In Australian rock circles, there are few shadows more towering than that of Doc Neeson, the iconic lead singer of pub heroes The Angels. Dave Gleeson knows that better than most. Vocalist for The Screaming Jets and radio host on commercial station Triple M, the 44-year-old joined the legendary Adelaide group almost two years ago on the request of founding sibling pair John and Rick Brewster. Since then the quintet have released an ARIA top ten album in the form of last year's Take It To The Streets and toured the country as part of A Day On The Green with contemporaries like the Hoodoo Gurus. But for every fan that has embarked on this next part of the journey with the present incarnation of The Angels, plenty of purists refuse to jump on board, not that Gleeson is fussed.

“They're fans who have been with The Angels through thick and thin, with hard rock obviously being their main arena. But the response has been unreal as far as the fans at the shows,” he beams. “Obviously there are some [people] out there who still won't accept that I'm the singer in the band. But there's been a lot of people who have come along and had a look and said to me, 'Mate, I haven't seen The Angels like that since 1985'. So it's huge to get compliments like that. And I don't do Facebook or Twitter or anything so I don't care what fuckwits say into space. They might as well shout at a brick fucking wall for all I care.”

Living for the now and doing what feels right has led Gleeson to this point, and although he might seem like the young upstart trying to fit in with the establish gang of heads, the wild-eyed larrikin feels an inherent connection to The Angels.

“They've been a part of my life since I was probably 14 years old and my brother used to pump [them] in our downstairs bedroom, y'know,” Gleeson remembers with fondness. “Even to the extent where they'll say, 'Do you know this song?' and they'll play the intro and suddenly I'll just go, 'Knocking at the window – is that how it goes?' It's just in my head somewhere. Having said that I do have to brush up on a few lyrics and have had to over the last couple of years and learn a lot of songs, because we choose from a pool of about forty including the [stuff] on the new album. There's still another twenty or thirty I have to learn before I get my stripes I reckon.”

No doubt that will happen over the next six months as Gleeson and The Angels – with Sam Brewster filling in for bassist Chris Bailey who, like Neeson, is currently battling cancer – hit every corner of the country, playing pubs, clubs and theatres far and wide.

“It's definitely shot a bit of life and put a bit of fire in it and everyone is feeding off each other, which is all you can ever want in a band,” Gleeson concedes. “They're inspired so it's really great to be working with guys like that and it's nice to be [here] while they have a purple patch. But the sound of The Angels is firmly ensconced in the guitars of Rick and John Brewster. It's all in their hands. I reckon they could pick up any fucking guitar, anywhere, and it would sound like The Angels. It's just inherent in them blokes.”

The Angels will be playing the following dates:

Friday 22 February - Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill NSW
Saturday 23 February - The Cube, Campbelltown NSW
Friday 8 March - The Auditorium at Vikings, Canberra ACT
Saturday 9 March - The Palms at Crown, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 14 March - The Basement Bar, Acacia Ridge Hotel, Acacia Ridge QLD
Friday 15 March - Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 16 March - Southport RSL, Gold Coast QLD
Thursday 21, Friday 22  & Saturday 23 March - Annandale Hotel, Sydney NSW
Thursday 4 April - Bunbury Entertainment Centre, Bunbury WA
Friday 5 April - Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Mandurah WA
Saturday 6 April - Astor Theatre, Perth WA
Friday 12 April - Bankstown Sports Club, Bankstown NSW
Friday 19 April - Mittagong RSL, Mittagong NSW
Saturday 20 April - Dee Why RSL, Dee Why NSW
Friday 3 May - Capitol Theatre, Tamworth NSW
Saturday 4 May - Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macquarie NSW
Friday 10 May - Laycock St Theatre, Gosford NSW
Saturday 11 May - Cessnock Community Performing Arts Centre, Cessnock NSW
Friday 17 May - Ballina RSL, Ballina NSW
Saturday 18 May - Sawtell RSL, Sawtell NSW
Friday 24 May - Montreal Theatre, Tumut NSW
Saturday 25 May - Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong NSW
Friday 31 May - The Capital, Bendigo VIC
Saturday 1 June - The Regent Theatre, Ballarat VIC
Friday 7 June - Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Nowra NSW
Saturday 8 June - Civic Theatre, Wagga Wagga NSW
Friday 14 June - Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool VIC
Friday 21 June - Westside Performing Arts Centre, Echuca VIC
Saturday 22 June - Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Wangaratta VIC
Friday 28 June - West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warrgul VIC
Saturday 29 June - Frankston Performing Arts Centre, Frankston VIC
Thursday 4 July - Middleback Theatre, Whyalla SA
Friday 5 July - Keith Mitchell Theatre, Port Pirie SA
Saturday 6 July - Chaffey Theatre, Renmark SA