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LIVE REVIEW
TWISTED ANGELS
Certificate 18
York
THE members of Twisted Angels have come a long way since they played in Harrogate late last year.
Then, the all-girl punk four piece arrived in a battered minibus to play second-hand equipment. Tonight, parked outside during their latest gig at Certificate 18 in York is a 45-foot luxury tour bus.
That’s a big step up but a record deal, PR company and spreads in Kerrang and Attitude have only enhanced a band that showed promise from the moment they ventured beyond their childhood roots in the Isle of Man.
To seperate themselves from the crowd, a band needs a hook, but the ‘all girl punk’ thing isn’t all that Twisted Angels have going for them – they’ve found their niche of melodic yet hard punk with soaring vocals and heart-rending lyrics.
From the snappy Three Small Words to their thundering rock-punk version of a traditional Manx folk song, the songs showed the Angels’ broad ability while singers Steph and Laura held their own against the roaring guitars. There was confident support from second lead guitar Ami while drummer Andrea just seemed to be having the time of her life.
This was punk with a twist as, along with the clanging anthems, the band slowed things down for a tribute to a friend killed in a car crash. As the crowd warmed up in the tiny venue, so did the act.
Twisted Angels need more confidence in their ability to perform but each girl’s personality is there, their attitude as a band is there and if their latest tour is anything to go by, they’re ready for bigger things.
Michael Molcher
12 August 2005
- Harrogate Today
Sir Norman Wisdom launches music career at age 90
to support Isle of Man teen band Twisted Angels
Twisted Angels announces first single release
Twisted Angels, the all girl teen rock band has announced the release date for their first single, LA, is to be October 17th 2005. Filming commenced mid August and the Angels were delighted to have on board Sir Norman Wisdom who made what could be one of his last ever film appearance in the LA filmclip. Sir Norman retired from stage last October after a career spanning more than seven decades but made a surprise appearance in the Twisted Angels new single.
Reminiscent of Sir Norman’s many film appearances, LA is shot in a slapstick fashion with the Twisted Angels getting into all sorts of comical dramas as they travel around LA with Sir Norman as their chauffeur. The film clip sees the Angels, which comprise of Steph, Aimee, Laura and Andrea rollerblading off the pier, attempting to swim and getting their ‘Angel wings’ caught in the metal detectors at the airport, all while being looked on by Sir Norman.
Twisted Angels are donating 25% of all profits made on sales of LA to local Isle of Man charity Project 21 – which comprises of Autism in Mann, Down’s Syndrome Isle of Man, the Manx Gateway Club, Special Olympics Isle of Man and Manx Mencap, to which Sir Norman is the president.
Project 21 was set up to create a new facility in the Isle of Man for people with mental and physical disabilities. The charity is heavily supported by Sandra and Graham Dimelow, parents of Aalish Patterson who died tragically in a car accident in May. Aalish was friends with two of the Angels and regularly attended their Isle of Man gigs.
Commenting on the appearance Sir Norman said, ‘The Twisted Angels are very well known on the Isle of Man and their dedication to the memory of their departed friend and fan is very commendable. When they approached me about filming in the clip and how 25% of profits will be donated to Project 21, a charity I am heavily involved in, declining was never an option. We had some great laughs on the set and it was wonderful for me to be in front of the cameras again.’
Lead singer Steph stated, ‘We had been looking at doing something in Aalish’s memory since May and when we spoke to her parents they mentioned Project 21. It is a really great charity that has been set up to provide local people with a lot of opportunities and we are glad that our single LA will help with that. And such a wicked experience to get to work with Sir Norman!
- The Independant
Discography
Alter Ego - Album (released August 2005
Confessions - Album (released April 2006)
L.A - Single (released October 2005)
For Always - Single
Ellan Vannin - Single
Available at;
http://www.tunetribe.com/Artist?artist_id=4121
Photos
Bio
Twisted Angels are exactly what is needed in the current manufactured world of rock and pop. Formed by 4 schoolfriends in 2002, the band played regularly and as frequently as possible on their home island, the Isle of Man. After 3 years of hard work their album Alter Ego was signed for worldwide distribution and they undertook 3 UK tours in 2005. Received well in all venues, the girls' ability to actually play, combined with their natural love of music won over even the coldest of audiences.
The first single from the album, "LA", was actually the first song the band ever wrote when they were all very young, but this didn't stop it from entering the UK singles chart at number 17, and the UK Indie chart at 22. The video for the single featured Sir Norman Wisdom, and still gets airplay on television.
As well as a new album this year, there will also be a change in line up with laura moving to keyboards and new girl sara taking over lead guitar.
The new album "Confessions" has seen the girls mature as people and as musicians, and is pointing the girls to a heavier sound.
INTERVIEW WITH MUSIC NEWS.COM
MN: How long has the band been together?Twisted Angels: Three years- since June 2002.
MN: How did you all meet?Steph: Well I knew all the girls from the school and I used to jam with Ami and Laura in the music room there. When we realised Andrea was a drummer the band was formed.
MN: So are you all still at school now?Laura: Steph, Andrea and I have just finished our A levels and Ami has finished her art and design course at college.Andrea: We have all taken a year out to focus on the band but plan on going to Uni at some point in the future.
MN: You are all from the Isle of Man – what is the music scene like there?Andrea: It’s huge! There are so many male bands which we have competed against for years in the Battle of the Bands. The fact that we are an all girl band makes us stand out as something different.
MN: How do you feel about your upcoming album release? After success in the Isle of Man are you expecting a huge response from the rest of the UK?Ami: We’re excited and a bit nervous to see the response we’ll get from the UK. Living on the Isle of Man means you get quite an isolated audience, but we’ve had a great reaction from everyone who’s seen us and hopefully that will continue. Steph: It will be interesting to see the response as we are really well known in the Isle of Man and hitting the whole of UK with the tour and album release is great – if not a bit nerve-racking. It would be brilliant if we kick off as big as we are at home. When we released the album on IoM we outsold Coldplay and Oasis!
MN: Did you all have input into the album’s material?Andrea: We all work together. Steph and Laura work mainly on the lyrics but we all work as a team on the music.Laura: I write the lyrics and tunes to some, with the band arranging the music together. With some other songs, we might all write some lyrics and all contribute to arranging the music together.Steph: We also take into account our manager’s and close friends’ opinions because, at the end of the day, they’re the people who need to enjoy what we write.
MN: Which groups/ artists would you describe as your main influences?Steph: I have a really broad musical taste and I think that is why our songs are so different. We all listen to different types of music and take ideas from every genre to create our own music. Right now I am listening to bands like Greenday and Bad Religion as I enjoy the guitar based approach.Andrea: Greenday, HooobastanicAmi: I’m into most music really but love Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Slash from Guns’n’Roses
MN: What other cities have you played outside of the Isle of Man?Laura: Dublin, Epping and a lot of Northern UKSteph: We’ve won a few competitions which have taken us to Dublin and London and we also went on our first UK tour in February which was based in the North of England. We played in York, Stoke on Trent and Burnley and which was great and it gave us experience of playing in front of new crowds.
MN: What was the atmosphere like and how were you received in comparison to IoM?Andrea: Most places went really well – I preferred it to the Isle of Man as we are new music to these people and we went down really well.Steph: Yeah, we didn’t meet a single person who wasn’t positive about our music and that gave us a real buzz. Ami: We have actually got some new fans in The Damned – Stu West loves our sound and we have been invited to play at their punk festival in Lincolnshire in August. We are wrapped about that!
MN: When not working on the Angels how do you spend your spare time?Andrea: Was at school until a couple of weeks ago but now spending loads of time playing basketball and shopping.Laura: Relaxing as much as possible and spending time with friends and family
MN: Are you all mates outside the band?All: (in chorus): Yes, definitely.
MN: Who would you see as your ideal target audience
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