Pete Wells R.I.P.

Rose Tattoo guitarist Pete Wells passed away today.

Rose Tattoo only toured the U.S. once, supporting Aerosmith and Pat Travers in 1983, but they never made it to the West Coast. The band's lineup disintegrated during the tour and 3/5 of the band quit. When the Aerosmith / Travers tour rolled into the Bay Area they weren't on the bill and the godawful Black 'N Blue opened the show instead.

The following was posted on the Rose Tattoo web site by a guy who was one of the few who saw them in '83:

"Me and three of my mates saw Rose Tattoo live at a club called Headliners in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They were supporting Pat Travers. Obviously, the crowd was there to see Travers, cuz when the boys took the stage no one had a clue who these ugly Aussies were except us. When the band took the stage we rushed it and went crazy, and after numerous efforts of the bouncers trying to get us to sit down, they couldn't control us. The coolest thing was when Angry pointed to us and said "I'd like to dedicate this next song to you, you, you and you." And they broke into 'One Of The Boys'. After the band was done, we told Pat Travers to fuck-off, tore down the Scarred For Life promo posters and split. My only regret was not sticking around and having a drink with the band. Rose Tattoo was the baddest, toughest, kickass, rock-n-roll band that ever lived."

Although Rose Tattoo did get back together off and on in various incarnations over the years, they never made it to the States again.

Rose Tattoo are one of those bands who still have a mythic quality for me, and I know several people reading this feel the same way about 'em. They coulda / shoulda been as big as AC/DC.. Now I have to find my bootleg cassette of their legendary performance from the 1981 Reading Festival.

"Nice boys don't play Rock 'N Roll... I'm not a nice boy.."

Click HERE for the interview The Rock & Roll Geek Show did with Wells in 2005 (MP3 format).

R.I.P. Pete.

(From the Umlaut Attic)

Bring It On Down

I love this! From NME:

Oasis cause uproar in Glasgow
Song dedicated to footballer upsets some fans

Oasis caused uproar in Glasgow last night (December 15) when they dedicated a song to Irish football legend Roy Keane, who has just signed for Celtic.

Frontman Liam Gallagher dedicated 'Bring It Down' to the footballer, who has just left Manchester United.

The dedication sparked jeers from the Rangers fans in the audience, with reports of some throwing plastic beer glasses.

Liam reportedly responded by saying: "You can take it, you're grown up, aren't you?"

Both Noel and Liam Gallagher are Manchester City fans. But both Noel and Liam have both expressed a soft spot for Celtic in the past.

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Umlaut has bootleg video of a 1978 AC/DC show in Glasgow on the night the Glasgow Rangers won the Scottish League Championship (of course Bon Scott was Scottish). For the encore the entire band comes onstage wearing Rangers kits.



Bon says "That's for The Champions!" as Angus kicks a soccer ball into the audience. Then they play 'Fling Thing' (b-side of the 1976 'Jailbreak' single) before launching into 'Rocker'. FOOKIN' GLEAT!

[DUH! The footage of 'Fling Thing' > 'Rocker' is on the Family Jewels DVD... but there are bootlegs out there of the complete show.]

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ADDENDUM

Tour Manager Doug (TMD) is down in Australia wrapping up the mammoth Green Day American Idiot Tour. At practically the same time Umlaut was posting the above AC/DC content, TMD was sending me this item.. THE ROCK GODZ KNOW!!

Submitted by TMD:

Our Australian production manager used to work for Rose Tattoo. I'm always trying to get the Aussie promoter reps to tell me stories about The Angels, Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, and to aim me at other cool Aussie Rock bands. He told me last Spring that if we came back this year he had a Rose Tattoo shirt he would give me. I expected a beat up, well worn shirt not a fantastic condition zipper sweat jacket THAT FITS.

I told him that I didn't know if I could accept the gift. He said "You're a fan right?" I said yes. He said "You keep the hoodie, I've still got the memories that came with it".

The only thing cooler than my new jacket is Howard Freeman, the guy who gave it to me.

I feel like sleeping in it. Christmas came 9 days early for TMD.

And I found The Angels Night Attack album on CD today. Most of their CDs are out of print, so they're really hard to find. I've only got 5 of the 14 I want on CD.

The Geeks shall inherit the Earth! Umlaut has, and always will, live vicariously through TMD's Rock 'N Roll Lifestyle.

If you don't know Rose Tattoo you're NOT Rock. They coulda / shoulda been as big as AC/DC..


"Scarred for life... My reputation it cuts like a knife.."