How to set a background image on Tag?

I need to set a background image on <a> tag. for each tag i need a different image. I thought i could simply do something like this:

<ion-view view-title="Home">
    <ion-content ng-controller="HomeController">
        <div class="list">
            <a class="item" ng-repeat="product in products" href="{{product.templateUrl}}" background="{{product.img}}">
                {{product.name}}
            </a>
        </div>
    </ion-content>
</ion-view>

but ofcourse this isnt working.

How can i set a background image on <a> tag?