Michael Thomas Cocks (11 January 1955 – 22 December 2009) was an Australian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, most noted for his

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and songwriting work with

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice ...

. His original sound and style heavily influenced

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

, who recorded a cover of the Rose Tattoo song "Nice Boys". He was also a member of

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

, The Headhunters, Illustrated Men, Doomfoxx, Pete Wells Heart Attack and the

Ted Mulry Gang Martin Albert Mulry (2 September 19471 September 2001) professionally known as Ted Mulry, was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, bass player and guitarist. As a solo artist, his second single, "Falling in Love Again" (February 1971 ...

. On 16 August 2006, Rose Tattoo were inducted into the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA)

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. In April 2009 Cocks was diagnosed with

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

and died from the disease on 22 December 2009. He was the fifth member of Rose Tattoo to die of cancer, he was predeceased by

Dallas Royall Dallas Leslie "Digger" Royall (19491991) was an Australian hard rock drummer. He was a member of Band of Talabene (1973), Buster Brown (1975) and Rose Tattoo (1976–1983). He died of an unspecified cancer in 1991 while being treated for her ...

(1991), Peter Wells (2006),

Ian Rilen Ian William Rilen (12 August 194730 October 2006) was an Australian musician. He was bass guitarist and songwriter with Rock N' Roll band Rose Tattoo, and led punk rock group X while also providing lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals. Rile ...

(2006), and Lobby Loyde (2007).

Biography

Michael Thomas "Mick" Cocks was born on 11 January 1955.

formed in 1976 in Sydney with a line-up of Leigh Johnston on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, Tony Lake on

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, Michael Vandersluys on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and Peter Wells (ex- Buffalo) on

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

from Band of Light joined on bass guitar. Cocks soon joined the group and replaced Johnston on rhythm guitar. Lake and Vandersluys were substituted by former

Buster Brown Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the United States of America ...

members

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known f ...

on vocals and Dallas "Digger" Royall on drums respectively. Rose Tattoo made their public debut on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

at the rock club Chequers. The band's debut single "Bad Boy for Love" peaked at No. 19 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

Singles Chart in 1977. When Rilen left the group Cocks switched to bass guitar then Chris Turner (ex-Buffalo) was brought and, in turn, was replaced by Geordie Leach (ex-Buster Brown). This line-up recorded their debut album, ''

'' which reached the top 40 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in November 1978. The group was briefly banned from appearing on Australian TV pop TV show, ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' after Anderson kissed Cocks during their performance of "Bad Boy for Love". Early in 1981 the band's single, "Rock N' Roll Outlaw" started to chart in Europe, peaking at No. 2 in France, No. 5 in Germany and No. 60 in UK. The line up of Anderson, Cocks, Leach, Royall and Wells toured Europe from April. Three years after their debut album the band issued the follow-up album, ''Assault and Battery'' in September, which reached the top 30 in Australia. Both ''Rock N' Roll Outlaw'' and ''Assault and Battery'' peaked at No. 1 on the UK heavy metal albums chart. In 1980 Cocks was also a founding member of The Headhunters – an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

'' collection of R&B musicians – initially with

Todd Hunter Todd Stuart Hunter NOTE: Requires user to input song title, e.g. POLITICS (born 22 June 1951) is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enou ...

on bass guitar and his brother

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

on vocals (both from

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

); John Watson on drums and

Kevin Borich Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding memb ...

on lead guitar (both Kevin Borich Express). A later line-up included Cocks with Dave Tice (ex-Buffalo) on vocals and Mark Evans (ex-

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

, Finch) on guitar. In the mid-1990s Cocks, Evans and Tice performed as an acoustic blues trio in Sydney pubs and clubs. In late 1981, Rose Tattoo, with Cocks, returned to Australia from a tour of Europe and began work on their third album, ''Scarred for Life''. In 1982, before recording commenced, Cocks had left to join

and was replaced by Robin Riley on guitar. In 1980 Heaven was a heavy metal band formed in Sydney, they had issued a debut album, ''Twilight of Mischief''. In May 1982 Cocks replaced John Haese on guitar and the group toured the United States' West Coast supporting

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and Dio. They relocated to Los Angeles and recorded a second album for RCA during 1983, ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'', which spawned the single, "Rock School". In September 1983 Cocks "had been ousted from Heaven" to be replaced by Evans. In November 1984, Cocks re-joined his ex-Rose Tattoo bandmates, Rilen, Leach, Royall and Wells to form Illustrated Men – with Rilen handling lead vocals – which toured Australia. The group "played loud, barnstorming rock'n'roll in the Rose Tattoo tradition. Most of the songs in the band's repertoire had been written by Rilen". By mid-1985 Illustrated Men had disbanded. From 1990 Anderson attempted to reform Rose Tattoo with Cocks but the death of Royall in 1991 of cancer stalled the process. In 1993 Rose Tattoo reunited, with Cocks and new drummer Paul DeMarco, to support

on the Australian leg of their

Use Your Illusion Tour The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991, to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 19 ...

. However the reunion was short-lived and the band's members returned to other projects. Cocks has also been a member of Pete Wells Heart Attack (1995) and the

. Rose Tattoo reconvened in 1998 as Cocks, Anderson, Wells, Rilen and DeMarco, and undertook an Australian tour. The following year Rilen was replaced by Leach again but Cocks left soon after. In 2003 Cocks rejoined Rose Tattoo to write tracks with Anderson which were recorded for a future album, ''Blood Brothers''. Sessions were disrupted by Wells illness and eventual death of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

on 27 March 2006, four years after his initial diagnosis. At this time Cocks was also a member of Doomfoxx. On 16 August 2006, Rose Tattoo were inducted into the

(ARIA)

. On 30 October 2006, Rilen died from

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...

two months after his appearance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. On 21 April 2007, Lobby Loyde, briefly a bass guitarist for Rose Tattoo, died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. In April 2009 Cocks was diagnosed with

, manager Steve White stated, "Mick ... is now under the advice of the very best doctors in Sydney. Treatment plans are underway and eis in good spirits and ready for a fight". In July, a benefit concert with Rose Tattoo,

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorde ...

and

The Screaming Jets The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle, Australia, in 1989 by frontman Dave Gleeson (vocals), Paul Woseen (bass guitar), Grant Walmsley (guitar)Richard Lara(guitar), and Brad Heaney (drums). The band has three al ...

played at the

Enmore Theatre The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Sydney, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a photo-play theatre. I ...

in Sydney to raise money for Cocks. Mick Cocks died from liver cancer on 22 December 2009, aged 54. He was the fifth member of Rose Tattoo to die of cancer and was survived by his partner, Mary.

Discography

Albums

;

* ''

'' – (1978,

Albert Productions Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent record labels to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1963 by Ted Albert, whose ...

) * '' Assault & Battery'' – (1981, Albert Productions) * ''Blood Brothers'' – (2007) ;

* ''Bent'' – (1982) * ''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' – (1983) ;Doomfoxx * ''Doomfoxx'' (2005)

Singles

;

* "Bad Boy for Love" (1977) * "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw" (1978) * "One of the Boys" (1978) * "Realise Legalise" (1980) * "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" (1981) * "Out of This Place" (1981) ;

* "Rock School"(1983) ;The Headhunters: * "I Believe I'm Love"(1986)

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Mick 1955 births 2009 deaths Australian heavy metal guitarists Musicians from Sydney Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century guitarists Rose Tattoo members