About
Rose Tattoo is an Australian blues/hard rock band, led by Angry Anderson and slide guitarist Peter Wells. Among their best known songs are “We Can’t Be Beaten”, “Scarred for Life” and “Bad Boy for Love” (co-written by Ian Rilen.) Their first four albums were produced by Harry Vanda and George Young who also worked with AC/DC. Along with AC/DC and The Angels, Rose Tattoo helped establish an Australian rock sound in the 1970s that was copied around the world.
History
Rose Tattoo was formed in Sydney in 1976 by ex-Buffalo bassist Peter Wells (on slide guitar); with the additions of former Buster Brown vocalist Angry Anderson, guitarist Mick Cocks, bassist Ian Rilen and drummer Dallas “Digger” Royal, the group made their public debut on New Year’s Eve at the local club Chequers, which several years earlier launched the career of AC/DC.
Chiefly inspired by The Rolling Stones and the Faces, Rose Tattoo’s hard-rocking sound quickly earned a devoted following in the Sydney area. Among the band’s fans were the members of AC/DC, who recommended them to Albert Productions; the band’s debut single “Bad Boy for Love” was written by Rilen, who left the lineup prior to the record’s release.
Bad Boy For Love (Live 1981)
Members
- Angry Anderson – Vocals
- Paul DeMarco – Drums
- Mick Cocks – Guitar
- Dai Pritchard – Slide Guitar
- Steve King – Bass
- Peter Wells – Slide Guitar
- Ian Rilen – Bass
- Dallas “Digger” Royall – Drums
- Chris Turner – Guitar
- Rob Riley – Guitar
- Geordie Leach – Bass
- Lobby Loyde – Bass
- Greg Jordan – Guitar
- John meyer – Guitar
- Scott Johnston – Drums
- Andy Cichon – Bass
- Tim Gaze – Guitar
- Pete Jenkins – Guitar
- Robert Bowron – Drums
Black Eyed Bruiser (2007)
Recordings
- Rose Tattoo – 1978
- Assault & Battery – 1981
- Scarred for Life – 1982
- Southern Stars – 1984
- Beats From A Single Drum – 1986 – Later released as an Angry Anderson solo album
- Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock N Roll – 1992 – Compilation
- 25 to Life – 2000 – Live album
- Pain – 2002
- Best of Rose Tattoo – 2005 – Compilation
- Blood Brothers – 2007
Other Resources
- Rose Tattoo website
- Remedy – Rose Tattoo site
- Rose Tattoo on Wikipedia
- The Rose Tattoo page of Our Online Store
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Hello from France,
Here on my podcast MELTINGPOD you could find fresh and new interviews and cool pics from the Tatts during their European tour 2007 (At Lyon France April 2007 and Hamburg July 2007).
Enjoy !!
Links to Angry Anderson’s interview (part 1/3) http://meltingpod.free.fr/?p=134
Links to Mick Cocks’s interview http://meltingpod.free.fr/?p=126
Links to the last pics at Hamburg :http://meltingpod.free.fr/?p=140
hi Angry and roos tatto
you are great band and the song bad boy for love is geat song
your book that you have written what is thta called please
i want know i find it a book shop so my boy friend can read it
bye vicki
I did sound for the Pete Wells band a few years back and taped one of the shows. I was thinking of transfering it to cd before it got too old and crappy. Would I be able to upload any of it or legally am I unable?? Would anyone like to hear it? Let me know and i can dig it out over the new year break and work on it.
I also have a show of the Choirboys and Black Label as I used to do their sound as well.
Jeff
Hi Jeff, first of all… copy the tape ASAP. They do deteriorate over time so the earlier you copy it the better.
As far as uploading them publicly, that’s really up to the copyright holder (usually the songwriter or publisher) to give permission. If you ask nicely and you aren’t making money out of it then you’d be surprised how many will allow it. I ran an all-Australian internet radio station for a few years and I had hundreds of acts give me permission to play thousands of songs all without royalty payments of any kind. Again, ask nicely and most folks are reasonable.
Speaking of Black Label, I’ve just updated their page to include a live gig I did with them earlier this year. Some random guy just filmed it on his phone and uploaded it to youtube. It’s a bit distorted in parts but came out great for a phone-camera. Check it out & let me know what you think of my mix!!!
Jeff, as a big Tatts fan & friend of Pete Wells, I would love a copy of the PWB show if possible – I also have a show on tape of PWB from 1997, + other items
if you could email or phone (0427 251 624) to discuss swap?
Attention Mark Gibson…
First of all you really should get your facts straight…
The Original and ONLY founding members of Rose Tattoo were:
Angry Anderson – Vocals – Founder Melbourne
Mick Cocks – Guitar – Founder Melbourne
Peter Wells – Slide Guitar
Geordie Leach – Bass
Dallas “Digger” Royall – Drums
Greg “Bear” Horrocks – Crew Chief, Production Manager, Tour Manager, Body Guard and Lighting Engineer for the majority of the Rose Tattoo period of success.
Ian Rilen was a songwriter, NOT part of Rose Tattoo.
The rest of the individual musicians you identify were/are just facsimiles of the originals with the exception of Mr rob Riley who was truly a Tatt of the first order…
David McCay
Rose Tattoo – Stage Manager & Monitor Engineer 1976 – 1978
David McCay,
Thanks for the info but 0 out of 10 for manners. Please don’t walk in here, crap on the rug, and expect to be welcome. Opinions and memories are always welcome but not rants.
This is not meant to be a listing of founding members but anyone who has been in the band. I saw the Tatt’s recently and the only member on your list was Angry. Guys like Dai Pritchard and Paul DeMarco ARE members of Rose Tattoo and would be offended that you think they don’t deserve a mention. Stop living in 1978.
People with your knowledge and experience are exactly the sort of person we normally enjoy around here. Please come back with some manners.