Rose Tattoo
This legendary Australian band was formed by former Buster Brown members Angry Anderson (vocals) and Mick ‘Geordie’ Leech (bass) with Peter Wells (slide guitar/vocals), Michael Cocks (lead guitar) and Dallas ‘Digger’ Royall (drums) in Sydney in 1977. They released their classic self-titled debut (known as ROCK ‘N’ ROLL OUTLAWS outside Australia) the following year. ROSE TATTOO was an aggressive blues-rock masterpiece packed with excellent songs, and the band's electric live performances and tough tattooed image drew support from punks and rockers alike. Their European debut in 1981, supporting Rainbow, and an appearance at the Reading Festival caused quite a stir, but a poor sound on ASSAULT & BATTERY rather dulled their impact. This was despite the quality of the material, with Anderson characteristically offering political comment and true story narrative against a straightforward boogie background. SCARRED FOR LIFE, with Robin Riley replacing Cocks, had a stronger production and yet more quality songs, but the band fell apart on their first US tour with Aerosmith and Pat Travers over numerous personal problems. Anderson and Leech assembled a new line- up with Greg Jordan (slide guitar), Robert Bowron (drums) and John Meyer (guitar) for SOUTHERN STARS, but the band later split. BEATS FROM A SINGLE DRUM was released for contractual reasons under the name Rose Tattoo, but was in fact Anderson's solo debut as he expanded his horizons into film and television. However, the legend remained strong, and Rose Tattoo were persuaded to reform the original line-up (sadly without Royall, who had died in 1990) for an Australian support slot with Guns N'Roses (who had covered the group's Nice Boys on their debut EP) in 1993, plus a small tour of their own, culminating in a biker festival headline slot. Despite an average age around 45, Rose Tattoo proved that the old fire still burned brightly with dazzling performances.