There have probably been more sophisticated explanations in the annals of rock music as to why a mature and experienced musician may feel that he has a vocation for rock ‘n’ roll, but here’s Pete Wells’ reply: “What else can you do in Australia but write rock songs?” he asks with amusement. “People always think everything’s so exciting over here, when in fact it’s dead boring. There are no crocodiles here, with the exception of Angry Anderson perhaps, and I’ve never run into Crocodile Dundee.”
Pete Wells is the guitarist and songwriter with Rose Tattoo, one of the hottest temptations since the invention of the electric guitar, while the above mentioned Angry Anderson is the group’s vocalist. Anderson, the band’s visual and acoustic focus thanks to his conspicuous appearance, is a real live wire. His raw, whiskey-soaked voice releases pure adrenaline, lending expression and ferocity to Rose Tatttoo’s straightforward material.
“My voice is a gift from God,” Anderson comments on his talent. “That’s nothing to do with me, I owe it to a higher power.” Together, Wells, Anderson and their colleagues, Rob Riley (guitar), Steve King (bass) and Paul DeMarco (drums), have just come up with their new studio album, entitled Pain. The record consists of almost sixty minutes of pure, undiluted joy of playing, and one of the current song titles – ‘No Mercy’ – highlights the record’s uncompromising attitude.
Rose Tattoo don’t hold back in other respects either, seeing that numbers like ‘Someone To Fuck’, ‘Hard Rockin’ Man’, ‘The Devil Does It Well’ or ‘One More Drink’ require no further comment. As Anderson roars out his down-to-earth rock prose in no uncertain terms, Rose Tattoo’s musical style is equally blunt and honest. They don’t waste any time beating about the bush but overlay pulsating rhythms with loads of steaming hot guitar riffs, while the bass generally grooves away stoically on one basic note, accompanied by slide guitars and earthy solos.
“That’s the great thing about our music: there’s no faking it, on our albums you get that authentic, pure rock ’n’ roll feel,” Pete Wells explains the prevailing direction on Pain. “That’s precisely what we’re known for and what people expect from us.” The 16 tracks on Pain were produced by Rainer Haensel at the Karo Studios in Brackel outside Hamburg, with former Victory guitarist Herman Frank (Saxon, Nostradamus, among others) in charge of the mix.
It was in 1976 when Peter Wells, erstwhile guitarist with Infamous Buffalo from Sydney, set out looking for some like-minded spirits to found an aggressive new street rock ‘n’ roll group. His conditions were that all members had to sport tattoos, short hair and dress in the same style. At that time there was a vocalist in Melbourne whose voice was reminiscent of a young Rod Stewart. Anderson met up with Wells, and the chemistry between them was dynamic from the word ‘go’. Featuring a blues rock sound which brought back memories of early Stones and Faces, Rose Tattoo performed their debut gig on New Year’s Eve 1976 and went on to sign a contract with Albert Productions, home of Australian rock acts of the tougher persuasion, like AC/DC and Angels. House producers were the legendary Harry Vanda and George Young, both of Easybeats fame.
The first Tattoo single ‘Bad Boy For Love’ was an instant radio smash, followed by an eponymously titled debut album in 1978, later rechristened Rock ’n’ Roll Outlaws. The band toured tirelessly during the first years of their career and brought out their second recording Assault And Battery in 1981. By this stage, Rose Tattoo had become something of a rock ‘n’ roll samurai: Angry frequently lost consciousness on stage or stood in front of his audience, overcome by emotions and covered in blood. “There used to be a lot of drugs and alcohol involved, but luckily that’s all behind us now. We’re much wiser. Or at least I hope so,” grins Wells.
Suitably, their third album was called Scarred For Life (1982) – a title that says more than a thousand words. After tours with Aerosmith and ZZ Top, the Rose Tattoo story ground to a temporary halt in 1983. It took another ten years before the band, on request of their faithful fans Guns N’Roses, who had recorded a cover version of the Rose Tattoo standard ‘Nice Boys’, got together again, appearing as opening act during the Gunners’ 1993 tour of Australia. During the show at Calder Park in Melbourne, Slash and Duff joined Anderson & Co. on stage for the first time.
In 1999, Rose Tattoo came to Europe at long last, performing a number of spectacular shows during tours like ‘Songs Like Hurricanes 3’, featuring Boehse Onkelz, Saxon & Danzig. This feat was repeated one year later at the Wacken Open Air 2000, where the band proved to the – in sections extremely young – festival crowd what real rock ‘n’ roll is made of. The musicians used the fantastic atmosphere generated by the almost 25,000 punters to record their live album 25 To Life at the Wacken Open Air. “We were a little nervous at first, but at the same time we felt incredibly motivated to really do our best,” Anderson recalls. “We went out on stage and said to ourselves: no matter what happens, we’re going to do the best we can. The atmosphere was really awesome.”
DISCOGRAPHY
ROSE TATTOO (1980)
ASSAULT & BATTERY (1981)
SCARRED FOR LIFE (1983)
SOUTHERN STARS (1984)
25 TO LIFE (2000)
New: PAIN (2002)
Hallo Freund von Johnnie Rook! Wir haben keine Kosten und Mühen
gescheut, auf unseren Urlaub verzichtet, Klamotten von Mama und Papa
aufgetragen und dafür ne richtig geile Platte gemacht. Zwei irre Videos
noch dazu. Wär schau, wenn du vorbei schaust und rein hörst. Danke
vielmals, die Rookies.
Hello to all, Just thought we'd stop by and say thank you ,to all the awesome bands that have sent in their material which has been aired on the show throughout the years.
We have had an exceptional response through myspace from some of the most talented underground musicians in the world . It is your contribution to our show that show people that there are still actually real musicians out there [and rap is surely not damn music, neither is that techno crap].
Undergroundsounds airs throughout Australia Thursday/Saturdays p.m.
Bands that would like their music aired on any future shows can forward their material to the address below;
Undergroundsounds Program Manager 44 Bambil St, Crestmead,Queensland. Australia.
RARE COCK SPARRER RE-ISSUES - Now In Stock!
At bloody last!! Two of the most requested and sort after albums have been given the Captain Oi treatment.
Cock Sparrers 2 LP's that were recorded for German Label Bitzcore in the 1990's have been re-issued. However, these releases go beyond our normal 're-issue' standards as they have been REMIXED so are essentially brand new albums!
GUILTY AS CHARGED 2009 was the bands comeback album. Originally released in 1994, our version comes with the ultra rare RUNAWAY EP as bonus tracks.
TWO MONKEYS 2009 was originally released in 1997. Again we have remixed and remastered it so it sounds great! With previously unreleased live tracks as a bonus.
Both CDs have brand new artwork, lyrics and unseen pictures. They have also been remastered by Tim Turan. The original CDs suffered from bad productions so even if you've have got the originals, you've just GOT to hear these versions to appreciate the songs.
Hello from the SECRET ARMY we want to inform you about our inminent tour in Germany and the issue of our new E.P. Redemption, come and check a new song in our myspace!!!!!!
RARE COCK SPARRER RE-ISSUES - Now In Stock! At bloody last!! Two of the most requested and sort after albums have been given the Captain Oi treatment.
Cock Sparrers 2 LP's that were recorded for German Label Bitzcore in the 1990's have been re-issued. However, these releases go beyond our normal 're-issue' standards as they have been REMIXED so are essentially brand new albums!
GUILTY AS CHARGED 2009 was the bands comeback album. Originally released in 1994, our version comes with the ultra rare RUNAWAY EP as bonus tracks.
TWO MONKEYS 2009 was originally released in 1997. Again we have remixed and remastered it so it sounds great! With previously unreleased live tracks as a bonus.
Both CDs have brand new artwork, lyrics and unseen pictures. They have also been remastered by Tim Turan. The original CDs suffered from bad productions so even if you've have got the originals, you've just GOT to hear these versions to appreciate the songs.
We've been helping our friends over at Cherry Red revamp their classic ANAGRAM label. A number of bands have been given the Captain Oi! treatment and some existing releases have had a complete overhaul. We've included new sleevenotes / lyrics / unseen pictures / covers of rare releases all where possible. All put together in a fantastic booklet (some releases even totalling 20 pages!!). Perhaps more importantly, they've been remastered so they sound like they SHOULD on CD for the first time. Nice and LOUD!
These are truly the DELUXE EDITIONS of these titles. The real beauty is the BONUS tracks. There's so many to make the ULTIMATE COMPLETE package, that the releases have become 2 CD sets.
Thats right! 2 CDs in 1 case but........FOR THE PRICE OF 1!
There's something here for all respectable record colletions and even if you've got the original albums / CDs you'll need to replace them with these as they've never sounded or looked as good. Plus with all the bonus tracks finally everything is in one place!
We hope you're as excited about this range as we are. If there's any other ANAGRAM title that you think needs the Captain Oi treatment, let us know.
The latest Album release is: THE SKIDS – The Absolute Game (AHOY CD 304)
Hi lads, its DONE, our first video „Black socks get you laid“ is finished! Its produced by Flint Productions Hamburg & directed by Patrick von Schuckmann (more infos in our blogs). Comment that little fucker, add it, whatever, aint nothing stopping you but air! Greetz, crank it up, Razorheads
C31 Melbourne will be airing the 1st session of Underground Sounds every Saturday at Midnight starting from the 13th of September. The Program will also be streamed on the c31 web site.
Online Now!
