Tag Archives: Rose Tattoo

Rose Tattoo – The Albums 1981-1984 Review

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Sadly, Rose Tattoo’s singer, Gary ‘Angry’ Anderson passed away back in September 2026. Here’s a review of the band’s album compilation on Cherry Red Records I wrote for Ever Metal earlier this year.

Rose Tattoo – The Albums 1981-1984

Cherry Red Records

Release date: 20/02/2026

Review by: Alun Jones

8/10

Yes, I admit it – it’s all my fault.  Back in the late 80s, dear old Angry Anderson, erstwhile throat mangler for legendary Australian rockers Rose Tattoo, called me on the phone with a problem.  Called me on the phone, ‘cos I’m never going to Australia – world tour or not.  Snakes?  Spiders that can kill you?  No chance.  Anyway, Angry, bless him, was in a financial rut and I said I had an idea to help him out.  So I had a word and managed to get one of his songs attached to a daytime soap opera.  I mean, who would know if it was some dumb TV show in the daytime?

So the next thing you know, Scott and Charlene are getting married and Angry’s song soundtracks it.  Suddenly, he’s got a massive hit, it ruins his street cred and I’m to blame.  Made him barrel loads of dosh, though.

But yes, originally the bloke who did that song off Neighbours was Angry Anderson, vocalist of Australia’s other great Rock’n’Roll band – Rose Tattoo.  And great they were.  Simple, honest, down-to-earth blokes playing dirty Blues Rock.  They even had Vanda and Young – AC/DCs Production Masters – in their corner, creating a gutsy guitar sound sharp enough for a backpacker serial killer.

Four albums are packaged together in this release from Cherry Red Records, the self-titled debut being the best.  Starting with out-and-out classic ‘Rock’n’Roll Outlaw’, we also get the street Blues throb of ‘The Butcher and Fast Eddie’, the rowdy stomp of ‘One of the Boys’ and the slide guitar driven ‘Remedy’.  You’ll swear that Malcolm and Angus wrote the filthy riff of ‘Bad Boy for Love’, whilst we’ve also got ‘Nice Boys’, a fine tune once covered by those overblown, cock rock losers Guns’n’Roses.

Not that the other discs here aren’t up to scratch – “Assault & Battery” features more of the bawdy, boozy, brawling, slide guitar Rock with ‘Out of This Place’.  ‘All the Lessons’ and the title track have an almost Punk energy while ‘Rock’n’Roll is King’ is another vicious stomper.

“Scarred for Life” sees the quality dip a little, but the title track, ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’ and ‘Branded’ still come out punching like a mad kangaroo with a time bomb in it’s pouch.  However ‘Sydney Girls’ is less brave Reggae experiment and more “Bouncer should’ve buried it in Mrs Mangle’s garden”.  The runt of the litter is fourth album “Southern Stars” – but again the title track will get the adrenaline pumping, as will the anthemic ‘Death or Glory’, before another Reggae squib with ‘The Pirate Song’ almost sinks the ship.

As you can probably tell from the song titles, Rose Tattoo aren’t Radiohead.  And yes, many of these lyrics are very dated and misogynistic.  But if you can deal with that, and just want to party, then this is the ideal music for a pissed-up bar fight between Harold Bishop and Lou Carpenter over Madge Ramsey.  It’s the usual, to be expected level of quality that one expects from Cherry Red, including several bonus tracks and a comprehensive accompanying booklet.

Rose Tattoo’s albums are a goldmine of good time Rock’n’Roll, cast out of sheer, unrefined groove and grit.  Rock’n’Roll is King, indeed.  Anyone for a cold beer?

Check out Rose Tattoo’s website here.

This review is brought to you by Platinum Al in association with Ever Metal.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #42

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KABOOM! ZAP! POW! If you thought that was exciting, just wait till you read this latest Singles Night vinyl playlist! Yes indeed, Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub is ready to blow the roof off with another evening of 7 inch singles.

Wait, you have questions? I can explain. Singles Night involves playing through a stack of as yet unplayed 45 rpm discs, of any genre, and just going along with whatever happens. There can be anything in here, good or bad, so just go with the flow.

Pour yourself a drink and let’s get started:

  1. Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” / “Drain You”
  2. Simon & Garfunkel – “Bridge Over Troubled Water” / “Keep the Customer Satisfied”
  3. Dave Rose & His Orchestra – “The Stripper” / “Ebb Tide”
  4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Travellin’ Band” / “Who’ll Stop the Rain”
  5. The Rolling Stones – “Paint It, Black” / “Long Long While”
  6. Nirvana – “Come As You Are” / “Endless Nameless”
  7. The Troggs – “Night of the Long Grass” / “Girl in Black”
  8. Ramones – “Baby I Love You” / “High Risk Insurance”
  9. Buzzcocks – “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” / “Why Can’t I Touch It?”
  10. The Sweet – “Blockbuster!” / “Need a Lot of Lovin'”
  11. Squeeze – “Up the Junction” / “It’s So Dirty”
  12. Debbie Harry – “Backfired” / “Military Rap”
  13. Twisted Sister – “You Can’t Stop Rock’n’Roll” / “Let The Good Times Roll” / “Feel So Fine”
  14. Rose Tattoo – “Rock’n’Roll Outlaw” / “Remedy”
  15. Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew – “The Show (Edit)” / “La Di Da Di”
  16. Kerbdog – “Dummy Crusher” / “Too Much Too Young”
  17. Reef – “Weird” / “Acoustic One”
  18. Skids – “The Saints Are Coming” / “Of One Skin” / “Night and Day” / “Confusion”
  19. U2 – “The Fly” / “Alex Descends Into Hell for a Bottle of Milk/Korova”
  20. Generation X – “Valley of the Dolls” / “Shakin’ All Over”
  21. Joan Jett Interview Disc

And what a mighty fine playlist that is! A really fun night with some top quality tunes from various genres and decades. Quite a few punk rock/new wave classics throughout that list, with a generous helping of rock’n’roll and more too. Sixties classics, glam rock, Hip Hop, 90’s alternative rock – one of the best nights yet.

More Singles Nights coming soon, stay tuned!

Notes:

Two Nirvana singles were recent finds (at a very good price) – unfortunately, I didn’t pick these up back n the day. Best of all, the “Come As You Are” B-side, “Endless Nameless”, was a hidden track on some random CD versions of ‘Nevermind’ only. My original vinyl copy of that album didn’t have it, obviously, though the CD I bought later did. Now I have it on vinyl at last.

Yes, that Dave Rose track is the classic “Stripper” theme, so that makes an interesting addition to the collection…

The Reef and Generation X singles are both coloured vinyl. Meanwhile, the 21st record is an interview picture disc with Joan Jett, no music. Gotta love Joan.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot tub #34

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Here we go with another Singles Night! Just like Kool and the Gang said – no wait, that was “Ladies Night”. Totally different event altogether. Well, don’t let that be any concern for you, good reader – let’s spend an evening of musical fun and adventure anyway!

What, you may well ask, is “Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub”? If you know, feel free to skip this bit. Otherwise, I’ll explain.

Singles

In essence, I have a huge stack of 7 inch vinyl singles that I haven’t played yet. And they need to be played before I can add them to my super sophisticated filing system. So on Singles Night, I grab a bunch of these records and play ’em, A side then B side, one after the other, whilst having a wee drinkie or three.

It’s great fun. It rocks. Here’s the latest playlist:

  1. The Rezillos – “I Can’t Stand My baby” / “I Wanna Be Your Man”
  2. The Rezillos – “Top of the Pops” / “20,000 Rezillos Under the Sea”
  3. The Ruts – “Something That I Said” / “Give Youth A Chance”
  4. Sweet Dreams – “Honey Honey” / “I Surrender”
  5. The Steve Gibbons Band – “Tupelo Mississippi Flash” / “Till the Fire Burns Out”
  6. Showaddywaddy – “You Got What It Takes” / “Showboat”
  7. Goombay Dance Band – “Sol de Jamaica” / “Isla de Suenos”
  8. KC & The Sunshine Band – “That’s the Way (I Like It)” / “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong”
  9. Dollar – “Mirror Mirror” / “Radio”
  10. Siouxsie & The Banshees – “Hong Kong Garden” / “Voices”
  11. Suzi Quatro – “I Go Wild” / “I’m a Rocker”
  12. Rose Tattoo – “Rock’n’Roll is King” / “I Had You First”
  13. Deep Purple – “Black Night” / “Speed King”
  14. Elton John – “Blue Eyes” / “Hey Papa Legba”
  15. Berlin – “Take My Breath Away” / Giorgio Moroder – “Radar Radio”
  16. Motley Crue – “Primal Scream” / “Dancing on Glass”
  17. The Damned – “White Rabbit” / “Rabid (Over You)” / “Seagulls”
  18. Booker T & The MGs – “Green Onions” / “Boot Leg”
  19. Bobby Brown – “On Our Own” / “On Our Own (with Rap)”
  20. De La Soul – “Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)” / “Pile and Piles of Demo Tapes Bi-Da Miles”

And there we go, mes amis. A right old concoction and no mistake. But you know what? The odd dud in the playlist only makes the good stuff sweeter. And when you’re having fun, those duds ain’t so bad anyway.

The odd horror from the fabled car boot box of doom still lingering here, but they’re slowly dying off. Instead, a veritable feast of punk rock wonders, from the Rezillos, Ruts, Siouxsie and The Damned. That Damned track is, of course, a cover of the Jefferson Airplane song, and not one of my favourites – though the two songs on the B side are absolutely wonderful.

Plenty of other delights with Rose Tattoo and a double sided banger from Deep Purple, not to mention a Crue song I actually really like.

I hate the film Top Gun – never managed to see it all the way through – and not a huge fan of the Berlin track, but hey, it was a freebie. Likewise, that Bobby Brown song from Ghostbusters II is a huge drop in quality from the Ray Parker Jr classic. Some pop genius from KC & the Sunshine Band and Booker T keeps us on track nicely, though.

All in all, another successful night’s entertainment. Stay tuned for more soon, folks – I’ve got loads of these discs for ya and they’re itching for a spin!