In 1973, Indigenous singer/songwriter Vic Simms recorded the most important Australian album you’ve never heard, “The Loner”, from the confines of his cell in Bathurst jail. In 2014, Brisbane Indigenous singer/songwriter Luke Peacock has brought together some of the finest talents in Australian music to form “The Painted Ladies” to recreate the important songs of Vic Simms and bring a message as poignant today as it was in 1973 to the mainstream. “Get Back Into the Shadows” is the first taste of the forthcoming album, featuring the talents of Peacock (who is also a member of Brisbane band Halfway) and The Medics as they weave through The Loner’s opening track, an upbeat rollicking country-rock ditty, using its beguiling tune to deliver a powerful lyric about Simms’ observation of discrimination and living as an Aboriginal man in 1973. If you’re brown, stay round But if you’re white, it’s alright But if you’re black, you get back into the shadows “The thing about Vic Simms’ songs is that they work on so many levels,” explained Luke Peacock. “To me as a First Nations man, they give me an instant sense of identity. The characters are people I know, or have known. The stories and the observations seem so familiar to me. They probably would to most people in one way or another. This is not a man who is marching in the streets and preaching politics—he just speaks the truth about his feelings and his life and does it to a groove and a great melody. That’ll move people more than a history book ever could.” The Painted Ladies project and the Vic Simms story will unveil itself over the coming months with the album landing on June 6. You’ll be surprised and delighted by the guests and moved by the discovery or re-discovery of these classic Vic Simms songs. For now, enjoy “Get Back Into the Shadows”. THE PAINTED LADIES PLAY SELECTIONS FROM ‘THE LONER’ IS RELEASED ON JUNE 6 THROUGH PLUS ONE RECORDS / MGM
The Painted Ladies - Get Back Into The Shadows by sgcmedia
