Australian bassist and La De Das member Ronnie Peel dies

Australian bassist Ronnie Peel, best known for his work in the La De Das and the John Paul Young Allstars, died on the weekend. He sometimes used the stage name, Rockwell T. James.

Peel started out in the mid-60s in Sydney with R&B band The Missing Links.

He went to London where he joined the band Thunderclap Newman, formed as a project by The Who’s Pete Townshend, and which had a hit in 1969 with ‘Something In The Air’.

Back in Australia, Peel joined the Kevin Borich-fronted La e Das in 1972, around the time of their Rock’n’Roll Sandwich album.

He left three years later to record and tour with the John Paul Young Allstars.

In the mid-70s he had a Top 40 hit with ‘Roxanne’ while the album A Shot Of Rhythm and Blues was produced by Sherbet’s Garth Porter, with input from the Sherbet, Borich, Ted Mulry and Cheetah.

In the 1980s Peel played with Cheetah, Stevie Wright, Scattered Aces and Slightly Shadey.

In 2013 he formed country-rock duo The Rockwells with guitarist Bobby Fletcher, both playing acoustic guitar and who released an album of their favourite songs called Cover Story in 2015.

Watch Rockwell T. James perform on Countdown: