I guess in these days of Spotify playlists, YouTube influencers and Christ knows what else, the influence of radio and radio DJs has probably diminished. Listening to “Big Bad & Back”, though, I can only think about being 14 or 15, listening to Mr Tommy Vance on The Friday Rock Show. Whatever Tommy played was what we listened to, and usually what we bought the following month.
Maybe it’s because of my age, but so many of my favourite bands came from that period. The Almighty, Thunder, The Quireboys. To that list you can most definitely add Little Angels, which is why their first new music in 32 years matters quite so much to me. Judging by the sold-out shows on their November tour, I’m hardly alone.
The classic line-up is here: Toby Jepson, Bruce Dickinson, Jim Dickinson, Mark Plunkett and Mark Richardson. Jepson has probably been the most recognisable presence over the intervening years, through his solo work, Gun and Wayward Sons, but there’s something about these five getting together that has always been special.
It takes very little time for “All For One” to remind you exactly what that something is. The guitar has that late-80s, early-90s sound all over it, and then there’s the chorus, celebrating togetherness with the sort of conviction that makes you want to join in. When Jepson sings about those who would “divide us all with hatred”, it’s a reminder that he always looked beyond the usual rock ’n’ roll subject matter. There were experiences, observations and things happening in the world around him in those songs. There still are.
“Hero (That Was Then, This Is Now)” sounds like it comes from experience, too. You get the feeling they know rather more about the way the music industry treats people than they might have wished to learn. There’s perspective here, though. Maybe they’ve learned from it. Maybe coming back with that knowledge, and the maturity that accompanies it, makes them stronger.
“Small Town Boys” taps into an attitude that always permeated their music. Coming from Scarborough, away from the big cities, there was a sense of having something to prove. You hear something similar in The Virginmarys these days, with Macclesfield sitting outside Manchester and that chip on the shoulder helping to drive things along. Little Angels always understood that feeling.
There’s a classic feel to this one, too, with a suggestion of The Who that you suspect is entirely deliberate. The ambition suits them. It always did.
And, of course, the horns are back. The Big Bad Horns were such a glorious part of what made this band themselves, and “You Want Love” brings that side of things roaring into view. The band that gave us “Radical Your Lover” clearly hasn’t forgotten how to have a good time.
Doris Brendel joins Jepson here, and there’s something of a swagger. Little Angels were never shy about letting those influences loose, and the horns make the whole thing feel like a celebration. You can hear the enjoyment in it.
The last of these five, “Raised To The Ground”, is simply a brilliant rock ’n’ roll song. Catchy as hell, frankly, and another example of the sheer glee that comes across when they play together. That feeling keeps returning throughout this EP. They sound delighted to be doing this, and it’s catching.
When you put on new music by a band you love, particularly one you still listen to a lot, there’s always a little apprehension. When it’s their first new music in 32 years, that feeling becomes something else entirely. You’re desperate for it to be good. Desperate for it to justify the excitement. Desperate for it to add something to a legacy you’ve treasured for most of your life.
Believe me, there’s no tarnishing that legacy here.
This is a band that is big, bad, brilliant and most definitely back.
Please don’t leave it another 32 years next time, boys. I’ll be in my eighties by then, and I’m not sure I’ll still be doing this.
Rating: 9/10
