Michael Cocks

Michael Thomas (“Mick”) Cocks was an Australian musician most noted for his guitar and songwriting work with the iconic rock band Rose Tattoo. His original sound and style heavily influenced Guns N’ Roses, who recorded a cover of the band’s song “Nice Boys”. He was also a member of Heaven, The Headhunters, Illustrated Men, Doomfoxx, Pete Wells Heart Attack and the Ted Mulry Gang. Raised in Fairfield and schooled at Parade with his younger brother Shane, Mick completed his fifth form education at Bundoora in 1971. On New Year’s eve 1976, not long after Rose Tattoo was formed in Sydney, the band, whose members included Mick on rhythm guitar and “Angry” Anderson on lead vocals, played publicly for the first time at the rock club Chequers.

In 1996, Rose Tattoo was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame. Tragically, liver cancer claimed Mick’s life at the age of 54 – just a few short months after his final concert appearance with Rose Tattoo at a benefit held in his honour at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre. On Mick’s passing, Anderson said of the man: “He’s one of a vanishing kind. He’ll be remembered as long as people play his songs, and he’ll be remembered for his loving nature and a genuine lust for life”.