Simon Rushworth
Little Angels – Do You Wanna Riot (Jepson/B Dickinson/J Dickinson/Plunkett/Lee) b/w Move In Slow (Jepson/B Dickinson/J Dickinson/Plunkett/Lee) 1989
Hewn from the hit-laden album that was Don’t Prey For Me this was, for most people, the first taste of a band who stood alongside Quireboys, Thunder, Gun and Terrorvision as the all too brief Britrock wave washed over the UK in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Born in Scarborough but destined for far greater stages the TobyJepson-led quintet boasted the quality and confidence to conquer the world. Then came grunge.
This single may barely have dented the top 100 in the UK but it paved the way for a period of far greater commercial success and acclaim for the Angels. Fusing rock and roll with soft metal and a famous horn section, the band’s singalong hits became a permanent fixture in the top 40 and 1993 album Jam actually hit number one.
More so than most, this thumping track sums up the Little Angels’ ethos of fun, fun, fun and the reverse artwork, featuring the band dressed up as ice hockey stars, is about as 80s hair metal as it’s possible to be.