Australian hard-rock legend Angry Anderson has died at 79, just weeks after a frightening cardiac arrest forced Rose Tattoo to abruptly abandon its farewell tour in Europe.
Anderson, whose gravelly voice and heavily tattooed image made him one of Australia’s most recognizable rock stars, died Monday, Sept. 21, surrounded by loved ones back home in Australia, his family and Rose Tattoo announced Wednesday.
“It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Gary ‘Angry’ Anderson,” the family and band said in a joint statement.
They remembered him as a devoted father, beloved bandmate and friend whose death would be felt throughout the music and entertainment world.
His family has asked for privacy and said relatives and band members will not be giving interviews while they grieve.
The death comes during what was supposed to be a triumphant final chapter for Anderson and Rose Tattoo.
The Australian hard-rock veterans were celebrating their 50th anniversary with their “One Last Ride” farewell tour when Anderson suffered a cardiac arrest while the band was touring Germany in August.
Rose Tattoo initially canceled an Aug. 9 performance before announcing the following day that the remainder of its European tour could not continue.
Anderson was hospitalized in Germany and later returned to Australia for treatment, according to reports. The band had also been scheduled to perform a final series of Australian shows.
Five Decades of Hard Rock
Born Gary Stephen Anderson in Melbourne in 1947, Anderson helped turn Rose Tattoo into one of Australia’s most enduring hard-rock acts.
The band formed in Sydney in 1976 and developed a bruising blues-influenced sound built around tracks including “Bad Boy for Love,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw,” “Nice Boys” and “We Can’t Be Beaten.”
Rose Tattoo’s influence eventually stretched well beyond Australia, and the group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.
Anderson once described the band’s music as aggressive and uncompromising, a reputation that helped make Rose Tattoo a fixture of Australia’s rough-edged pub-rock scene.
He also found major success away from the band.
His 1980s solo song “Suddenly” became an international hit and gained an entirely different audience after being used during Scott and Charlene’s famous wedding on the Australian soap “Neighbours.”
The episode, starring Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, became one of the most famous moments in Australian television history and was watched by millions in Australia and Britain.
American movie fans may also recognize Anderson from 1985’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner.
A Tough Rocker With a Softer Side
Despite his intimidating stage image, Anderson spent decades working with charities and youth organizations.
His causes included children’s hospitals, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Canteen, Camp Quality, Make-A-Wish, drug rehabilitation programs and services for homeless young people.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for his work as a youth advocate.
That work was partly shaped by Anderson’s own difficult childhood.
He spoke publicly about growing up in a troubled home, being bullied and experiencing abuse, saying music became an outlet for the anger and alienation he felt as a young man.
Fatherhood later changed his outlook dramatically.
Anderson recalled that meeting his newborn daughter transformed him from what he described as a wild rock star into someone suddenly thinking about ordinary family life.
Son’s Brutal Death Left Him Heartbroken
Anderson endured an unimaginable family tragedy decades later.
His son Liam Anderson was killed in Sydney in 2018 during an attack involving a friend who was experiencing a drug-fueled hallucination.
Matthew Flame was ultimately found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in prison.
During proceedings over his son’s death, Anderson described the emotional devastation in stark terms, saying the killing had left him “condemned to a life of sadness.”
His Controversial Move Into Politics
Anderson’s public life also extended into Australian politics, where some of his positions attracted significant controversy.
He unsuccessfully ran for Australia’s House of Representatives as a National Party candidate in the federal election of 2013. ABC reported at the time that Anderson raised concerns about Muslim immigration and assimilation while also saying that excluding Muslims altogether would be “ridiculous.”
He later sought office again and, in 2016, ran for the Australian Senate with the Australian Liberty Alliance, a minor party that campaigned heavily on opposition to what it called the “Islamisation” of Australia.
During that campaign, Anderson supported restrictions on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.
His views had already been challenged several years earlier when he appeared on the SBS series “Go Back To Where You Came From,” which exposed participants to the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers.
After traveling to Afghanistan and meeting persecuted Hazara people, Anderson acknowledged that parts of his outlook had softened, although he continued to voice concerns about immigration policy.
Tributes Pour In
News of Anderson’s death quickly spread through the rock world.
Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach was among those paying tribute, remembering Anderson as the kind of larger-than-life rock figure unlikely to be replicated.
For Rose Tattoo, the timing makes his death especially poignant.
The band was marking its 50th year and preparing to close out five decades of music with a final series of performances when Anderson’s health crisis brought the tour to a sudden halt.
Instead, the farewell has become permanent.
Anderson leaves behind a career that stretched far beyond the hard-rock stage — from Australian pub-rock clubs and international tours to movies, television, charity work and politics.
His family’s final message to supporters was simple: respect their privacy while they mourn a father, friend and bandmate whose unmistakable presence endured for half a century.
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