“I’ll do It If Bon does”
mark evans won’t be going back to ac/Dc.
In the 1970s, Rose Tattoo and AC/DC forged a strong mutual appreciation society, jamming at each other’s shows and hanging out on the Sydney rock scene.
“The two bands were almost interrelated thanks to Harry [Vanda] and George [Young], who produced us both,” says Mark Evans, AC/DC’s bassist from 1975 to ’77 and now a full-blown member of Rose Tattoo. Links were so strong that an uncredited Evans played bass on a couple of tracks on Rose Tattoo’s self-titled debut, known in Europe as Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaws.
“That’s right, I was on Bad Boy For Love and one other track,” Evans confirms. “In fact there were moves to get me into the Tatts even before Geordie [Leach] joined [in 1977]. Finally it’s happened, which is great as I’ve been very open about the fact that Rose Tattoo are my favourite rock band. I’m proud to be continuing the work that Pete Wells, Mick Cocks, ‘Digger’ and those that died began but couldn’t complete.”
Asked about commonalities between playing with the two groups, Evans grins then says: “They’re both very similar in terms of volume and intensity, but perhaps if anything Rose Tattoo are a bit more brutal, whereas AC/DC… well, I won’t call them polished, but they’re certainly less chaotic.”
According to the gossip grapevine, the supposedly reactivated AC/DC are currently in a studio in Canada and seek a bass player. Should Angus place a call to his old bandmate, nobody would blame him for boarding a plane to Vancouver.
“I love AC/DC, but even now I still hear them with Bon,” Evans says with a laugh.
“So I’ll tell you what I’d say to Angus if he called: ‘I’ll do it if Bon does it too.’”