In the end of 1978, Fallen Angel came out, having completed a

In the end of 1978, Fallen Angel came out, having completed a hat-trick of studio albums to feature a consistent lineup (only the second time in their career that they had done so). “Too poppy” for Mick Box’s liking (but still, “too eccentric to fit the bill of an AOR record”, according to Allmusic), it was well received at the time ( Sounds gave it 4 stars) but failed to chart. Meanwhile, the relative stability of the Lawton period belied the behind the scenes unrest having to do with Ken Hensley’s earning much more than his colleagues. “Everything he wrote, he had to use… And if you insist in using everything you end up with substandard albums”, disgruntled Box opined. The major rift, though, developed between Hensley and Lawton. As K. Blows writes, “the combination of constant friction between the two (resulting in the nearest thing to violence the group had seen) and the constant presence of Lawton’s wife on the road finally led to the vocalist getting the chop, shortly after playing the Bilzen Festival in Belgium in August 1979”.