Angry Anderson. You might not think that lovely bloke would be the best adjective to describe someone so named, but by now most of Australia knows Angry better for his charity work than as the ringleader of those bad boys of rock and roll, Rose Tattoo. While his on-stage persona is larger than life, when you catch him in a reflective moment with a cup of tea (his new addiction) on a Tuesday morning, a lovely bloke he certainly is quietly spoken, thoughtful, funny, and certainly not lacking in a story or two to tell. Kids, hes your rock n roll uncle.
The Tatts are touring Australia this month withZZ Top. The bearded Texans are the veterans of this lineup, with 42 years under their belts compared to the Tatts measly 35 years, so thats the point where this conversation begins.
Compared to the guys in ZZ Top, youre just a young whipper snapper. Pretty much! The first time we toured with The Top was through Europe and they had just released an album after a few years off, as we had. That was in the early `80s. The story goes they were given a bunch of albums and photographs of bands that were happening at the time we were in those days considered to be quite a unique looking and sounding band. They were looking for an act to take the middle slot that they could see was going to add to the bill.
Luckily they picked us, and we enjoyed the delights of discovering, if you like, the excesses that touring on that scale had to offer. So they were very much in a mentoring role. Then a year or two later we toured America extensively with them, and because of our successful tour through Europe and possibly the fact that wed become firm and fast pals, they were only too happy to have us back. In America the mentoring role with the young whipper-snappers took on a very paternal attitude they were on their home turf, they were very much on a high at that time and they showed us the uh, let me put it this way, delicately as I might: they showed us the sights and sounds and sensations that touring in America had to offer. We were like the country bumpkin cousins from way down under.
Rumours abound that youre intending to retire Rose Tattoo after this 35th year; is that true? When you say retire theres almost a finality to that. I mean, it would be silly in this day and age to turn around and say were going to quit. Unless it was a stunt. Were finishing up and then a year or two down the track when we run out of money we come back.
Its been referred to in recent years I believe as the Farnham Syndrome. Were not doing an album this year because it just didnt happen. Throughout our career weve not been prolific with albums, we dont churn albums out, we do one every now and again when it suits us. Were not real big on the studio. The tedium of sitting around for hours on end, that really doesnt interest us and we get bored very quickly.
So having said that, we have every intention of doing an album next year and it will be the last album we do, only because I dont think that theres too much more that we can, need or will want to say. All of us have side projects. Im moving back into having a go about being a solo artist write, and record in my own right music which is not as belligerently ballistic as Rose Tattoo.
Its not like were going to pull the plug. We still enjoy playing the music that we have created over the years, and we enjoy one anothers company. Well tour America this year for a few weeks, mainly to say thanks very much for the support over all these years in our absence. Its funny, when we were first there we made a bit of a stir but the support has grown over the years and we havent toured over there since 83. Hopefully the myth and the legend is not bigger than the reality.
Next year well be doing a major tour of Europe and that wont be our farewell tour, but it will be the end of that level [of touring]. In years to come well go back and do three or four weeks as opposed to eight or ten weeks on the road, and just do the major festivals. The band is still regarded and I dont know how long that can last but were still regarded as a viable live act. These days you have to provide a show as well as play great.
According to the promoters over there and the fans, which is the real test. I mean if you go out and you stink, theyre not going to keep coming back and they wont demand to see you year after year after year. Weve been lucky with that, that weve been able to hold our own as it were, not only with the acts that have revived from our era Status Quo, Deep Purple, people like that but also we pretty much hold our own with the younger bands as well. Which has got to do with attitude. One of the things Ive always known about rock and roll is that its about attitude, you got to have the right attitude to carry it off.
