The Angels came hurtling out of Adelaide in the 1970s with the searing guitar sound of the Brewster brothers and Doc Neeson, a frontman who was beyond intense. Their songs remain etched in the DNA of this city: Am I Ever Goin’ to See Your Face Again, Take a Long Line, No Secrets. They worked their way up, developing an unmistakably unique musical style. By 1978 they were a behemoth of the local rock scene and on the path to international success… until they just missed their chance. Yet they still revolutionised the Aussie music scene, transforming it from pretty pop to gritty guitar rock, featuring ferocious and theatrical live shows. Adelaide director Madeleine Parry (Hannah Gadsby: Nanette) has made a surprisingly intimate documentary, with band members’ home videos and never-before-seen photos, exploring the internal tensions that strained relationships to breaking point, even while producing incandescent rock’n’roll.
“The story is messy but what makes the film gripping, and a little sad, is seeing it through the eyes of the surviving members (Neeson and Bailey are dead) and glimpsing the raw hurt.
Parry has brought fresh, unbiased eyes to a story that unfolded largely before she was born, and it feels surprisingly intimate and revealing to watch a history we thought we knew, told from the inside.” In Daily
“The more Australian stories up on our screens, the better. Docos like The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door open portals into parts of our pop culture that might have passed us by, but still have a lot to teach us. ” ScreenHub