Angry Anderson, rock star behind Kylie Minogue's Neighbours wedding song, dies at 79

Australian rock musician Gary Anderson, known as Angry Anderson, has died at the age of 79. He fronted Rose Tattoo, one of Australia's most respected rock bands, from 1976.

Anderson's solo track "Suddenly" became a global hit after it was used to soundtrack the wedding of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan's characters, Charlene and Scott, in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. The 1988 wedding episode was watched by 20 million people in the UK alone. Anderson said Minogue had been "adamant" the song be used for the scene, and later called "Suddenly" the best song he ever wrote.

Before his death, Anderson suffered a cardiac arrest last month while on Rose Tattoo's farewell tour in Europe. He was treated in hospital before returning home to Australia, and the band cancelled nine live shows.

A joint statement from Anderson's family and Rose Tattoo described him as a "devoted father, and much-loved bandmate," adding that his loss would be deeply felt by everyone who knew and loved him in Australia and overseas.

Career

Born in Melbourne in 1947, Anderson and Rose Tattoo rose to prominence on Australia's rock scene, releasing five albums starting with their 1978 debut. After the band split nine years later, Anderson continued recording as a solo artist, releasing "Suddenly" in the summer of 1987. Largely thanks to its use in Neighbours, the song reached the top three in both the UK and Australian charts, though it was kept from number one at home by Minogue's own debut single, "Locomotion."

Rose Tattoo reunited in 1993 to support Guns N' Roses on their Australian tour, and toured again under their own name in 1998. The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1993, Anderson was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his charity work and advocacy for young people.