ANGEL CITY - Doc Neeson's Quiet Return Page 5
by Martin Popoff

"Well, yes there was baggage," muses Doc tentatively. "I should think it's the kind of baggage that a relationship of 20 years or more builds up. We were in each other's pockets for ages and ages. I had the feeling that we were all, in our own personal growth, moving in different directions, but we were staying together for the sake of the band. And probably, in a more basic way, the band was bringing us all an income and we all had food to put on the table. And things were happening internally. We had grown a bit irritated by some of the behavioral ways of each of us - we were all bugging each other. There was a bit of a feeling that (laughs)... we're all in this spaceship together, so we can't really afford to have a big bust-up. But when the bust-up came, which was the accident, that was a bit of a relief valve for everyone."

"But they were pretty resentful, it seems to me, that I was no longer available to sing in the band. I'd been told by my doctor, if I continued to perform, I would end up in a wheelchair. I had bad whiplash and nerve damage to my back and the like. So it seemed to me they were more resentful because the goose couldn't lay the golden egg anymore. And I felt very disappointed by that. You know, I think, we had all at one stage been as close as brothers. But then with time, and maybe the frustration and the lack of success in North America - even though we were a very successful band here in Australia - that kind of lack of world success, maybe with some of the guys, that got put back on me when I couldn't be the lead singer anymore. What do you call it when someone gets the blame for a situation? Fall guy - I was the fall guy. Now, I'm being told by my doctor, if I don't stop now, and he actually said, 'Consider yourself retired.' It was a huge shock to me. And they were saying to me, 'Get your act together and get back on the road with us.' And there's very little support in that. But to them, it meant that I wasn't there to help generate the income. And I'm thinking, 'Gee, I thought you guys would be a lot more supportive than you are.' And a few other things came out after that, and I just now feel... I respect them as musicians, but I don't really want to spend time around them. I'll leave it at that. I just think that... I don't like their energy."

Fair enough, but is the voice strong?

"Oh yeah, it's good. I've had lots of compliments about, you know, 'Oh, Doc you've still got it,' that kind of rave. Which is... I'm not going out looking for pats on the back, but on the other hand, it's encouraging that people are still excited by what I have to offer. I'm very excited by future prospects now. I've got a lot on, and there's a lot of support in Australia for me. You know, the doctor is back in the house (laughs)."

See www.liberation.com.au for more, although at press time, there's nothing up there yet about Doc's contribution to the series.