Vic Simms was living the dream until alcoholism took its toll. Now, his album is being revived by Australian rock royalty. Sharon O'Neill takes a look at the story behind The Loner:

When Vic Simms was 11 years old, two men came to visit the old tin shack where he lived with his family at La Perouse Aboriginal Mission in Sydney.

The men had heard him sing in an impromptu moment at a dance hall and they had a musical proposition for his parents to consider.

It was 1957, and the two men were Col and Kevin Jacobson. They would go on to become Col Joye and the Joy Boys, and Vic Simms would go on to become the youngest recording artist for Festival Records.

In the years that followed, Simms had a whirlwind career. His first single, Yo-Yo Heart, was released when he was just 15.

He was part of the Johnny O'Keefe show, performed on Bandstand and appeared in TV roles and commercials.

His sweet voice delivered him opportunities the young boy from the mission never dreamed he would have. But by the end of his teen years it was clear the success would come at a price.

"I started to get carried away," Simms recalls.

"I turned 17, 18 and the grog got bigger and the money I started to get was slowly drawn out of my account. I blew it in the end. I just became an alcoholic at that young age."

Simms turns to music while serving time

Vic Simms and Luke Peacock recording together.

Simms's problem with alcohol led to him to crime, and in 1968 he was sentenced to seven years' jail at the notorious Bathurst prison in western NSW for burglary.

At the time, the Bathurst prison was no place for the faint-hearted. The regime was brutal, the conditions atrocious and oppressive.

"You had to be as tough as the rules to survive," Simms said.

As a way of coping, he started to write some verse.

He had melodies in his head and after buying a guitar for two packets of tobacco from a fellow inmate, he taught himself how to play.

In 1970, prisoners at the jail rioted over the conditions. Soon after, a group of visitors from a Sydney charity came to see for themselves what life was like at the prison.

While they were there they heard Simms singing and playing his guitar in the yard. Once again, it was an impromptu moment that would alter the course of Simms's life.

"The governor called me in and said: 'You're going to Long Bay Prison," Simms said.

"You've got to go there and sign a contract with RCA. They want to record a 10-track album."

RCA had been contacted by one of the charity members who'd heard Simms sing.

In 1973 a group of session musicians arrived at Bathurst jail, along with a mobile studio to record Simms' first album, The Loner.

"We set up, we never even had a rehearsal," remembers Simms. "They said: 'This is it'. So we got it done, we got it done in an hour."

The 10 tracks were largely protest songs, recording the stories of life for Aboriginal people in the 1960s.

'That's it, The Loner dream has gone'

In 1974 the prisoners at Bathurst jail rioted again, this time inflicting $10 million worth of damage. At the time, Simms was a much-needed good news story for Corrective Services and he was allowed to do a promotional tour for his album.

But it didn't take long for him to realise that he was being used.

"One day the prison guards said: 'Get your glad rags on - you’re going to this place,' and I said, 'No, that's it, it's over, the Loner dream has gone'," Simms recalls.

"And they panicked and got the commissioner who said, 'You have to go', and I said, 'I'm not going'."

According to Simms, his decision earned him a "slap-around" and a period in isolation, but he didn't change his mind.

Until this year, The Loner was an album that was almost impossible to find. RCA Records had long deleted it from its catalogue.

But in June this year, the album was remastered and released by Sandman records.

Simms says the songs that he wrote 40 years ago are still relevant today.

"Nothing has really changed. The issues are still there for people to sing and talk about," he said.

Vic Simms performs in the chapel of Parramatta Jail in July, 1979.

Australian artists get together to revive The Loner

Brisbane-based musician Luke Peacock agrees.

Two years ago, he stumbled across a copy of the original Loner. He was so impressed with the songs he tracked down Simms to ask his permission to perform them.

Vic was more than happy to help. In fact, he was so impressed with Luke's take on his songs he told him he would bequeath The Loner to him.

Now, Luke Peacock’s first album is almost complete.

It's a cover version of the original Loner and it features some of the Australia's best musicians - including Paul Kelly.

"As the project went forward word got around and a few people put their hand up to help," Peacock said.

Those putting their hands up included Ed Keupper and Roger Knox. Russell Hopkinson from You Am I is producing the record.

"The songs are so strong you just want them to be heard," Hopkinson said.

"A talented guy like Luke reinterpreting Vic's songs is the best way to get them across to a lot of people. And it’s all done with an incredible amount of love."

Simms is delighted and pleased he can pass on The Loner legacy.

"I've had a wonderful life," he said.

"I've worked with the cream of performers and I'm passing this on to the younger generation through Luke.

"Who knows, maybe another 40 years down the track people will say I like the stuff that Luke Peacock did all those years ago."

And then they will discover the one that made it all possible: Vic Simms.