CANCER CLAIMS ROSE TATTOO ROCKER WELLS

ROSE TATTOO guitarist and founder PETE WELLS has lost his battle with prostate cancer in a Sydney, Australia hospital. He was 59. The Australian blues rocker was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. As a member of Sydney heavy metal band BUFFALO, Wells recorded the first Australian metal album to go gold (VOLCANIC ROCK) in the 1960s and founded Rose Tattoo in the mid 1970s with iconic Aussie rocker ANGRY ANDERSON. Wells was as well known for his image - bright orange hair, tattoos and shaved eyebrows - as he was for his music. Rose Tattoo's self-titled debut album was released in 1978 and became a global hit, thanks to tracks like BAD BOY FOR LOVE. The guitarist quit the group in the early 1980s, but rejoined them for a reunion tour and album in 2000. Wells ended his life as the boss of famed Australian tattoo parlour House Of Pain. A memorial service for Wells will be held on Friday (31MAR06) in Sydney.