60%
view 
Members
1 Male
Origin
---
Genre
Rock
Style
Rock/Pop
Mood
---
Born
1 MaleOrigin
---Genre
RockStyle
Rock/PopMood
---
Born
1947
Active
1976 to Present...
Cutout
Most Loved Tracks4 users
Angry Anderson - Suddenly4 users
Angry Anderson - Bound for Glory4 users
Angry Anderson - Born to Be Wild4 users
Angry Anderson - Wild Boys4 users
Angry Anderson - Heaven
Music Video LinksArtist Biography
Available in:
Gary Stephen Anderson was born on 5 August 1947 in Melbourne, Victoria, to an Australian father and Mauritian mother. He has a brother living in Melbourne by the name of Rodney. Anderson's nickname of "Angry Ant" developed "during his youth after his aggressive and volatile nature got the better of him." According to Anderson, his father "was a deeply troubled man... I've dealt with my rage, my pain... I was a very angry boy... When he was around he was a very explosive person." Anderson used his uncle, Ivan, as his role model, he "was a cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking, leather jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding drummer in a swing band." Anderson grew up in suburban Coburg and attended Coburg Technical School before working as a fitter and turner in a factory. Initially he wanted to be a blues guitarist, "I wanted to be like all the great blues guitar players, then I wanted to be like Bob Dylan, then of course... John Lennon." Anderson found himself in a band with three possible guitarists and "he other two were much better than me, so the only other thing we needed was a singer... had to sing 'Twist and Shout' without accompaniment. I just happened to be the best one at it."
From 1971 to 1973, Anderson led rock group Peace Power and Purity and came to wider public notice as the lead vocalist with Buster Brown. He fronted the hard rock and blues rock band from its foundation in 1973, the original line-up included Phil Rudd on drums, who left in 1974 to join AC/DC. In 1975, Buster Brown released an album, Something to Say, on Mushroom Records/Festival Records before disbanding in November that year.
In 1976 in Sydney, Rose Tattoo was formed by Peter Wells of the heavy metal band Buffalo. Anderson had relocated to Sydney and replaced the group's original singer Tony Lake. When their drummer Michael Vandersluys departed soon afterwards, he was replaced by Dallas Royall, who had been Rudd's replacement in Buster Brown. Their most popular single on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart was "Bad Boy for Love" from 1977, which peaked at No. 19. Rose Tattoo's 1981 tour of Europe included an appearance at the Reading Festival, where Anderson repeatedly head butted the amp stacks until his scalp started bleeding.
Anderson's debut as an actor was a minor role in Bullamakanka (1983). In 1985, he appeared as the character Ironbar Bassey in the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Later that year, Anderson joined as a guest vocalist with The Incredible Penguins, for a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", a charity project for research on little penguins, which peaked at No. 10 in December. In 1987, he played Lenin in the musical Rasputin, composed by David Tyyd, at the State Theatre in Sydney.
Anderson led Rose Tattoo through six studio albums until disbanding the group in 1987, by which time he was the only member remaining from the early line-up. During 1986, as Rose Tattoo was winding down following the recording of Beats from a Single Drum, Anderson joined The Party Boys for an Australian tour, but never recorded with them. By this time Anderson had established himself as an advocate on social issues and made regular appearances on the Channel Nine programs The Midday Show with Ray Martin and then A Current Affair as a human interest reporter.
In 1987, Anderson had his biggest hit, when the uncharacteristic ballad "Suddenly" from the album, Beats from a Single Drum, was used as the wedding theme for the Neighbours episode in which the popular characters Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell married. Mitchell's character was portrayed by pop singer, Kylie Minogue, who had issued her debut single in July as a cover version of "Locomotion." "Locomotion" was at number one on the Australian charts preventing "Suddenly" from reaching the top spot. Beats from a Single Drum had been planned as Anderson's debut solo release, but had initially been billed as a Rose Tattoo album due to contractual obligations; however, after the success of "Suddenly", it was re-released in 1988 as an Angry Anderson solo album. In November 1988, the single reached number three on the UK Singles Chart after the episode aired there. In 2009, in homage to this moment, the song was featured in the final episode of BBC3's comedy Gavin & Stacey, during the wedding of characters Nessa and Dave.
Wide Thumb
Clearart
Fanart
Banner
User Comments
No comments yet..
Unlocked
