In 2011, Brisbane musician (and member of the group Halfway) Luke Peacock happened upon "The Loner", an album of songs written and recorded in extraordinary circumstances in 1973, by Indigenous singer/songwriter Vic Simms. A recording artist for Festival records in the late 50s when he was just 15, Simms was taken under the wing of legendary entertainer Col Joye before his life took a dramatic turn when he was incarcerated in Bathurst Gaol in the early 1970s. Refusing to disconnect from music, Simms taught himself the guitar and continued to write and sing in prison, with American label RCA hearing some of the resultant demos and recording Simms while still in prison. The album that resulted - The Loner - may have been recorded in a matter of hours in a prison kitchen, but the power of that album continues to resonate - The Age newspaper recently described it as ".Australia's great lost classic album of black protest music." In 2009 the album was added to the National Sound and Film Archive Sounds of Australia register and Simms was honoured in 2001 with a Deadly Award for his outstanding contribution to Indigenous music. On hearing the album for the first time in 2011, the impact that these songs had on Luke Peacock led the young Murri singer/songwriter on a musical, spiritual and historical journey as he formed a unique and powerful friendship with Vic Simms, a Bidjigal elder and undoubted Australian rock'n'roll treasure. In early 2013, Luke created The Painted Ladies, the "easiest group of musicians ever to assemble" with musical luminaries including appearances from members of The Medics and Busby Marou, Ed Kuepper, Paul Kelly, Russell Hopkinson (You Am I), Ian Haug (Powderfinger), John Wilsteed (The Go Betweens), Nick Barker, Bunna Lawrie (Coloured Stone), The Bamboos and many more. Simms himself sings on his first recording in 14 years, covering his own hit from The Loner, "Do The Bop".