One of the most striking hard rock bands of the 1970s was undoubtedly ANGEL — who sported costumes, and a highly theatrical stage show only rivaled by KISS (their then-labelmates on Casablanca Records). Despite ANGEL splitting in 1981, the group’s popularity and influence remain high, resulting in the return of their larger-then-life guitarist Punky Meadows with his first-ever solo release, “Fallen Angel”, in 2016, which was followed by the ANGEL reunion album “Risen” in 2019 and follow-up “Once Upon A Time” in 2023.
Punky has now recorded his first-ever Christmas song at Knothole Recording Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina and he is delivering it in that traditional Christmas vibe. As Punky explains, “Hey guys, want to introduce to you, my new Christmas song ‘Wrap Me Up’. This is not a rock song, it’s a standard classic Christmas song, like the Christmas songs of the ’50s and ’60s (when the best Christmas songs were written). ‘Wrap Me Up’ will put a smile on your face, make you happy, romantic, Christmassy and want to dance! Your kids, parents, and grandparents will love this song! It just makes you feel good! Merry Christmas Bay-Bee!”
There will also be a limited-edition (300 copies) CD single along with an autographed Christmas card only available directly from the Deko Entertainment webstore to celebrate this release and kick off the holiday season.
Pre-order your copy of “Wrap Me Up” while supplies last.
Bundle includes:
* One (1) Punky Meadows “Wrap Me Up” CD
* One (1) Punky Meadows “Wrap Me Up” Signed Christmas Card
Track listing:
* Wrap Me Up
* Wrap Me Up (Instrumental)
ANGEL was discovered in a nightclub by none other than Gene Simmons of KISS, a man who had (and still has) a knack for finding and nurturing talent. ANGEL was also known for their androgynous look and dressing all in white, a pure yin-yang contrast to KISS‘s own all-black clothing and elaborate stage outfits. In 1975, the glam-rockers were signed to the home label for KISS, Casablanca Records, ultimately releasing six albums (five studio, one live) uninterrupted between 1975-80 that mixed the best elements of glam, hard rock, and pure unadulterated fist-pumping melodic singalongs.
While ANGEL never quite achieved success as their labelmates KISS did, they left their mark on in-the-know rock fans of the era with tracks like the hard-driving “Rock & Rollers”, “Tower”, the perennial holiday favorite “The Winter Song”, and their key contribution to the soundtrack of the Jodie Foster-starring 1980 teen drama “Foxes”, “20th Century Foxes”. The lineup for their self-titled 1975 debut, “Angel”, consisted of guitarist Punky Meadows, bassist Mickie Jones, vocalist Frank DiMino, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria, and drummer Barry Brandt. This lineup recorded two more albums, 1976’s “Helluva Band” and 1977’s “On Earth As It Is In Heaven”, after which Jones would be replaced on bass by Felix Robinson. Two more solid studio efforts, 1978’s “White Hot” and 1979’s “Sinful”, ensued before the release of a stellar live set, 1980’s “Live Without A Net”.
ANGEL started to fall apart in the early 1980s after Casablanca pulled the plug on the group due in part to disappointing album sales. In 1981, Robinson and DiMino left to pursue other projects. Meadows and Giuffria tried to keep ANGEL going and came close to landing a record deal with CBS. But it didn’t pan out, and ANGEL finally disbanded.
In 2018, Caroline/UMe saluted the core output of ANGEL with “Angel: The Casablanca Years”. This ascendant, band-approved seven-CD box set featured the Washington, D.C.-bred glam/rock outfit’s six albums that were released on Neil Bogart‘s legendary Casablanca Records label, in addition to a seventh disc that contains mono mixes, single edits, soundtrack contributions, and other rarities. ANGEL expert Dave Reynolds contributed insightful liner notes to the box set’s included 28-page booklet, which also featured rare photos and other memorabilia.