Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist and the longest-tenured remaining member of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known for his international hit " Suddenly" (1987). On

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

26 January 1993, Anderson was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for his role as a youth advocate. According to rock music historian

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, "over the course of a lengthy career, hegravel-throated vocalist ... has gone from attention-grabbing, rock'n'roll bad boy to all-round Australian media star." Rose Tattoo were inducted into the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2006.

Biography

Gary Stephen Anderson was born on 5 August 1947 in Melbourne, Victoria, to an Anglo-Australian father and Mauritian mother. He has a brother Rodney living in Melbourne. Anderson's nickname of "Angry Ant" developed "during his youth after his aggressive and volatile nature got the better of him." According to Anderson, his father "was a deeply troubled man... I've dealt with my rage, my pain... I was a very angry boy... When he was around he was a very explosive person." Anderson used his uncle, Ivan, as his role model: a cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking, leather jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding drummer in a swing band. Anderson grew up in suburban

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

and attended Coburg Technical School before working as a fitter and turner in a factory. Initially he wanted to be a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist, "I wanted to be like all the great blues guitar players, then I wanted to be like

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, then of course...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

." Anderson found himself in a band with three possible guitarists and " e other two were much better than me, so the only other thing we needed was a singer... ehad to sing 'Twist and Shout' without accompaniment. I just happened to be the best one at it." From 1971 to 1973, Anderson led rock group Peace Power and Purity and came to wider public notice as the lead vocalist with Buster Brown. He fronted the

and

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band from its foundation in 1973, the original line-up included Phil Rudd on drums, who left in 1974 to join

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

. In 1975, Buster Brown released an album, ''Something to Say'', on

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

before disbanding in November that year. In 1976 in Sydney, Rose Tattoo was formed by Peter Wells of the heavy metal band Buffalo. Anderson had relocated to Sydney and replaced the group's original singer Tony Lake. When their drummer Michael Vandersluys departed soon afterwards, he was replaced by Dallas Royall, who had been Rudd's replacement in Buster Brown. Their most popular single on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

Singles Chart was "Bad Boy for Love" from 1977, which peaked at No. 19. Rose Tattoo's 1981 tour of Europe included an appearance at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

, where Anderson repeatedly head butted the amp stacks until his scalp started bleeding. Anderson's debut as an actor was a minor role in '' Bullamakanka'' (1983). Later, he appeared as the character Ironbar Bassey in the film '' Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' (1985). ''Filmink'' magazine later wrote that Anderson "appeared in surprisingly few acting roles for someone with such renown as a presenter." Anderson joined as a guest vocalist with The Incredible Penguins, for a cover of " Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on

little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is the smallest species of penguin. It originates from New Zealand. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage and is also known by ...

s, which peaked at No. 10 in December 1985. In 1987, he played

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

in the musical ''Rasputin'', composed by David Tyyd, at the State Theatre in Sydney. Anderson led Rose Tattoo through five studio albums until disbanding the group in 1987, by which time he was the only member remaining from the early line-up. During 1986, as Rose Tattoo was winding down following the recording of ''Beats from a Single Drum'', Anderson joined The Party Boys for an Australian tour, but never recorded with them. By this time Anderson had established himself as an advocate on social issues and made regular appearances on the Channel Nine programs '' The Midday Show with Ray Martin'' and then '' A Current Affair'' as a human interest reporter. In 1987, Anderson had his biggest hit, when the uncharacteristic ballad " Suddenly" from the album, ''Beats from a Single Drum'', was used as the wedding theme for the ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' episode in which the popular characters Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell married. Robinson was portrayed by

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

, while Mitchell's character was portrayed by pop singer,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

, who had issued her debut single in July as a cover version of " Locomotion." "Locomotion" was at number one on the Australian charts preventing "Suddenly" from reaching the top spot. ''Beats from a Single Drum'' had been planned as Anderson's debut solo release, but had initially been billed as a Rose Tattoo album due to contractual obligations; however, after the success of "Suddenly", it was re-released in 1988 as an Angry Anderson solo album. In November 1988, the single reached number three on the UK singles chart after the episode aired there.

With the dissolution of Rose Tattoo, Anderson pressed on with his solo career, releasing the album ''Blood from Stone'' in 1990 which provided the No. 11 hit single " Bound for Glory." He performed the song during half-time at the 1991 AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and , after jumping out of a vehicle resembling the

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional land vehicle driven by the superhero Batman, used both to patrol Gotham City looking for crime and to engage in car chases or vehicular combat with the city's criminal underworld. The Batmobile is one of a suite o ...

. According to

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded on August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited is registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The newspaper's aim is said to be to "inform, edu ...

's Michael Phelan, Anderson's performance was "a teeth-gnashing, eyeballs-bleeding, nails-scratching-down-a-blackboard rendition" and rates it as the worst pre-game display in Australian sporting history. Fellow guest Robert de Castella believed Anderson struggled with Waverley Park's poor acoustics, while Anderson himself claimed that he could not hear himself over the engine noise of the "Batmobile". In 1992, Anderson acted in the Australian arena-style revival of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' as Herod. On

(26 January) 1993, Anderson was made a

with the citation, "In recognition of service to the community, particularly as a youth advocate." Also that year, Rose Tattoo reunited to support

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

on the Australian leg of their Use Your Illusion Tour, Guns N' Roses specifically requested The Tatts to support them in Australia. However, the reunion was short-lived and the band's members returned to their solo projects. From 1994, Anderson has used his contacts in the media to organise a Challenge where a particular charity's project was completed with support of community and business groups. Examples of these Challenges include constructing a playground for disabled children within 48 hours, assisting drought affected farmers with reserve feed for their stock, organising Christmas presents for socially and economically disadvantaged children, building two respite units for people living with and affected by

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and delivering artificial limbs for

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

n land mine victims. Rose Tattoo reconvened in 1998 and undertook an Australian tour. The group has continued to perform despite five Rose Tattoo former band members dying of cancer: Dallas Royall (1991), Peter Wells (2006), Ian Rilen (2006), Lobby Loyde (2007) and Mick Cocks (2009). According to rock music historian,

, "over the course of a lengthy career, hegravel-throated vocalist ... has gone from attention-grabbing, rock'n'roll bad boy to all-round Australian media star." On 16 August 2006, Rose Tattoo were inducted into the

(ARIA)

. In the early years of the 2000s, Anderson participated in and organised a string of charity events. In 2002, Anderson played with former members of The Angels at the ''Bali Relief'' concert in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, held in aid of victims of the Bali bombing. Anderson is involved in the Dunn Lewis Youth Development Foundation, which is a lasting legacy of two of the 88 Australian lives lost in the bombings. In 2003, Anderson appeared in a cameo role as the character Kris Quaid in the independent Australian feature film ''Finding Joy''. At the end of the film, he sings his hit "Suddenly." AngryAnderson2011

Anderson appeared in a guest role in the Australian movie ''Suite for Fleur'' (2011), as Silas, Fleur's father, a carpenter and furniture maker living in Byron Bay. In December, Anderson joined Doc Neeson ( The Angels), Mark Gable (The Choirboys), Buzz Bidstrup (The Angels), Phil Emmanuel and Matt Sorum (drummer for

) on-stage to celebrate the opening of a

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

. In January 2012, Anderson announced that Rose Tattoo would disband—he is a member of the National Party and is considering using his birth name, Gary, for "political expediency" when running as a candidate in the next federal election. In 2014, Anderson was featured on 7mate's successful television series '' Bogan Hunters'' as one of eight celebrity judges. Later that year, Anderson scored a role in the motion picture '' Fat Pizza vs. Housos''. The film was shown in Australian cinemas from 27 November 2014 onwards.

Political views

In July 2007, Anderson was criticised by some after espousing his views on

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

immigration to Australia when he told the Sydney ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'': On 1 March 2010, he told a Federal Parliamentary Committee into the impact of violence on youth that life experience has taught him "Aussies use their fists" when they fight and that "weapons were introduced by other cultures." In March 2011, Anderson declared he was a supporter of conservative politician

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

and his views against a tax on

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

emissions. He announced in October that year that he was joining the conservative National Party, and was interested in standing for a seat in the next Australian federal election. When asked whether his more ' leftie views' might be gagged (he supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, for example) he replied, "maintaining some sort of order and balance is about agreement, compromise, setting rules as the head of the house. I've learnt to be a part of the family. So I'm not going to say things in public that are going to embarrass the party." He was selected as the National candidate for the Division of Throsby in New South Wales under his birth name, Gary Anderson. Although he did not win, his preferences helped the Coalition net a four-percent swing in the seat. In 2012, Anderson participated in the SBS doco-reality show ''

Go Back To Where You Came From "Go back to where you came from" is a racist or xenophobic epithet which is used in many countries, and it is mainly used to target actual immigrants and falsely presumed immigrants. In contemporary United States, it is directed often at Asia ...

'', in which six Australians, each with differing opinions on Australia's asylum seeker debate, were taken on a journey to which refugees have taken to reach Australia. At the outset of the series Anderson says that "boat people" who arrive in Australia illegally should be sent back to their countries of origin: "If you come here illegally, I don't care about your story, first thing you do is you turn around and go back." Later in the series, after having met with refugees from Afghanistan who settled in Melbourne as well as visiting war-torn

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Anderson softened his stand on the subject: "Now I've been here and spoken to people, I don't want to turn away refugees, I don't want to turn away people who need to be reunited with their families. I don't want that. Who would want that? I don't want people to go on suffering needlessly, when we can give them somewhere safe to be. But I don't want them to come to Australia in boats." Again endorsed by the National Party in September 2014, this time in the New South Wales seat of Cessnock for the 2015 state election, Anderson withdrew his candidacy in February 2015, citing personal reasons. In 2016 Anderson was endorsed as an

Australian Liberty Alliance Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA), briefly known as the Yellow Vest Australia (YVA) between 2019 and 2020, was a minor right-wing to far-right political party in Australia. The party was founded by members of the Q Society of Australia, Q Soc ...

candidate for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

representing New South Wales at the 2016 federal election. The Australian Liberty Alliance is a right wing group that opposes Muslim immigration to Australia.

Personal life

In Angry Anderson's 1994 biography, ''Angry – Scarred for Life'', the author Karen Dewey describes his life as "Sexually, physically and mentally abused he broke the brutal family pattern to become a besotted, devoted father of four." Anderson described how " ere was physical and emotional violence in the family" and a family friend began sexually abusing him from the age of five. In 1982, prior to one of Rose Tattoo's European tours, Anderson met Lindy Michael. The couple's daughter, Roxanne, was born in 1983. Anderson and Michael married in January 1986 and have also had three sons, Galen, Blaine and Liam. By 2002, Anderson and Michael were divorced. Anderson is a single father and lives in the Sydney suburb of Beacon Hill. Although he does not believe in an omniscient god, he attends the Baha'i temple regularly, saying: "the spirituality I have given myself over to is the divine." Having seen cancer claim the lives of five of his Rose Tattoo bandmates (Dallas Royall, Peter Wells, Ian Rilen, Lobby Lloyde and Mick Cocks), Anderson has become an advocate for men's health. He appeared in a TV campaign promoting awareness of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. On 4 November 2018, Anderson's son Liam was killed in an attack in a park in Queenscliff, New South Wales.

Discography

Rose Tattoo

Buster Brown

Solo albums

Singles

Filmography

* '' At Last... Bullamakanka: The Motion Picture'' (1983) – Senator's Aide * '' Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' (1985) – Ironbar Bassey * ''Scuff the Sock'' (1987, TV movie) – Plasterer * ''Finding Joy'' (2002) – Kris Quaid * ''

Fat Pizza ''Fat Pizza'' is a 2003 Australian comedy film based on the ''Pizza'' television series, both of which were created, produced, written and starred in by Paul Fenech. The film's story takes place between seasons two (episode "Desert Pizza") and ...

'' (2003) – Bikie * ''

Pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

'' (2005, TV series) – Bikie Leader / Tattooist / Captain / Vietnam Vet * '' Swift and Shift Couriers'' (2008–2011, TV series) – Aaron 'Agro' Smith * ''Suite For Fleur'' (2011) * '' Housos vs. Authority'' (2012) – Angry * ''

'' (2012, TV series documentary) – Himself – Participant * ''

Housos ''Housos'' (titled ''Housos of the Housing Commission'' from seasons 1 to 2, ''Housos vs Virus: The Lockdown'' from season 3, and ''Housos: The Thong Warrior'' from season 4) is an Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech for ...

'' (2011–2013; 2020, TV series) – Angry * '' Fat Pizza vs. Housos'' (2014) – Angry * '' Bogan Hunters'' (2014, TV series) – Himself – Celebrity Judge * ''Dumb Criminals: The Movie'' (2015) – Angry * '' Fat Pizza: Back in Business'' (2019–2021, TV series) – Angry * '' Darradong Local Council'' (2023, TV series) – Patto

Awards

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Angry Anderson won one award in that time. (wins only) , - , 1995 , Angry Anderson , John Campbell Fellowship Award , , -

References

;General * * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific

External links

* *
"Rose Tattoo's Angry Anderson"
interview with Richard Fidler of

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

as an MP3 file. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Angry 1947 births Australian people of Mauritian descent Australian male television actors Australian male film actors 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors 20th-century Australian male singers 21st-century Australian male singers The Party Boys members Singers from Melbourne Members of the Order of Australia Australian heavy metal singers Living people Rose Tattoo members People from Coburg, Victoria