Really sad news comes from Australia. Gary “Angry” Anderson, the legendary frontman of Rose Tattoo, has died at the age of 79. Anderson passed away on September 21, surrounded by his loved ones.
Angry had been the frontman of Rose Tattoo since the band was formed in 1976, and his unmistakable voice became one of the defining sounds of Australian rock’n’roll. Throughout their career, the band built their reputation on a raw mix of hard rock, blues and Australian pub rock, with songs like “Bad Boy For Love,” “Rock ’n’ Roll Outlaw,” “Nice Boys” and “We Can’t Be Beaten” becoming classics. The influence of Rose Tattoo can still be heard in many bands that came along long after them.
Whether you discovered their music through rock, punk, Oi!, or simply stumbled across it by chance, that sound is impossible to forget.
Angry Anderson remained the face of Rose Tattoo for five decades and toured Europe with the band as recently as this year. In August, he suffered a cardiac arrest during the tour and later returned to Australia for treatment.
Thank you for all those years, Angry. Rock’n’roll has lost an irreplaceable original.
Rest in peace.
