Cherry Red [Release date : 20.02.26]

Rose Tattoo. Now, there was a band.
Still is, in fact. Fiftieth anniversary this year.
Only man left standing from the original lineup is loud and fearless vocalist, Angry Anderson.

When it all began is, to use a fast forming cliché, well documented. Dave Ling’s lines notes don’t miss a trick.

This boxset comprises the band’s first four albums:

CD1 : Rock’n’Roll Outlaw (1978) w/bonus track.
CD2 : Assault & Battery (1981) w/6 bonus.
CD3 : Scarred For Life (1982) w/3 bonus.
CD4 : Southern Stars (1983) w/3 bonus

Like so many bands, RT suffered from revolving-door-syndrome, changing its contingent so often that it spun with dizzying speed.

The band members, whatever the lineup, were already heavily tattooed before forming the group, and so they adopted the Rose Tattoo name to seal their fate as a group of “outlaws”, with a distinct, tough look, and a sound that was “totally urban, night time jungle maleness”.

A “kind of” stable line up – Angry Anderson, Pete Wells, Mick Cocks, Geordie Leach and Dallas Royall toured the debut album in 1980. Across the USA, then onto Europe, where it gained some traction, charting in several countries.

The band’s sound clearly had its roots in the blues, etching the names of Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters into hard as nails rock and metal.

The producers of the band’s recordings, ex Easybeats Harry Vanda and George Young, also produced AC/DC’s early albums.

There’s a similarity in sound that doesn’t duplicate, but lays down another layer of Australian rock’n’roll that expanded further through bands like The Angels and Cold Chisel.

The punky, tongue in cheek rock of ‘Nice Boys’ (later covered by G’N’R) on the debut features Pete Wells’ trademark slide guitar, which became a keystone of the band’s sound.

‘Rock’n’Roll Outlaw’ (album title in some countries) merged street rock with anthemic, delta blues. A blood pumping blueprint that remained timeless through this and the next 3 albums.

Assault & Battery cemented the band’s place as a leading exponent of Aussie Rock, and is cleverly augmented with 5 live tracks, proof if any were needed, that live, they burned the house down. ‘Bad Boy For Love’ is the incendiary device that ignites the fire. ‘Rock’n’Roll Is King” keeps the flame alive.

Third album, Scarred For Life, saw a lyrical narrowing of the band’s elemental hard rock, stripping the messages back to the bone. ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’, ‘Revenge’ ‘Fighting Sons’ and ‘All Hell Broke Loose’ could be a Rose Tattoo manifesto.

The fact that this gritty emotional honesty was matched by sound musicianship and memorable tunes made the band stand out even further.

This violent undercurrent running through the band’s songs came from a place deeply embedded in Autralia’s working class culture, and like AC/DC’s uncompromising hard rock, it chimed with many.

Fourth album, Southern Star was a relatively polished affair, a commercial venture. Titles like ‘Let Us Live’ ‘Freedom’s Flame’ and ‘Death Or Glory’ suggested a rage against a different target. Deeper, more personal.

It rounded out a quartet of albums that said much about the power of rock’n’ roll, and its ability to mean more than just words and a good tune. ****1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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Upcoming sessions:

February 15
March 8
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Josh Taerk - Sunday Session - 15 February 2026

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast 25 January 2026.

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Power Plays w/c 9 February 2026

EVA UNDER FIRE Murder Scene (Better Noise Music)
ARGOVIA Ebb & Flow (Presagio Records)
TELENOVA In The Name Of Your Love ()
TAILGUNNER War In Heaven (Napalm Records)
FROM ASHES TO NEW Villain (Fiction Records)
WITHIN TEMPTATION & SMASH INTO PIECES Somebody Like You (indie)
EVA UNDER FIRE Murder Scene (Better Noise Music)
ARGOVIA Ebb & Flow (Presagio Records)
TELENOVA In The Name Of Your Love ()
TAILGUNNER War In Heaven (Napalm Records)
FROM ASHES TO NEW Villain (Fiction Records)
WITHIN TEMPTATION & SMASH INTO PIECES Somebody Like You (indie)
XO SOUNDTRACK Talk About Me (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 9 February 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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