Michael Thomas Cocks (11 January 1955 – 22 December 2009) was an Australian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, most noted for his

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

and songwriting work with

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice B ...

. His original sound and style heavily influenced

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

, who recorded a cover of the Rose Tattoo song "Nice Boys". He was also a member of

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

, The Headhunters, Illustrated Men, Doomfoxx, Pete Wells Heart Attack and the Ted Mulry Gang. On 16 August 2006, 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, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA) Hall of Fame. In April 2009 Cocks was diagnosed with

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

and died from the disease on 22 December 2009. He was the fifth member of Rose Tattoo to die of cancer, he was predeceased by Dallas Royall (1991), Peter Wells (2006),

Ian Rilen Ian William Rilen (12 August 194730 October 2006) was an Australian musician. He was bass guitarist and songwriter with Rock N' Roll band Rose Tattoo, and led punk rock group X while also providing lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals. Rile ...

(2006), and Lobby Loyde (2007).

Biography

Michael Thomas "Mick" Cocks was born on 11 January 1955.

formed in 1976 in Sydney with a line-up of Leigh Johnston on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

, Tony Lake on

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

, Michael Vandersluys on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

and Peter Wells (ex- Buffalo) on slide guitar.

from Band of Light joined on bass guitar. Cocks soon joined the group and replaced Johnston on rhythm guitar. Lake and Vandersluys were substituted by former Buster Brown members

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known f ...

on vocals and

Dallas "Digger" Royall Dallas Leslie "Digger" Royall (19491991) was an Australian hard rock drummer. He was a member of Band of Talabene (1973), Buster Brown (1975) and Rose Tattoo (1976–1983). He died of an unspecified cancer in 1991 while being treated for hero ...

on drums respectively. Rose Tattoo made their public debut on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

at the rock club Chequers. The band's debut single "Bad Boy for Love" peaked at No. 19 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 enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

Singles Chart in 1977. When Rilen left the group Cocks switched to bass guitar then Chris Turner (ex-Buffalo) was brought and, in turn, was replaced by Geordie Leach (ex-Buster Brown). This line-up recorded their debut album, ''

'' which reached the top 40 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in November 1978. The group was briefly banned from appearing on Australian TV pop TV show, '' Countdown'' after Anderson kissed Cocks during their performance of "Bad Boy for Love". Early in 1981 the band's single, "Rock N' Roll Outlaw" started to chart in Europe, peaking at No. 2 in France, No. 5 in Germany and No. 60 in UK. The line up of Anderson, Cocks, Leach, Royall and Wells toured Europe from April. Three years after their debut album the band issued the follow-up album, ''Assault and Battery'' in September, which reached the top 30 in Australia. Both ''Rock N' Roll Outlaw'' and ''Assault and Battery'' peaked at No. 1 on the UK heavy metal albums chart. In 1980 Cocks was also a founding member of The Headhunters – an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

'' collection of R&B musicians – initially with Todd Hunter on bass guitar and his brother Marc on vocals (both from Dragon); John Watson on drums and Kevin Borich on lead guitar (both Kevin Borich Express). A later line-up included Cocks with Dave Tice (ex-Buffalo) on vocals and Mark Evans (ex- AC/DC, Finch) on guitar. In the mid-1990s Cocks, Evans and Tice performed as an acoustic blues trio in Sydney pubs and clubs. In late 1981, Rose Tattoo, with Cocks, returned to Australia from a tour of Europe and began work on their third album, ''Scarred for Life''. In 1982, before recording commenced, Cocks had left to join

and was replaced by Robin Riley on guitar. In 1980 Heaven was a heavy metal band formed in Sydney, they had issued a debut album, ''Twilight of Mischief''. In May 1982 Cocks replaced John Haese on guitar and the group toured the United States' West Coast supporting

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...

and Dio. They relocated to Los Angeles and recorded a second album for RCA during 1983, ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'', which spawned the single, "Rock School". In September 1983 Cocks "had been ousted from Heaven" to be replaced by Evans. In November 1984, Cocks re-joined his ex-Rose Tattoo bandmates, Rilen, Leach, Royall and Wells to form Illustrated Men – with Rilen handling lead vocals – which toured Australia. The group "played loud, barnstorming rock'n'roll in the Rose Tattoo tradition. Most of the songs in the band's repertoire had been written by Rilen". By mid-1985 Illustrated Men had disbanded. From 1990 Anderson attempted to reform Rose Tattoo with Cocks but the death of Royall in 1991 of cancer stalled the process. In 1993 Rose Tattoo reunited, with Cocks and new drummer Paul DeMarco, to support

on the Australian leg of their

Use Your Illusion Tour The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991, to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 19 ...

. However the reunion was short-lived and the band's members returned to other projects. Cocks has also been a member of Pete Wells Heart Attack (1995) and the Ted Mulry Gang. Rose Tattoo reconvened in 1998 as Cocks, Anderson, Wells, Rilen and DeMarco, and undertook an Australian tour. The following year Rilen was replaced by Leach again but Cocks left soon after. In 2003 Cocks rejoined Rose Tattoo to write tracks with Anderson which were recorded for a future album, ''Blood Brothers''. Sessions were disrupted by Wells illness and eventual death of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

on 27 March 2006, four years after his initial diagnosis. At this time Cocks was also a member of Doomfoxx. On 16 August 2006, Rose Tattoo were inducted into the

(ARIA) Hall of Fame. On 30 October 2006, Rilen died from

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

two months after his appearance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. On 21 April 2007, Lobby Loyde, briefly a bass guitarist for Rose Tattoo, died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. In April 2009 Cocks was diagnosed with

, manager Steve White stated, "Mick ... is now under the advice of the very best doctors in Sydney. Treatment plans are underway and eis in good spirits and ready for a fight". In July, a benefit concert with Rose Tattoo,

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...

and

The Screaming Jets The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle, Australia, in 1989 by frontman Dave Gleeson (vocals), Paul Woseen (bass guitar), Grant Walmsley (guitar)Richard Lara(guitar), and Brad Heaney (drums). The band has three ...

played at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney to raise money for Cocks. Mick Cocks died from liver cancer on 22 December 2009, aged 54. He was the fifth member of Rose Tattoo to die of cancer and was survived by his partner, Mary.

Discography

Albums

;

* ''

'' – (1978, Albert Productions) * ''

Assault & Battery An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

'' – (1981, Albert Productions) * ''Blood Brothers'' – (2007) ;

* ''Bent'' – (1982) * ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' – (1983) ;Doomfoxx * ''Doomfoxx'' (2005)

Singles

;

* "Bad Boy for Love" (1977) * "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw" (1978) * "One of the Boys" (1978) * "Realise Legalise" (1980) * "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" (1981) * "Out of This Place" (1981) ;

* "Rock School"(1983) ;The Headhunters: * "I Believe I'm Love"(1986)

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Mick 1955 births 2009 deaths Australian heavy metal guitarists Musicians from Sydney Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century guitarists Rose Tattoo members