Kill (B&C) (1971)
- Greased Lightning/Born To Hand Jive/Beauty School Dropout (Decca) (1972)
- Clap Your Hands And Stamp Your Feet/Wild Angels Rock ‘N’ Roll (Decca) (1972)
- I Fought The Law/Midnight Rider (Decca) (1973)
- Running Bear/Sussin' (Decca) (1973)
Albums
- Live At The Revolution (B&C #101) (1970)
- Red Hot ‘N’ Rockin’ (B&C #102) (1970)
- Out At Last (Decca #5134) (1972)
- Let’s Get Back To Rock ‘N’ Roll (Pye/Golden Hour #614) (1975)
- Rockin’ The Joint (Rockin #RL-5006) (1979)
- Live In London (Cassette) (1987) (10 tracks)
- Rockin’ On The Railroad (Valentine #8060, 1988) (Raucous #166, 2005)
- The Two Sides Of Wild Bob Burgos: Shotgun/Wild Angels (Razzle Dazzle) (1987)
- Down The Road A Piece (Edwardian #LP-002) (1997)
- The Original Wild Angels (Nightingale #LP-001) (1997)
- The Singles Album (Nightingale #BYCCD-001) (1998)
- Live, Wild, Red Hot ‘N’ Rockin’ (Sanctuary #451) (2002)
- Mal Gray & The Wild Angels: Rock ‘N’ Roll Heart (Rockstar #029) (2007)
- The Wild Angels Ride Again (Foot Stapping #FT141) (2013)