Punky Meadows

Punky Meadows emerged out of the Washington, D.C. rock scene in the mid-'70s as the founding guitarist of hard rock/glam band Angel. Born Edwin Lionel Meadows, he began his music career early, forming first the Intruders, then the Cherry People in the mid-'60s while still in high school. Inspired by bands of the British Invasion and, later on, psychedelic pop, the Cherry People struck a deal with MGM-distributed Heritage Records, for whom they released one LP and a handful of singles between 1968 and 1972. Now in his early twenties and with some touring experience under his belt, Meadows and bassist Mickie Jones joined hard rock outfit BUX (formerly Daddy Warbux), for whom they recorded a lone LP for Capitol. When BUX split in 1974, the album was shelved and both Meadows and Jones decided to pool their efforts one more time, forming Angel the following year. Adopting a glammy, white-clad stage getup meant to contrast that of black-clad labelmates Kiss, Angel enjoyed a moderately successful run during the late '70s. The proggy, Queen-like leanings of their first record eventually gave way to increasingly more pop-oriented fare, and while they never scored a major hit, they became somewhat of a cult band. Meadows' signature glam rock pout inspired the 1977 Frank Zappa song "Punky's Whips." Instead of taking offense, Meadows was flattered and eventually joined Zappa on-stage for a gig. After five studio albums and one live LP, Angel disbanded in 1980, after which Meadows retired from the music industry. In 2016, after 35 years away from the business, he returned with his first ever solo album. Titled Fallen Angel, the album featured a diverse set of 15 hard rock songs co-written with friend and guitarist Danny Farrow.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo