Simon RushworthLittle Angels — Big Bad & Back (Big Bad Music)
Think back to 1994, if you can.
Apartheid ended, the Channel Tunnel opened and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain passed away.
Japan saw the launch of the original PlayStation and New Labour was born, as Tony Blair swept to power.
Oh, and Little Angels suddenly announced their time was up.
It was an unexpected hammer blow to rock and roll fans who’d fired no fewer than 10 of the band’s singles into the UK Top 40.
The previous year Jam had topped the album charts.
And the fact that a six-date farewell tour — including a Royal Albert Hall stop — sold out almost immediately suggested the decision to call it a day was somewhat premature.
Even today frontman Toby Jepson can’t quite put his finger on why Scarborough’s finest rather hurriedly downed tools.
But that appeared to be that.
And for the next 32 years there seemed very little prospect of any new Angels’ material.
Then came call-to-arms ‘comeback’ single Hero (That Was Then This Is Now), swiftly followed by a full, five-track EP linking the past to the present with spine-tingling prescience.
According to Toby there’s a full album to follow in 2027.
And for the long-suffering Angels Army — always believing and never dormant — it’s like Christmas has come early.
Big Bad & Back has been a long time coming.
But does it put Little Angels back where they belong?
Big Bad & Back for good?
Toby Jepson’s always been one of rock’s greatest storytellers.
As a rising star of the early 90s his relatable songwriting frequently struck a chord with working class kids who dreamed of more.
Pairing Toby’s pin-sharp narratives with Bruce Dickinson’s catchy melodies allowed Little Angels to jostle for position alongside Thunder, Quireboys, Gun, Terrorvision and the rest.
But is Big Bad & Back a case of rinse and repeat?
Or does the band’s first studio material in more than three decades reinvent the wheel?
Truthfully, it’s a bit of both.
The five songs here are, in many ways, classic Little Angels.
Singalong choruses, uplifting horns, soulful vocals and scorching riffs are straight out of the Young Gods playbook.
Jepson goes back to the future as he belts out the self-reflective All For One, Hero and Small Town Boys — all three are compelling tales that bridge the gap between the painful split and the improbable reunion.
Little Angels aren’t wide-eyed wannabes anymore but this revealing EP doesn’t seek to erase history. Rather, it uses the band’s storied past to plot an exciting future.
Raised To The Ground (and, let’s face it, Toby’s always loved a play on words) sounds like the sequel to Kicking Up Dust. And maybe it is.
The key line says it all as Toby insists he’s ‘never going back again’ — against a blazing backdrop of steamy sax, soaring keys and fabulous Faces-meets-Thin Lizzy axe work.
It’s the stirring finale that sets the seal on Little Angels’ celebrated past and opens the door to what’s still to come.
Big Bad & Back for good? Fingers crossed.
