Delltones frontman gave up day job

More than 50 years on, the Delltones still draw a crowd

When 18-year-old Ian Wilson and a few surfing mates started singing for their supper in Sydney, they received some well-worn advice: “Don’t give up your day job”.

Well he did. And 52 years later, Ian, better known as Peewee Wilson from the Delltones, still does not have a day job.

At 70, Ian still tours and performs with the Delltones, but these days he lives behind Coolum with wife Carla in a idyllic rural setting at Verrierdale.

They are often seen around town enjoying a coffee or a meal or riding their bikes along the many pathways between Peregian and Marcoola.

The couple moved to Verrierdale in 2005 after visiting friends there and falling in love with the rural setting and proximity to the beautiful beaches.

“I love the village feel of Coolum and I’m hoping it’s going to retain it,” Ian said.

“This combination of having the rural hills behind us and the beach in front, you can’t get it better.

“And it’s such a great place to come home to after we’ve been on the road living out of motel rooms and hotels.”

The Delltones started in 1958. They turned professional and made their first recording the following year.

The group was soon a regular on Channel Nine’s Bandstand with Brian Henderson and the ABC’s Six O’clock Rock with Johnny O’Keefe.

Peewee and the boys toured and performed for many years with JOK, who became something of a mentor to the group.

Ian said those first few years were the foundation of Australian pop music.

“It was before we had a music industry,” he said.

“Apart from the fact that the music was new and a whole youth market was being born, the only comments we were getting was ‘don’t give up your day job’ because this music wasn’t going to last. It was just a passing fad and we’d all be back at our day jobs very, very shortly.”

Ian said these early days were the best times of their lives.

“The late ’50s, early ’60s – the euphoria around them was just fantastic,” he said. “Money wasn’t a real concern then. All we were interested in was beer and birds.”

Ian said he never gets sick of performing the group’s old hits.

“If I was sitting down listening to Mr Bassman for 50 years, I think I would have suicided long ago, but performing it’s a totally different thing,” he said.

“People want to hear it and I’m only too glad to oblige.”

He said entertainment was the “bottom line” and that attitude had seen the group survive for more than half a century.

“I love the business and I’ve always loved performing,” he said.

“It’s a dream job and it’s saved me from a life of drudgery.

“It was an absolute bloody epiphany that first time I ran out at Melbourne Festival Hall with 4000 kids all screaming.”

When asked what the secret was to his longevity in the music business, Ian replied, “the fear of getting a real job”.

See the Delltones perform their hits, Get a Little Dirt On Your Hands, Come a Little Bit Closer, Hangin’ Five, Mr Bassman and many more at the Caloundra RSL on May 1.

To book, phone 5438 5800 or visit www.caloundrarsl.com.au.