Grievous Angels were a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 alternative country

Alternative country

Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...

 band, active from 1986 to 2004. The band's primary member was singer-songwriter Charlie Angus

Charlie Angus

Charles Joseph Angus MP is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, musician, and politician. Angus entered electoral politics in 2004 as the successful New Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding of Timmins—James Bay. He was the NDP parliamentary critic for Canadian Heritage from 2004 to 2007,...

, who entered electoral politics in 2004 as the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 Member of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay

Timmins—James Bay

Timmins—James Bay is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 84,001....

.

The group was originally formed in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 in 1986 by Angus, vocalist Michelle Rumball and fiddler Peter Jellard after Angus left the punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band L'Étranger

L'Étranger (band)

L'Étranger was a Canadian punk rock band in the early 1980s. Named for the novel L'Étranger by Albert Camus, the band played a politically-minded brand of punk music that drew on both Clash influences and the band members' social justice-oriented Roman Catholic faith...

. They began as a collective of street buskers

Busking

Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...

, and eventually began playing Toronto-area bars. Tim Hadley and drummer Peter Duffin joined the band in 1987. The band quickly became a popular draw at folk festivals across Canada, and released their debut album, Toute la Gang, in 1989.

They followed up with "One Job Town" in 1990, garnering national radio airplay for the singles "Gordie and My Old Man" and "Crossing the Causeway". The album was nominated for Best Roots or Traditional Album

Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group

The Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the roots and/or traditional music genres...

 at the Juno Awards of 1991

Juno Awards of 1991

The Juno Awards of 1991, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 3 March 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia at a ceremony in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Paul Shaffer was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television.This was...

, and the band was nominated for Best Country Group or Duo

Juno Award for Country Recording of the Year

The Juno Award for "Country Recording of the Year" has been awarded since 1970, as recognition each year for the best country music artist in Canada...

 at the Juno Awards of 1992

Juno Awards of 1992

The Juno Awards of 1992, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1992 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television from 9 pm Eastern.Nominations were...

.

Around this time, Angus moved to Cobalt

Cobalt, Ontario

Cobalt is a town in the district of Timiskaming, province of Ontario, Canada, with a population of 1,223 In 2001 Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a panel of judges on the TV Ontario program Studio 2, and in 2002 the area was designated a National Historic Site.-History:Silver was...

. Rumball left the band as well, and Angus took over lead vocals for 1993's Watershed.

They were named one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in Canada by Maclean's

Maclean's

Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...

in 1994. In 1995, Angus also launched HighGrader

HighGrader

HighGrader is a Canadian magazine.It was launched in 1995 by musician Charlie Angus and his wife, Brit Griffin, as a venue for journalism relating to rural lifestyle and culture in Northern Ontario....

, a magazine about Northern Ontario life and culture, and joined CBC Radio One

CBC Radio One

CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...

 as a correspondent and commentator for its Sudbury station CBCS

CBCS-FM

CBCS-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Sudbury, Ontario, broadcasting at 99.9 FM, and serves all of Northeastern Ontario through its network of relay transmitters.-History:The station was launched in 1978 on FM 99.9 MHz...

.

In 1996, Grievous Angels released Waiting for the Cage, a concept album about life in Northern Ontario mining towns which also included an interactive CD-ROM feature. The CD-ROM feature won an award from the New York Expo of Short Film and Video.

In 1999, Angus was presented the Jackie Washington Award, for his contributions to Northern Ontario's cultural life, by Sudbury's Northern Lights Festival Boréal

Northern Lights Festival Boréal

Northern Lights Festival Boréal is an annual folk festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's oldest music festival, in continuous operation since 1972...

. The band also released 22 Trailer Park that year.

In the summer of 2000, Duffin retired from the band, and Hadley accepted a gig touring with Stompin' Tom Connors

Stompin' Tom Connors

Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...

. Duffin was replaced by Dave Patterson. The band's most recent album was released in 2003. Although the band is largely on hiatus due to Angus' career in politics, they have continued to perform occasionally on stage, most recently at the 2008 Northern Lights Festival Boréal.

Discography

• Toute la Gang (1989)
• One Job Town (1990)
• Watershed (1993)
• Waiting for the Cage (1996)
• 22 Trailer Park (1999)
• Hanging Songs (2003)