Rose Tattoo frontman Angry Anderson dies aged 79
Australian rock singer Angry Anderson, frontman of Rose Tattoo, has died at 79 after being hospitalised with a cardiac arrest during a tour stop in Germany.
Australian musician Gary Anderson, known to the world as Angry Anderson, has died aged 79 after suffering a cardiac arrest while on tour in Germany with his band Rose Tattoo. He was hospitalised but could not be saved.
Anderson's path to rock stardom began in Melbourne, where he was first nicknamed "Mouse" for his small stature before earning the name "Angry Ant" — later shortened to Angry — after taking on much bigger opponents. Before Rose Tattoo, he fronted Buster Brown, whose drummer was future AC/DC member Phil Rudd.
From Sydney to the UK charts
Formed in Sydney in 1976, Rose Tattoo became one of Australia's toughest hard rock bands. Their self-titled 1978 debut, featuring the enduring singles "Bad Boy for Love" and "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", is regarded as a genre classic, even though the band was briefly banned from Australian television over a controversial on-stage moment. Success at home was limited, but in 1981 both the debut album and its follow-up, "Assault and Battery", topped the UK heavy metal charts.
Later career and personal loss
In 1987, Anderson released the solo power ballad "Suddenly", which became a hit after being used to soundtrack a wedding scene on the soap opera Neighbours, reaching number two on the Australian charts. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 1993, and Rose Tattoo was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.
In later years, Anderson combined charity work, television appearances and hard-right politics, standing as a candidate in Australia's 2013 federal election. His life was also marked by tragedy: several of his early Rose Tattoo bandmates died of cancer, and in 2018 his son Liam's death made national headlines. Anderson continued fronting Rose Tattoo until the end of his life.
