Aussie hard rock combo Rose Tattoo have persisted on and off with many personnel changes for well over 30 years, and by the end of the 2000s were still making live appearances despite the deaths, often by cancer, of most of the early band's lineup. The group was formed in Sydney in 1976 by ex-Buffalo guitarist Peter Wells and -- with the additions of former Buster Brown vocalist Angry Anderson, guitarist Mick Cocks, bassist Ian Rilen, and drummer Dallas "Digger" Royal -- made its public bow on New Year's Eve at the local club Chequers, which several years earlier launched the career of AC/DC. Chiefly inspired by the Rolling Stones and the Faces, Rose Tattoo's ferocious, ear-splitting sound quickly earned a devoted following among Sydney area pubgoers, and in 1978 the group signed to Albert Productions; its debut single, "Bad Boy for Love," was written by Rilen, who left the lineup prior to the record's release. Anderson's onetime Buster Brown bassist Geordie Leach was recruited for Rose Tattoo's self-titled debut LP; after nearly three years of relentless touring, a period that saw Aussie guitar hero Lobby Loyde briefly replace Leach on bass, they issued the follow-up, Assault & Battery, in 1981.