William Victor Simms (29 January 1946 – 8 February 2025), known as Vic Simms, Vicki Simms and Uncle Vic, was an Australian singer who was from

La Perouse, New South Wales La Perouse is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb of La Perouse is located about southeast of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick. The La Perouse peninsula ...

, and was a

Bidjigal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

man.
"Once in a Lifetime" the story of Vic Simms
'. ''

Message Stick ''Message Stick'' was an Australian television series about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lifestyles, culture and issues. History The weekly half-hour show began screening in 1999 on ABC Television. It featured profile stories, inte ...

.'' ABC''.'' 21 October 2005. Archived fro
the original
on 3 January 2017. He performed with

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

and

Robie Porter Robert George Porter (4 June 1941 – 16 December 2021) was an Australian country and pop-rock musician, producer and record label owner. Beginning in 1959, he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded lap steel guitar instrum ...

among other prominent singers.

Biography

Simms was born on 29 January 1946 on La Perouse Mission in the south east of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He was one of 10 children. Simms began his singing career aged 12, at the Manly Jazzorama Music Festival in 1957,Deadly Vibe
. In 1961, he released his debut single (as "Vicki Simms"), "Yo-Yo Heart" on

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

, aged 15. After getting into alcohol and committing a robbery, he was sent to prison. Whilst incarcerated in the notorious Bathurst GaolJailhouse rocker
''The Age''. 2 July 2004. he learnt how to play guitar and started writing songs. In 1973, his music was heard by a Robin Hood Foundation and they sent a tape to

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

who organised to have him record an album. This album was recorded in one hour with a mobile studio in the prison dining room and was released as '' The Loner''. It has been described as "Australia's great lost classic album of black protest music". After the release of the album he was sent on tours of other prisons, shopping malls and the Sydney Opera House as an example of a model prisoner. After he was convinced he was being used he refused to continue the shows. After his release from prison, he reentered the entertainment industry. He toured Australian prisons and, in 1990, he toured Canada with

Roger Knox Roger Knox (born 1948) is an Australian country singer, nicknamed "the Black Elvis" and "Koori King of Country". Early life and education Knox was born in 1948 in Moree, New South Wales. He is of the Gamilaroi nation, an Aboriginal Australian ...

and Bobby McLeod where they played in prisons and on reservations. In 1996, he released a covers album titled ''From the Heart''. At the

Deadly Awards 2001 The Deadlys Awards were an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Music *Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal Music: Gus Williams *Outstanding Contribu ...

he was awarded Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal Music. Simms began teaching at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in 2009. The same year, ''The Loner'' was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

's Sounds of Australia registry.National Film and Sound Archiv
Sounds of Australia registry
. In 2013, it was re-released by Sandman records. "Selections From the Loner" was released by Painted Ladies 6 June 2014. Songs from the original album were re-recorded by artists including Luke Peacock, Paul Kelly and Vic Simms himself. In 2024, he was awarded an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the University of New South Wales. Simms died on 8 February 2025, at the age of 79.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Awards

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, formally titled National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards and commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ac ...

, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. , - ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Vic Simms , Outstanding Contribution to Music , , -

References

External links

* Listen to an excerpt o
'The Loner'
o
Australian Screen

''Message Stick''. ABC1. 21 October 2005.

Conversations with Richard Fidler. 18 March 2015. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Vic 1946 births 2025 deaths Indigenous Australian musicians Australian male singers Australian male songwriters Australian guitarists Australian male guitarists Academic staff of the University of New South Wales