Fifty years after releasing one of the most recognisable songs in Australian rock history, The Angels are back on the road celebrating the enduring legacy of Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again. What began as the band’s debut single in 1976 has grown into a uniquely Australian cultural phenomenon, complete with an expletive-laden audience chant that has become as famous as the song itself.
Speaking with Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips, founding guitarist John Brewster of The Angels said the band’s current Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again… 50 Years On tour has been a celebration not only of the song but of the people and memories attached to it.
“It’s a great celebration,” Brewster says. “It reminds us of when we met AC/DC in 1975, when they introduced us to Alberts, and we recorded that first single with Harry Vanda and George Young. We remember those days, we remember Doc, Chris Bailey, all the roadies, tour managers and everyone who was part of the journey.”
MORE ABOUT THE SONG AND THE CELEBRATION TOUR
The tour has been drawing strong crowds around the country, proving that the song’s popularity has never been greater. Ironically, however, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again wasn’t a hit when it was first released.
“We thought it might be our ticket to the stars, but it didn’t happen,” Brewster laughs. “We spent another couple of years travelling around in my old Holden station wagon before things really took off.”
That breakthrough eventually arrived with Face To Face, the landmark album that established The Angels as one of Australia’s premier rock bands. By then, the debut single had largely disappeared from their setlist.
“There was a period where we thought we’d left that song behind,” Brewster recalls. “It hadn’t really done very much and we were concentrating on newer material.”
Everything changed during a show in Mount Isa in 1983. With the audience demanding encore after encore, the band dusted off Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again and were stunned by what happened next.
“Three thousand people chanted it back at us,” Brewster says. “At first I thought maybe it was just isolated to Mount Isa. I thought maybe it was something they did there. But then we started playing it everywhere and every audience did it.”
The now-legendary audience response immediately became part of Australian rock folklore. Brewster remembers there was never any confusion about what fans were shouting.
“It was obvious what they were chanting,” he says with a smile. “But it was also obvious they weren’t telling us to f-off. It was just that wonderful Australian larrikin sense of humour.”
While the chant has become inseparable from the song, Brewster points out that the track itself has a much deeper story. Written by John and Rick Brewster alongside the late Doc Neeson, the song emerged from a period of reflection and loss. Today, performing it carries even greater significance.
“When we play it now, we’re thinking about all the people we’ve lost over the years — Doc, Chris Bailey, the crew, friends and fans. The song means something different now.”
Discussing the song’s creation, Brewster readily credits Neeson with much of its identity. “That’s more Doc’s song than anybody else’s really,” he says. Although Brewster does sheepishly acknowledge that Doc may have borrowed more than just the spirit of Brit-rockers Status Quo’s B-side “Lonely Night”, resulting in Quo and The Angels reaching a private, out-of-court agreement due to the musical similarities of the two songs. The two bands were friends after all.
The conversation also touched on the dramatic evolution of The Angels’ sound between their early recordings and the powerhouse attack heard on albums like Face To Face and No Exit. According to Brewster, part of that transformation came courtesy of some familiar friends.
“The first thing that changed was that we bought AC/DC’s Marshalls when they went overseas,” he says. “Malcolm Young asked if we wanted them and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ From that moment our guitar sound improved out of sight.”
At the same time, Brewster was absorbing the energy of the emerging punk movement.
“I got influenced by the Sex Pistols,” he explains. “I wrote I Ain’t The One and that really put us on our path. Then Rick wrote Take A Long Line and suddenly we’d found our sound.”
Producer and engineer Mark Opitz played a key role in capturing that new direction, helping preserve the raw power of a band recording largely live in the studio with minimal effects.
“His engineering was fantastic,” Brewster says. “Those big Marshall amps were in the same room as the drums and he somehow managed to capture that sound. It wasn’t easy.”
The discussion naturally drifted towards guitars, and Brewster still laments the loss of one instrument in particular. During a 1980 American tour, a truck carrying the band’s gear was stolen in Chicago after being left unattended.
“My original 1970 Goldtop Les Paul was in there,” he recalls. “I still miss it. I did Face To Face, No Exit and Dark Room with that guitar.”
These days life on the road is considerably easier. Instead of hauling mountains of gear around Australia, Brewster travels with a compact modelling rig and a custom-built guitar made by Australian luthier Dwight Wood.
“My whole rig fits into a Pelican case,” he says. “I take that and a guitar. The technology today is amazing.”
Looking back on some of the biggest tours of The Angels’ career, Brewster singles out AC/DC as an important influence, but says the most memorable support slot came in 1978 when David Bowie personally selected The Angels to join his Australian tour.
“We’d already gone triple platinum with Face To Face by then,” Brewster says. “Bowie came and saw us play at the Bondi Lifesaver and invited us onto the tour. We had dinner with him and his band every night. I’d rate that as the best tour we ever did as an opening act.”
As The Angels continue their 50th-anniversary celebrations, with young Australian band Disgraceland warming up the crowds, Brewster says deciding on a setlist remains one of the band’s biggest challenges.
“We’ve got so many songs people want to hear,” he says. “It’s a good problem to have.”
The current lineup also continues to introduce newer material, including songs written with vocalist Nick Norton, ensuring the band remains firmly focused on the future as well as the past.
Asked how he would like The Angels to be remembered, Brewster offers a typically thoughtful response.
“The thing is, we’ve never really stopped,” he says. “Some bands disappear for 20 years and come back. We’ve always been a live band. The book’s still being written.”
Judging by the packed venues, the enduring power of Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again and the energy Brewster says he’s feeling on stage each night, there are still plenty of chapters left to come.
THE ANGELS
AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN… 50 YEARS ON NATIONAL TOUR
DISGRACELAND APPEARING AT ALL SHOWS AS SPECIAL GUESTS
Fri 3 Jul – Country Club Showroom – Launceston – TAS
Sat 4 Jul – Wrest Point Showroom – Hobart – TAS
Fri 10 Jul – Belmont 16s – Belmont – NSW
Sat 11 Jul – Revesby Workers Club – Revesby – NSW
Fri 17 Jul – Freo Social – Fremantle – WA
Sat 18 Jul – Rosemount Hotel – Perth – WA
Fri 31 Jul – Highfield – Caringbah – NSW
Sat 1 Aug – Factory Theatre – Marrickville – NSW
Fri 7 Aug – Shoal Bay Country Club – Shoal Bay – NSW
Sat 8 Aug – Liverpool Catholic Club – Prestons – NSW
Fri 14 Aug – Eureka Hotel – Geelong – VIC
Sat 15 Aug – Corner Hotel – Melbourne – VIC
Fri 28 Aug – The Juniors – Kingsford – NSW
Sat 29 Aug – Pittwater RSL – Mona Vale – NSW
Fri 11 Sep – The Triffid – Brisbane – QLD
Sat 12 Sep – Koala Tavern – Capalaba – QLD
Fri 23 Oct – Bridge Hotel – Rozelle – NSW
Sat 24 Oct – Bridge Hotel – Rozelle – NSW
Fri 6 Nov – Hindley St Music Hall – Adelaide – SA
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
www.theangels.au