In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by Ian Peewee Wilson, founding member of The Dellttones. Peewee formed the Delltones in 1958 along with Noel Widerberg, Warren Lucas, and Brian Perkins. After being discovered by radio DJ, Bob Rodgers, the group were quickly singing backing for artists like Johnny O'Keefe. Their first single, Why, would come out in 1959 and would reach number 15 on the Sydney charts. This release made the group a part of the first wave of Australian rock and roll.

In 1962, "Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands" would bring another hit, but it also marked a sad turning point for the group when, two weeks after its release, founding member Noel Widerberg was killed in a car accident. The band would continue with Colin Loughnan taking over Noel's duties. In 1963, they would release what would become their biggest hit, "Come A Little Bit Closer". After some success during the surf craze, the band would find less success in the later '60s. However, in the 1980s, the band would make a big come back with their 1984 album Bop Til Ya Drop. 

Peewee has been with the band the entire time up until the group's last tour in 2016. He wrote about his time in the band in his 2013 autobiography Come A Little Bit Closer.

Jack phoned Peewee to discuss his early musical beginnings, the formation of the Delltones, the group's first gig, the first wave of Australian rock and roll, how the band got to record and be Johnny O'Keefe's backing band, the recording of the group's first single Why, the passing of Noel Widerberg, the group's biggest hit "Come A Little Bit Closer", TV's role in making music successful in Australia, the surf music craze of the early '60s, the impact of The Beatles, the group's 1984 come back, and his 2013 book.

 "We didn't have any machines to do that for the reverb, in our case we were using the -in Festival's case - they were using the women's toilet, we would run a line down to the ladies' toilet . . . there was a sheet of plate glass up against the wall with a microphone . . . there was a microphone and a speaker in there, and all it would do is cut through the speaker and come back through the microphone and pick up the reverb that was in the room." - Peewee on this episode of Vinyl Vibes talking about how they got reverb on "Come A Little Bit Closer" in late 1962

Episode Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins

To hear the full on-demand version of this program, go to https://www.2nurfm.com.au/shows/vinyl-vibes

The website for Vinyl Vibes. 

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