Doc: The Life and Times of Aussie Rock Legend Doc Neeson

by Jon Bradshaw, Anne Souter

He was a legend of Australian rock, the front man who lived as hard and as wildly as he performed . . . this is his story.

Often compared to David Bowie and Mick Jagger, Doc Neeson was hailed as a 'messianic rock god'.

He was thumping, pumping, sweaty hard rock. He commanded the stage. He was unstoppable. He was terrifying. He was wild. He was a legend. And as their front man, Doc propelled the Angels to become the highest paid band in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. With massive album sales in Australia and a US record deal, global superstardom seemed assured . . . but then everything started to fall apart.

This is Doc's story with the highs, the lows, the girls, the booze, the drugs, the tours, the good deeds, the crazy antics, the dark days and the great split that shattered the Angels. When he died in 2014 from a brain tumour, a black veil came down over a generation of Australian rock fans.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music

416 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2021

Reviews

[Edgarr Alien Pooh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Angels, some would think of them as Australia's second, and less internationally successful, AC/DC. And just like AC/DC (Young, Scott, Young or Young, Johnson, Young) their songs were predominantly written by three founding members, two brothers and the lead singer, Brewster, Neeson, Brewster. There were Australian AC/DC tours that The Angels were the support act on and The Angels even signed to 'Alberts' as recording artists, a label started by AC/DC management.

But this is where the similarities end. The Angels had their own massive hits, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, We Gotta Get Outta This Place, No Secrets, Take A Long Line, Face The Day, Marseilles and Shadow Boxer to name a few. A raw Australian pub band with enigmatic Doc Neeson out front. The man who would get on stage in his waistcoat and the signature towel around his neck or belt out Face The Day in a pair of pajamas. A guttural pumping rock band that was never able to become as popular internationally as they were at home.

Anne Souter, who had a hand in writing this book, was the last woman in a relationship with Doc (real name Bernard) before his death in 2014. Like many rock biographies, this book explores the highs of a fledgling band starting out, being mentored, being sent down the wrong path, crowd and fan interactions, and then the inevitable need for space and privacy. However, very much UNLIKE the aforementioned AC/DC, The Angels fell apart due to constant line-up changes and volatile disagreements amongst the three mainstays, Rick and John Brewster and Bernard 'Doc' Neeson.

Although the three men were the real line-up for The Angels, it was frontman Doc that stole the show. The Brewster Brothers were and still are fantastic musicians but Doc's cheeky antics were similar to those of a Bon Scott-led AC/DC, forever changed now with Brian Johnson taking somewhat of a back seat to Angus Young.

So when the disagreements began, sides were taken, managements sacked, loyalties divided. The trio split and fought, regrouped and fought, and eventually arguments turned into legal stoushes. Doc kept tumbling along, trying to make new music, trying to use his old music, trying to dodge the mud thrown at him. The Brewsters did the same thing but the two sides could not co-exist. It would be The Angels or nothing. In the meantime, Doc suffered terribly after a car accident and never really regained his footing until his death on June 4th, 2014. He died of a brain tumor at the age of 67.

In some ways this was a hard book to read. Well written but really sad. In their heyday, The Angels always came across as a bunch of guys intrinsically connected who just loved to play to adoring fans. So sad was Doc's passing but I feel the actions of all involved broke his heart well before his actual death. R.I.P Bernard 'Doc' Neeson.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was one of those girls, right up the back of the venue, watching The Angels. The band mostly keeping to the shadows, statues in the dark, playing hard driving, LOUD, guitar based rock and roll. In the spotlights, at the front, more often than not, hanging from the scaffolding, dressed in all sorts of costumery / theatrical and impossibly gorgeous, was Doc Neeson. Teasing (antagonising) the audience, throwing himself around with (what turned out to be) no regard for his personal health at all. In those days, ridiculously tall, utterly mesmerising with his wild hair, wild / driven eyes, and wild wild wild singing, you never came away from an Angels gig disappointed. Mildly deaf, utterly exhausted, totally exhilarated and feeling reckless, excited, possessed, they were heady days back then. Rock and roll was in the pubs and big venues, it was loud, it was sweaty, it was vaguely pissed and it was my young years. Loved it. Loved the Angels, loved every single gig of theirs I was lucky enough to see - have left strict instructions for no funeral but the pub will be playing Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face again - NOT the ballad version.

This book was my Christmas present to me, bought as soon as I could get my hands on it, dragged to the top of the reading pile on purpose. It starts out with Jon Bradshaw's recollections of Doc's early childhood and in particular his arrival in Elizabeth South Australia, the eldest of a large Catholic tribe of kids, the boy whose education was interrupted by the need to help out with the family, the kid who came to love music, and showed quite the propensity for the business side of the industry from an early age.

Doc went on to spend time in the military, and in (of all things) a jug band, before working his way into the rock world. And you have to give all the Angels points for their work ethic which was unbelievable, as was their propensity to in fight, bitch at each other, tear themselves apart and shoot themselves in the feet on regular occasions. Followers of the Australian rock scene will know the story of the Angels, Angel City, Doc Neeson's Angels, The Angels 100% and all the other incarnations, they'll probably also know the story of the legendary break up of friendships, the chaos of broken personal relationships and the general mess that seemed to straighten itself out, only to disintegrate again.

The second part of the book is the more personal recollections of Anne Souter, Doc's partner at the end, although Doc's concept of relationships and other people's might vary a little - he was a tricky man to tie down it seems, and bloody impossible to be around if he was corralled in any way. He was also a very unwell man, a car accident left him with life-long injuries, numerous concussions and head bumps created complications, and a number of serious illnesses limited him severely - most of which weren't necessarily known about widely at the time. He was such a driven, success orientated person that these set backs badly affected him, created a world that he really struggled to navigate in at times.

Despite all of those setbacks he was always known as a hard man of rock, dangerous and daring on the stage, Doc was also the sort of man that cared for an injured lizard, befriended a possum, loved a lot of women and fathered multiple sons (one he didn't know about for years). He was loved by many, annoyed a lot (often the same people) and he was most definitely his own man. Tricky, maybe. Original, definitely. We were lucky to be young in those days, in the pub rock, mad days of dancing until silly o'clock, and then dancing in the streets afterwards. Dodging fights, and a heap of bad things that went on as well (no rose coloured glasses), we saw the beginnings of a music industry that feels like it's uniquely Australian. Loud, mad, bad, crazy and so much fun. So very very much fun and it was people like Doc that made it that way for the rest of us.


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[Joanne, drinker of tea, reader of books, servant to cats · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can categorically state that the tinnitus I suffer with in middle age was directly caused by the speakers at the many Angel's concerts I attended when I was in my teens and early twenties. Not long before we lost Doc, I got to see him one last time at the Redland Bay Hotel. Apart from both of us being a lot older, it was like travelling back in time. The music still rocked and Doc Neeson still had it.

While highly anticipated, this book played a flat note pretty much throughout.

Imagine someone picked up the full orchestration for a concerto, promised a fully symphony orchestra, but hired only the piccolo player. You get an idea of the tune, and you get a sense of how magnificent the entire piece could be, but ultimately you know you are missing out on most of it.

That was how this book read.

In this book, so much was missed or skipped. For instance, in one chapter 'there were a few problems in the marriage', and then a few chapters later we were at Doc's wedding to wife No 2, with nothing in between that covered the split and divorce.

I think I actually read this book three times because I had to keep flicking back through the book to see if I had missed something. But no.

Do I know more about the Australian music industry? Yes.
Do I know more about the tours. A bit.
Do I know more about the band infighting? Sort of. I know it happened frequently, but often the details were sketchy at best.
Do I know more about Doc Neeson the man? Not really. The final couple of chapters filled in some of the blanks left earlier in the book, but only a bit.

Written by two people, it feels as though the authors did not meet or work together during the writing. Rather than a cohesive and shared writing venture, it reads as though two separate writing exercises were mashed together. A book on the perils and pitfalls of band membership and touring, was written, and the short essay about 'my life with Doc' was tacked onto the end.

Rather than hearing just the piccolo, I would have liked the full orchestra, or at the least, a few more instruments.

[Jeff Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least the biography reminded me that the Angels were a must see back in the day.
Gave me an opportunity to add more songs to my Spotify like list.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I knew Doc Neeson from around 1971 until his death in 2014. This autobiography by Jon Bradshaw and Anne Souter is an engrossing read - funny, sad and intriguing. Doc was, and remains, a rock legend to his many fans, both in Australia and overseas. Well worth reading.

[Gioia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly recommend

[Liz Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a rock bio and this didn't disappoint!

[Jill Stephens · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last few chapters started to bring Doc to life but unfortunately the remainder of the book was very flatline with discussing his life.

[Wendy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something a bit different from my usual Scandi noir...

Disclaimer: I am an Angels Fan but only from The Angels (1977) to Night Attack (1981)!
I loved most of this book. It’s in two parts. Loved the first part, the second part, not so much.
The formative years of Bernard Neeson was fascinating reading. I’m familiar with The Easybeats growing up in Villawood along with the Young Brothers from AC/DC but this is a South Australian take with the Neeson family migrating to Elizabeth, a northern suburb of Adelaide, definitely not the paradise the Australian government pitched it as. This whole era was really interesting reading and gives nice insight into the child/teen/young man, the oldest son, Bernard, who had numerous responsibilities to his family incl. cooking meals for his father when his mother was at work, giving his parents money from odd jobs, saving up to buy a second hand guitar, as well as his entrepreneurial efforts to shake up Adelaide with rock n’ roll music... It may sound dull as dishwater but it’s not at all: it explains the kind of person Bernard was: softly spoken, innovative, obedient, polite, thoughtful, didn’t seem to want to hurt anyone’s feelings, something that, if my reading of this book is correct, carried over into his adult life. He didn’t like conflict, he wanted to please…which had major ramifications for his life in The Angels when he took on the character and public person of ‘Doc’.
There’s a lot of touring. I was aware that The Angels didn’t ‘make it’ in the US but this book gives a chronological account so that it’s clearer why they didn’t take the entire country by storm. They did enjoy extreme popularity in certain part of the US, but timing is everything and two ‘follow-up’ tours that could have cemented their place in US rock didn’t happen, one because their manager wanted them back in Oz to fulfil touring commitments (not a great decision!) and the other because of Doc’s car crash (couldn't be helped).
As a big fan, it was eye-opening to read how the band members operated, the disagreements they had, the constant tension, the choppy changes of personnel in their later years. They certainly weren’t one big happy family. Still, a lot of juicy details go by the wayside. Maybe fear of defamation? There’s references to drug use but it’s quite guarded.
Speaking of ‘guarded’, the second bit of the book written by Doc’s final partner is just that. Early on, it sounds like they are flat mates, but there’s a point where she says that their relationship was now purely platonic with no explanation of the dynamics. More sex and passion and explanation please! There’s mention of a time Doc goes to hospital and it’s found he’s had a stroke, but nothing more. I wanted to know more! I was hoping that those close to Doc would share more about his psyche and more than just random incidents.
This was the disappointing part about the book: the 'real' Bernard is still hazy due to lack of details. I was also really disappointed in the photo insert. There must be millions of photos of Doc and The Angels in action but the selection is really poor. And there’s an overload of photos post-1999 when Doc certainly wasn’t at his peak. Was there some problem with copyright? Why weren’t there many more awesome photos of Doc from the 70’s and 80’s? It’s inexplicable.
Recommended for Angels’ fans and up and coming bands who want insight into the less glamourous side of being in a rock band, the realities of touring and how fickle fame is.

[Peter Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

To many, Bernard “Doc” Neeson was a living musical and performance legend in his own lifetime. Co-founder of the rock group The Angels, he and his band mates became the highest grossing, and some would say most prolifically successful, pub and venue Australian rock band of the 1970’s/80’s, spawning a chant, NWGFFO, that continues to this day in reaction to the lyrics of one of their songs, creating a lexicon for a generation, beyond the song itself. I’m one of that generation.

So, in selecting this work, and having been a fan of The Angels in the late 70’s - mid 80’s, I knew a little of what I was likely picking up, whilst not doing so an aspect of blinded fandom. I knew he has passed, I knew some of the issues the band went through and I know that there are various members of various iterations of the band still playing today.

To the work then.

As I moved through it there was a growing sense of awareness that to this reader did not seem right. Co -written in distinct parts by a lifelong childhood friend and one of Doc’s long term partners (neither of his wives), I came to realise the source of my uneasiness. It came from not the recounting of his story, but rather from the perceptions, prose and stance of the authors. At no time did either of them have but effusive praise and open adulation for Doc and the achievements of both The Angels and of the other bands with which he was, or became, involved with.

Through all of the tumultuous times across the decades of both The Angels and in his personal life, each author penned solely commendation the actions and thoughts of Doc. Disagreements within The Angels, not Doc’s doing. Breakdowns in management and record company relationships, none of Doc’s doing. Philandering, obviously not his fault. Abandonment, lying, cheating…… anything of a possible negative context or connotation ? Either ignored or blame resided elsewhere, and after a while that sycophantic approach to diminish and belittle not only the work, but from the man himself, as none of us is without fault in our lives and to ignore this is to ignore part of who each of us is.

On balance then, this is not a balanced view of a man who brought so much joy into the lives of many through his Doc persona. It is also not a balanced view and telling of the man Bernard Neeson and who he was to those who knew, loved, lived and shared with him is journey.

Personally, I was disappointed in this, and perhaps based on the title of the work, I should not have expected a warts and all account of Bernard “Doc” Neeson, yet in a way, by the title and summary, I should have, and in that I found myself at the end not having an insight into the whole person in either his life, experiences or legacy.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the mid 80s, my first boyfriend was madly obsessed with The Angels, a band I knew virtually nothing about. He initially wooed me by calling me on the home phone and serenading me with the beautiful Be With You. As I listened, I dreamily twirled the curly cream phone cord around my fingers and swooned! I was hooked - on him and The Angels!
Sadly, that first love affair was short-lived, but not so my love for Doc Neeson and The Angels which endures to this day.
While I found Doc’s story an interesting read, and did discover a raft of new facts about him, I felt the writing often fell short of expressing anything personal. Much like Debra Harry’s memoir, there were lots of dates, names and places but little intimacy, particularly where Doc’s family was concerned. His relationships with his wives and sons and lovers were largely breezed over.
This emotional detachment was further compounded by the poor writing of the section written by Annie Souter. Here was an opportunity to provide readers with a real sense of the inner workings of Doc, but the writing was awkward and inarticulate, failing to properly reveal ‘The man behind the mask’ as it had promised to do.
With all that said, I still enjoyed reading about Doc. He was an idol of mine growing up and I will never forget the pure energy and passion of the man at every Angels concert I went to. Doc was a brilliant frontman, singer and songwriter. One of the absolute best.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doc is a biography of Bernard 'Doc' Neeson, the fabulous lead singer of Australian Rick group The Angels.
Sadly, Doc left us in June 2014 due to a brain tumour.
This book shares many highs and lows of Doc's life, from arriving in Elizabeth, Adelaide in the 1950's until his passing in 2014.
For anyone who is a fan of The Angels, rock music or the music industry, Doc is an eye opening read. Not everything is always as it seems.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on Doc Neeson's life and times. Like most rock and roll books the story of the journey to the top is more interesting than than the 'success years'. And I liked Jon Bradshaw's section of the book in preference to Anne Souter's more personal contribution. This book has got me listening to the Angels music again and there first four albums are Aussie classics.

[Mike Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for Angels / Doc fans. A little slow and repetitive at times. I guess that's what real life is like. Very informative, painting a comprehensive picture of the artist. Very interesting assessment that they had the talent to be bigger than ACDC, just went with the wrong record label in the US.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this immensely. It certainly brought back memories.

[Adam Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always found Doc an intriguing character and I learnt something about him here. When I was a teenager listening to Beyond Salvation, I always thought he was either an American or putting on a Faux transatlantic accent! I had no idea he was Irish and to this day, I often confuse the accents.

[Mark Southby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doc's early days in Adelaide were interesting but, although we got the chronography of Doc & The Angels, at times the book seemed more about the authors than Doc. And it's Mal Eastick, not Eastwick.