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The band Rose Tattoo announced on September 23 that Gary “Angry” Anderson had passed away two days earlier surrounded by loved ones back home in Australia following complications from a cardiac arrest. According to a statement from the group distributed via social media, the 79-year-old was a devoted father and much-loved bandmate whose contributions to music and entertainment will leave a lasting void both in Australia and abroad. Billboard reported that Anderson suffered the heart attack in August while the band was in the midst of its 50th anniversary tour across Europe, prompting the cancellation of all remaining shows including planned performances back home.
Anderson was born Gary Stephen Anderson on August 5, 1947 in Melbourne where he developed a reputation for his intense personality during a turbulent youth that included time with a motorcycle club. The Guardian reported that he began his music career in the early 1970s with the band Buster Brown before forming Rose Tattoo in 1976 and establishing it as one of the country’s most ferocious hard rock acts. With the group he delivered a series of enduring anthems that captured the raw energy of the Australian pub scene through the late 1970s and 1980s while the band experienced multiple breakups and reunions with Anderson as its constant presence.
Rose Tattoo’s best-known tracks included “Bad Boy for Love,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw,” “Nice Boys” and “We Can’t Be Beaten,” according to ABC News which noted the singer spent 50 years in the music industry while also branching into television presenting and acting. Anderson also pursued solo work and took on the role of Ironbar Bassey in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome alongside Mel Gibson. His career extended into advocacy where he addressed social issues on programs such as A Current Affair before focusing on health campaigns.
Anderson secured his broadest international recognition with the 1986 solo ballad “Suddenly,” which the Australian Film and Sound Archive said was personally selected by Kylie Minogue to accompany the wedding of her character Charlene to Scott Robinson, played by Jason Donovan, on the soap opera Neighbours. The episode attracted more than 20 million viewers across Australia and the United Kingdom while the single climbed to number three on the UK chart and number two at home behind Minogue’s own debut release. Anderson had described the song in past interviews as his first attempt at a love ballad written for the women in his life including his daughter.
Beyond performing, Anderson built a parallel reputation as a youth advocate and later as a campaigner for men’s health after five Rose Tattoo bandmates died from cancer, a cause he supported through public awareness efforts. News.com.au reported that he received appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 in recognition of his community service focused on young people while he also engaged in political activity including an unsuccessful bid for office. These efforts reflected a shift from his earlier hard-living image to one centered on social issues and support for the vulnerable.
Tributes poured in from across the music world with Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes describing Anderson as a good man who sang with power and conviction while caring deeply for family and friends. Billboard noted that ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Marcia Hines called him one of the most kind and thoughtful figures in rock and roll while former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach hailed him as a unique talent whose like will not be seen again. The family and band statement expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support received during his hospitalization and in the days following his death while Anderson is survived by his children Galen, Roxanne and Blaine.
