MICK Cocks, founding member of rock band Rose Tattoo, was "one of a vanishing kind", Angry Anderson said in tribute today.
Anderson described his bandmate, who died yesterday in a Sydney hospital after a long battle with liver cancer, as a unique player who had a style and rhythm that was entirely his own.
The guitarist is the fourth member of the legendary band to have died from cancer in the past three years, following the deaths of Pete Wells and Ian Rilen in 2006 and guitarist Lobby Loyde in 2007.
Cocks formed Rose Tattoo with singer Anderson when the two musos moved from Melbourne to Sydney in the late 1970s.
Cocks, who co-wrote many of the band's songs, had been suffering from liver cancer for a year.
In July a benefit concert was held for him in Sydney, featuring acts such as You Am I, The Screaming Jets, The Radiators, Jimmy Barnes and members of Cold Chisel.
He's one of a vanishing kind, Anderson said. He'll be remembered as long as people play his songs. And he'll be remembered for his loving nature and a genuine lust for life.
