1. Bernard Patrick "Doc" Neeson OAM was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician.
30 Facts About Doc Neeson
1. 2.
Doc Neeson was the front man for the hard rock band The Angels from its formation in February 1976 through to 1999.
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The band then split up and reformed in 2008 after a lengthy legal battle where Doc resumed his place as front man.
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In early December 1999, three weeks prior to his performance at the Tour of Duty - Concert for the Troops in East Timor, Doc Neeson had a car accident on the Sydney M4 motorway, which led to years of pain and rehabilitation.
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Doc Neeson died of a brain tumour on 4 June 2014, aged 67, approximately 18 months from his initial diagnosis.
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Bernard Patrick Doc Neeson was born on 4 January 1947 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
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Doc Neeson's father, Bernard James Neeson, was a British Army soldier, and his mother was Kathleen nee Corrigan.
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Doc Neeson attended boarding school at Terenure College in Dublin.
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Doc Neeson served as an education corps sergeant in New Guinea for eighteen months in the late 1960s.
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Doc Neeson subsequently attended Flinders University, completed degrees in film and drama, and intended to become a film director.
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Doc Neeson had previously been a member of The Innocents and when he joined the Brewsters they had Craig Holden on guitar, Bob Petchell on banjo, and Pete Thorpe on bass guitar, washtub, and backing vocals.
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In January 1977 Chris Bailey joined on bass guitar freeing Doc Neeson to concentrate on lead vocals and develop his stagecraft.
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Outside of his work with that group, Doc Neeson initiated The Tour of Duty - Concert for the Troops held for the InterFET forces in East Timor which took place on 21 December 1999.
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Doc Neeson performed a number of The Angels tracks and duets with John Farnham, Kylie Minogue and The Living End.
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On New Year's Eve 1999 Doc Neeson announced his departure from The Angels at the MGM Grand Darwin Millennium Concert citing his injury from a car accident earlier that month.
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Doc Neeson was interviewed, together with Angus Young, on starting their careers at pub rock venues.
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Doc Neeson recalled "[t]he stench would just hit you and the atmosphere was overwhelming, like a real energy built out of the claustrophobia" while Young related "[t]hey would be throwing beer cans and I thought 'just keep moving' and that's how it all started".
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The line-up with Doc Neeson was Jim Hilbun on bass guitar; Peter Clarke on drums; Alan Mansfield on keyboards and Peter Northcote on guitar.
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In May 2005, Doc Neeson formed Red Phoenix, and they released a self-titled album.
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In 2006, Doc Neeson was featured on a postage stamp for Australia Post as part of their "Australian Rock Posters The Stamps" collection.
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Doc Neeson was presented with two military medals in Baghdad while touring across the Middle East as part of a morale-boosting concert series for Australian troops known as 'Tour de Force.
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In 2012 the Doc Neeson band continued to perform across Australia.
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Doc Neeson admitted to being unfaithful "Regrettably, because things were going wrong between us, I started seeing other women from time to time, just flirtatious dates most of the time, but one woman that I met one night at a club after a show was Kym [Moore]".
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Doc Neeson has just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer,.
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Doc Neeson died on 4 June 2014, aged 67, from his glioblastoma multiforme.
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Doc Neeson was survived by partner Anne Souter and his three sons.
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Doc Neeson was posthumously inducted into the South Australian Music Hall Of Fame on 19 June 2015 at Northern Sound System, Elizabeth.
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Doc Neeson was celebrated during the induction of The Moonshine Jug and String Band and Chris Bailey on 2 October 2015 at The Goodwood Institute.
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Doc Neeson was awarded the Australian Service Medal by General Cosgrove for services to the troops in East Timor and the Australian Defence Medal for his service in the Royal Australian Regiment and the Royal Australian Army Education Corps.
30.
Angels lead singer Doc Neeson was presented with his Order of Australia OAM medal at Government House in Sydney, 26 January 2013.