Little Angels
News
BSU lecturer returns to touring with Little Angels
Monday, 23 March, 2026Subject leader for Commercial Music, Dr Jim Dickinson is heading back out on the road for an eleven date UK national tour with his band Little Angels this Autumn.
The dates were announced on Friday 13 February and within twelve hours they had sold out Shepherds Bush Empire and demand for tickets across the tour was so high that they added a second London show, as well as extra dates in Newcastle and Cardiff. Little Angels have not released a record for thirty years and the last time they played was thirteen years ago at the iconic Download festival.
Little Angels were one the biggest UK rock acts in the late 80’s and early 90’s, scoring ten top 40 hits and their third album ‘Jam’ entered the UK charts at #1. They toured alongside the rock giants of the era, such as Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, Aerosmith and Bryan Adams.
In 1988, Little Angels broke new ground being the first band ever to play a full national UK tour of schools, dubbed the ‘Rock’n’Roll Education Tour’, where the band played secondary schools in the daytime and then a club in the same town/city in the evening.
Jim said:
“My experiences with the ‘Angels shape the way I approach music education. For a start, chasing those dreams from an early age allowed us all to have ten fantastic years living the dream, and then we all went on to build sustainable careers in the creative industries.”
In the time between the band’s prime in the late 80’s and early 90’s to now, each band member went into different parts of the creative industry, from managing other bands, to being a founder of the largest private music college in the world. For Jim though, it was about teaching and sharing his wealth of knowledge with the next generation of musicians and industry professionals.
Jim’s former students include hundreds of successful artists and music industry professionals including Ren, Elderbrook, and Emily Makis, who were all taught on the Commercial Music course at Bath Spa University, and continue to regularly perform.
Speaking on the importance of live performance, Jim states that:
“What Ren, Elderbrook and Emily have in common is they gig - building communities of ‘real fans’ through live music.
I have always taught our students that, yes, we will teach you about marketing and social media, but there is nothing more life affirming and ‘human’ than getting in a room with a bunch of people to make some noise – sharing visceral experiences together.”
He continued:
“Sections of the music industry and the artists within it are waking up to the fact that making an AI generated track and waiting for it to go viral on Tik Tok is not the best thing for your mental health, nor a way to build a sustainable industry for everyone.”
Discussing the Commercial Music course, and the impact they have on the local community, Dickinson said:
“I am so proud of the ‘go get it’ positive attitude of the students on Commercial Music. From providing the music for the BSU Christmas and Summer Balls, as well as running their own regular gigs and events in Bath, Bristol and beyond.
We are seeing a new generation of young musicians have a desire to ‘keep it real’ and yes, they can learn from the artists of the past like my band. Creating communities of ‘real’ fans, through hard work, building resilience and working towards sustainable careers in the creative industries.”
If you would like to find out more about the Commercial Music course at BSU, then more information can be found on our website.