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| Rock City Angels, 1988 (from left): Mike Barnes, Jackie Jukes, Bobby Durango (center), Andy Panik (back) and Doug Banx. Photo: Geffen Records. |
Courtesy of their South Florida-to-Los Angeles connection to acclaimed actor Johnny Depp, many know of the Rock City Angels in passing — even though they never heard their music that, unlike their Sunset Strip contemporaries in Guns N’ Roses, L.A Guns, and Mötley Crüe, received scant-to-no radio airplay.
The band’s narrative tangles with Depp’s Hialeah-based (Miami) AOR-meets-new wave concern, the Kids. Lead by chief songwriter Bruce Wilkin, the Kids (aka Kidz, Kydz) became a crowd favorite at the since defunct Agora Ballroom while earning a second place award at the “K-102 Homegrown Rock Festival” held on October 17, 1981, by the local rock station, WCKO. That lead to Aria, a New York-based disco label wanting to break into the burgeoning new wave market, releasing the Kids’ lone 7"/45-rpm, “I Want to be Me” b/w “Time to Explain” (1982). (The Kids shared local stages with the equally popular Z-Toyz and Slyder, both which appeared on installments of The MTV Basement Tapes, as well as the pop-punky the Cichlids, which signed to T.K Records, the Miami disco-based home to K.C and the Sunshine Band.)
Encouraged by management, the Kids relocated to Los Angeles in December 1983 seeking a major label deal; however, in interviews with Wilkin and Depp over the years: upon arrival, once they saw Mötley Crüe, they knew it was all over. Brief encouragement came in the form of soundtrack producer Craig Safan tapping the band for his latest, in-production project: an early Christian Slater action picture, The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), using the B-Side, “Time to Explain,” from the Kids’ well-received single.
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Johnny Depp, on the right of the second photo on the left side, with the Kids, 2nd place winners of the WCKO-FM K-102 Homegrown Rock Festival held in Fort Lauderdale. Image: Discogs. |
Unfortunately, while the film became a middling box-office hit, the beleaguered picture’s release was nevertheless long-delayed, and the proposed film soundtrack — that propelled Pat Benatar (“Invincible”), the Divinyls (“Boys in Town”), and Billy Idol (“Rebel Yell”) up the charts — was never released; the Kids’ soundtrack placement was for naught. By then, with new wave out of favor and hair metal on the rise, the Kids became the harder-edged Six Gun Method; by that point, Johnny Depp starred in his first acting role in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), so the band split by July of that year.
The story continues: Sharing South Florida stages with the Kids was bassist Andy Panik and vocalist Bobby Durango’s punk concern, the Abusers; a stylistic change (break out the leathers and cowboy boots, natch) to a more timely glam metal sound transformed that band into the Rock City Angels.
An indie deal with Ann Boleyn’s New Renaissance Records (which released Tuff Luck’s debut album in 1987) lead to their L.A. transplanting and Geffen Records buying out their contract in 1986; courtesy of Steven Weiss, Led Zeppelin’s old attorney, the band netted a whopping $6.2 million dollars for a seven-album deal. But Johnny Depp, who then served as the band’s rhythm guitarist (for about six months), left prior to recording their Tom Zutaut-signed and produced debut album, Young Man’s Blues (1988; noted as the first two-disc debut album in Geffen Records’ release history (before Guns N’ Roses’ later, Use Your Illusion two-split album project) — for his next starring role on Fox Television’s hit series, 21 Jump Street.
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| Courtesy of Charlie Pickett's Miami music history site, Trash Fever. |
About the Flyer: Notice the Rock City Angels, as well as Tuff Luck, who were just starting out and not yet headlining. The Psycho Daises are Charlie Pickett’s band. Disorderly Conduct, hailing from Melbourne, are touring mates and friends with Amazing Grace.
The band hit the road — speaking of Led Zeppelin —opening for Jimmy Page. Then, Geffen lost interest (rumored to have “shelved” the band to keep them out of the way so Guns N’ Roses — Geffen’s other big signing — had no competition), so there was no “hit single” due to the lack of promotion and not stocking the records in stores. The band self-financed a failed tour of Japan. Then, the usual record company requests to “write hit singles,” ensued; Geffen rejected the band’s proposed sophomore effort, Last Generation (1990). A third attempt — with lead guitarist Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy and Motörhead now a member — was turned down by Geffen; dropped, the Rock City Angels disbanded in 1993. Years later, the video single, “Deep Inside My Heart,” from their lone album, found a home on the MTV Network’s VH 1 Classics channel.
The band reactivated in 2001 with a start-stop recording and touring schedule — until the 2012 death of co-founder and vocalist Bobby Durango. By 2015, ex-Kids Bruce Wilkin and Johnny Depp reunited in Alice Cooper’s supergroup concern, the Hollywood Vampires. Depp was also a member of the Butthole Surfers sidebar, P, lead by that band’s Gibby Haynes (1993–1995), as well as collaborating with Jeff Beck on his final album, 18 (2022).
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Listen to Rock City Angel's Young Man’s Blues, their New Renaissance recordings, as well as Johnny Depp's the Kids, on Over the Edge Radio You Tube.
The music memories blog, Vintage Everyday, has very rare, live and promotional photos of the Kids to enjoy.
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