Little Angels were a hard rock band of the late 80s and early to mid 90s.


History and Members

Little Angels formed in Scarborough, England in 1984, under the name Mr Thrud. The founding members were Toby Jepson (Vocals), Mark Plunkett (Bass), Dave Hopper (Drums) and the brothers Bruce John and Jimmy Dickinson (Guitar and Keyboards respectively). Michael Lee joined the band to replace Hopper around 1988/89 when the band changed their name to Little Angels and began to achieve national success.

Lee, himself, was sacked from Little Angels during the Young Gods tour after it was discovered he had auditioned for The Cult behind their backs. He went on to play the full Ceremony world tour. He was replaced by Mark Richardson, who filled in for him on several tour dates before taking his place officially during the recording of the band's third record, Jam. Lee now plays with Robert Plant's band & has toured with Page and Plant.

"The Big Bad Horns" ("Big" Dave Kemp on saxophone and Grant Kirkhope on trumpet) had become synonymous with the 'Angels sound over the years, contributing to a large majority of their recorded output, and appearing live with the band more often than not. However, they were keen to remain independent from the band, so appearances on stage & record are credited to Little Angels & The Big Bad Horns.



BAND PROFILE
Toby Jepson | Michael Lee | Mark Richardson | Mark Plunkett | Jimmy Dickinson | Bruce Dickinson


The Little Angels were:

TOBY JEPSON (Lead vocals, acoustic guitar)

Historically, every great rock band has a great lead singer - Little Angels was no exception. Toby has that magical combination of huge voice, great charisma and a talent for creating treat melodies. Very often, the fulcrum of the writing was around a lyric or melody that Toby had dreamt up which the band then moulded into a song. He took (and continues to do so as a solo artist) his work very seriously and works hard to perform at his very best but relaxes by being a compulsive video watcher and film buff. Toby is a private person but is fiercely loyal and has a genuine personality.


MICHAEL LEE (Manic drums, manic everything)

There is only one Mike. A complete one-off and probably the most talented young drummer on the circuit today! Fred Coury of Cinderalla described him as 'totally kick ass' and that goes for off-stage too! Michael is a true party animal and is always game on for a razzle on the town (usually with Bruce and Mark). He is truly into metal and loves Slayer's Dave Lombardo but, watch out, as he is trained in Jazz drumming too - in LA with Jeff Pocaro of Toto, no less. One day, young drummers will model themselves on Micahel Lee.

Michael left the band in 1991 and was replaced by Mark Richardson.
MARK "RICH" RICHARDSON (Drums and Percussion)

MARK PLUNKETT (Bass and second vocal)

Humorous and all round good bloke, Mark rattled the hell out of his Kramer bass every time and sung his ass off too. Despite losing a drinking competition at The Borderline in the mid 90's, Mark usually had a clear head on the business front and liaised most with management etc. on the practicalities of running an International Rock Band. The band's only sportsman, Mark was as powerful at tennis and swimming as pounding out those bass lines that give the band drive.


JIMMY DICKINSON (Keyboards, backing vocals, and duvets)

Jim sleeps a lot. One weekend during recording, he managed thirty-one hours! When he wakes up, he plays like a demon, latterly developing his piano and organ in particular. Also famous for the hand-held 'Zebra' solo keyboard which gets him stage-front during live shows, Jim is a very mature musician for his tender years. He also possessed a very clear picture of the task ahead for Little Angels and has a great perception of what makes for a hit rock act. He also enjoyed cruising in the band car but remains mysterious as to what he actually got up to! Jim has eleven O'levels but was thrown out of the 6th form.
BRUCE JOHN DICKINSON (dedicated guitar)

Fabulous guitar playing was demanded from Bruce and he never failed to deliver. The combination of a musical family (Brother Jim on keyboards and father John a music teacher), jazz background and total 'attitude' playing makes Bruce a sure-fire hero of the future - Clapton, Beck, Page, Moore... Dickinson - one day, one day!!!Outside of the band, Bruce played guitar all the time except when he was making the acquaintance of the opposite sex and enjoying a few amber nectars! He also goes fishing - God knows why!



Frank "Uncle Bastard" Mize (Trombone)

Frank has been partner in crime with Grant from the very beginning of the Big Bad Horns. He lives in Harrogate, N. Yorks where he is a partner in Blue Strike Redcording Studios. He has produced and engineered 1,000's of products at Blue Strike including some very early Little Angel's demos. Little Angels met Frank playing with Zoot and The Roots. No-one quite knows Frank's age. Frank is a mine of useless information and is, as we speak, working on the first edition of "Frank's Almanac!"



"Big" Dave Kemp (Saxaphone)

Big Dave joined the Big Bad Horns for a few of the Bryan Adams shows. In Cardiff, he 'bared' all for the 45,000 screaming people, got arrested for indecent exposure and confirmed his position as the sexiest member of the trio. Bruce first met Big Dave playing in a Jazz band in Scarborough. Since then he has played around the world on cruise ships and toured with Chris Rea and loads of others. Dave now does loads of session work as well as flogging wellies in Scarborough's famous army stores.



Grant "Endz" Kirkhope (Trumpet)

Grant was born about thirty years ago. He lives in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. We first met Grant when he played trumpet in a band called Zoot and The Roots. Before that he played guitar with Maniaxe, an 80's metal band - indeed he still thrashes away with The Creed. Grant first played with us when we re-recorded 'Radical Your Lover'. Since then, he and Frank have recorded and toured with us all over the world. Although Grant is quite old, he's still up for a good night out though he tends to get pissed on about half a pint and develops weird sexual perversions, hence his nicknames, Ends, Penny, Nullwort, and MI!!!

They were successful in the UK and cracked the US to some extent, though not enough to satisfy their record label. Nonetheless, they had a massive profile in the UK, playing with Van Halen (who Jepson would be approached to join in 1996) and Bon Jovi, amongst others.

Despite the seemingly disappointing record sales, they followed the announcement of their split by playing a sold-out 6-date UK tour culminating in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Dickinson brothers would form b.l.o.w. with Richardson & former No Sweat vocalist Dave Gooding after the demise of Little Angels. Jepson recorded & toured an album "Ignorance Is Bliss" under the moniker "Toby and the Whole Truth" which was intended to launch a solo career.

When b.l.o.w. folded, Jimmy Dickinson became a member of Younger Younger 28's who had some success in Japan. Bruce went on to teach at, and manage, The Academy of contemporary Music in Guildford, Surrey, UK. He is now the Managing Director of the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. Mark Richardson joined Skunk Anansie to replace their original drummer, and when the band folded, he joined Feeder following the lose of their drummer Jon Lee and is now an established member of the band.

After a long while away from the spotlight, Toby Jepson recently made a return as a solo artist, supporting Thunder (band) on their 2006 UK tour.

Discography

Albums

* The 1987 EP (1987)
* Too Posh To Mosh EP (1988)
* Don't Prey for Me - Polydor (1989)
* Young Gods - Polydor (1991 - originally to be titled Spitfire)
* Jam - Polydor (1992)
* A Little of the Past (1994 - a "best-of" compilation with 2 new tracks)
* Too Posh to Mosh, Too Good to Last - Castle (1995)

Singles

* 90 In The Shade
* Big Bad EP featuring "She's a Little Angel" (1989) UK #74
* Big Bad World (Japanese only, 7 track CD)
* Do You Wanna Riot (1989) UK #91
* Don't Pray For Me (1989) UK #93
* Kicking up Dust (1990) UK #46
* Radical Your Lover (1990) UK #34
* She's A Little Angel (1990) UK #21
* Boneyard (1991) UK #33
* Product of the Working Class (1991) UK #40
* Young Gods (1991) UK #34
* I Ain't Gonna Cry (1991) UK #26
* First Cut is the Deepest (German only, according to the LotP inlay)
* Too Much Too Young (1992) UK #22
* Womankind (1993) UK #12
* Soapbox (1993) UK #33
* Sail Away (1993) UK #45
* Ten Miles High (1994) UK #18
* Live at Hammersmith
* All Roads Lead to You (never released)

Trivia

* Bruce John Dickinson used his middle name during the band's life to avoid any confusion with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame.
* Mark Plunkett was, for a time, Boyzone's tour manager, and now manages Ronan Keating.
* The band's last TV appearance (minus Toby Jepson) was as Ronan Keating's backing musicians in a live performance of Lovin' Each Day on The Pepsi Chart Show in 2001. They did not, however, play on the recorded version of the song.
* Bruce once mimed playing guitar for Boyzone on The National Lottery Show.
* Jepson was approached by Van Halen to replace Sammy Hagar in 1996.