Gary “Angry” Anderson was looking forward to Rose Tattoo’s final tour and the next chapter of his life when he gave what would become his last interview, only days before suffering a cardiac arrest in Germany.
The Australian rock singer was speaking to German musician and radio presenter Lotto King Karl about the band’s farewell shows when he collapsed after performing with Rose Tattoo in Cologne on August 10. The incident forced the cancellation of the remaining dates on the European tour.
Anderson died in Australia on Monday night, aged 79, surrounded by his family.
In a tribute, Lotto King Karl said Anderson had been “full of stories and excitement” about the remaining concerts, which he saw as a fitting conclusion to a career spanning five decades.
Rose Tattoo’s farewell tour, billed as “Rock’n’Roll Outlaws — One Last Ride”, was intended to mark the band’s 50th anniversary. Nine European shows were still to be played when the dates were abandoned following Anderson’s cardiac arrest.
“And that’s a good round of figure to finish up on after 50 years of the band being in existence,” Anderson told his interviewer on Rock Antenne Hamburg.
He added: “I think it’s time, it just really is time, I think,” as he discussed the band coming to an end.
The tour had taken Rose Tattoo through the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Hungary and Poland. The group had also appeared at Wacken Open Air in Germany in July, its final performance at the heavy metal festival.
Rose Tattoo remembered at Wacken
Wacken Open Air paid tribute to Anderson, describing him as a “warm-hearted, genuinely lovely bloke” and “a legend with no airs and graces”.
Rose Tattoo first played at the festival more than 25 years ago and returned repeatedly. Wacken said the band had helped shape its early “Night to Remember” performances.
When Rose Tattoo recorded their album 25 To Life at the festival, Anderson told the crowd: “We are walking on Holy Ground.”
The festival said those words had become inseparable from Wacken, where Anderson performed for the last time in July.
“Over the years, encounters turned into reunions, and reunions turned into friendship,” its tribute said.
“Whether in Wacken or on the other side of the world in Australia, Angry was more than that unmistakable voice and the tattooed, uncompromising rock’n’roller on stage.
“He was an incredibly warm and genuine person. A legend without airs. One of us.”
Lotto King Karl said Anderson’s final Wacken performance would remain with those who saw it, although nobody knew at the time that it would be his last appearance there.
“Today, we bow our heads in deep respect and sadness for this little man, who was, to us, one of the very greatest,” the festival said. “Thank you, Angry. For all the years, for all the times at Wacken, for your friendship and for the Rock’n’Roll.”
Anderson reflected on his past
The final interview also touched on Anderson’s personal history. His youngest son, Liam, died in 2018 aged 26 after being fatally assaulted by a close friend in Sydney.
Anderson later told a court he had been “condemned to a life of sadness” by his son’s death and that “when he died part of me died with him”.
Asked whether he would travel backwards or forwards in time, Anderson answered: “Back.”
He said he wanted to experience another era, explaining: “I just like to be part of a different… era of our history because I’ve read about a lot about our history and there’s certain periods which I think were rather attractive.”
Asked what advice he would give his teenage self, he replied: “Well, I would just say, I mean, obviously rock and roll, but keep an eye on your money.”
Anderson laughed when asked whether his younger self would have listened. “I would hope so, I would hope so,” he said. “My recollections of my teenage years were pretty… I was pretty reckless.”
He was also working on a comprehensive account of his life, which he said would cover his childhood, struggles with alcohol and drugs, and his “dysfunctional behavioural pattern”.
Anderson intended to bring the story up to date with Rose Tattoo’s farewell before moving into what he described as the next stage of his life.
“And now I begin the next phase of my life, whatever that may be,” he said.
Lotto King Karl said that sense of anticipation was how he would remember their conversation.
“Even though things have now turned out differently, I believe he achieved exactly that,” he wrote. “Because I spoke to a man who was still right in the middle of it all, just as he always was and just as people knew him.
“Wise without seeming old, at peace with himself and at peace with the world.”
