A Tribute to Doc Neeson. By Honest Mick An older workmate on a job site once said to me “ If you want a hard worker, best get an Irishman to do the job, they have a built in work ethic like no other man Ive met yet”. Couple this ethic with passion and you have Doc Neeson working a stage.. Born Bernard Patrick Neeson in Belfast Ireland 1947 emigrated to Adelaide as a 13 yo. From there he went on to be the iconic frontman and lead singer of The Angels. Back in 1981 I saw The Angels for the first time… my first gig, a Saturday afternoon concert at Festival Hall Melbourne. Sunnyboys, The Sports and top of the bill The Angels. My brother and myself, seats to the right of stage in the rafters, in fact the very back row. It was dark, the lighting created the reference my eyes needed to accompanying the loud delivery of Rock n Roll, I was speechless. Sunnyboys and The Sports played great music, then The Angels came on, the volume increased as did my heart rate. Doc and the boys showed why The Angels were the headlining act, they blew the roof off the place. I had never witnessed such intensity before. Doc was a man possessed. Cavorting, pogoing, bounding across the wide stage, it was like he had just been let out of a cage. Speaking to the crowd in prosed rants that to me didn’t make sense, it only added to the theatre and mystery of this man commanding my attention. I was enthralled, captivated and awestruck, I was hooked. That was it quite literally, school was out, RocknRoll or more to the point, The Angels were in. No more school books at homework time, I studied the gate folded lyrics of Face to Face, over and over again. Those lyrics still come with ease today. I became an avid fan, albums, singles (the day they came out), scrapbooking any clipping I could find, anything…Angels related. I went to the Countdown studios at Ripponlea for a live taping of Fashion and Fame and Night Attack one afternoon (we knocked off school a bit early). It was here I first met Doc, surrounded by fans he diligently asked our names and signed autographs to us, Best wishes, Doc, E=Mc2…whats that end bit mean? This was an early highlight but there were many more, so many concerts, pub gigs standing in crowds, sweaty, smoky, chanting..Angels, Angels, Angels at the top of our lungs, always a shiver down the spine in anticipation of what I was about to witness. The line up of the band changed over the years, never enough to detract from the music, thank god. The band still delivered those punchy staccato rhythms that resonated in your brain right down to your feet. It took you away, it lifted you up, you were together, audience and band, all held together in the palm of Docs hand. Docs lyrics were always a different beast to others songs of girls, booze and cars. They had a depth that created stark images in the mind of the listener. A loner, a misfit, a stranger. These streetscapes Doc sang of captivated me, I was drawn into his world of mystery and intrigue. Character traits of faceless people, on the outside looking in, always the observer. Doc Neesons diction in his delivery of these lyrics was his mastery. Rolling his R`s, and sizzling his S`s with that Irish drawl, and his bloodcurdling scream, that was the real deal. With every vein in his neck protruding, clothes wringing, towel swinging, he was the epitome of energy. E=Mc2 was his mantra. His energy was directly in response to his audiences. We fed off his energy, in turn he fed off ours. His energy was such that once you saw it, you never forgot it. Fans of The Angels I believe are more obsessive than that of any other band, because of Doc. He gave his all every night, 1000%, no other frontman did what he did, he took you on a ride, a journey, and you stayed on that journey with him his whole life. That inbuilt work ethic coupled with his passion is something so powerful it embodies and empowers you. We are in debt to Doc, he gave his all with his unique style.They don’t make them like that anymore. Doc Neeson, forever missed, never forgotten. E=Mc2
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 01:28:06 +0000
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