The Ronettes
The Ronettes () were an American girl group from New York City. One of the most popular groups from the 1960s, they placed nine songs on the "Billboard" Hot 100, five of which became Top 40 hits. The trio from Spanish Harlem, New York, consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. Among the Ronettes' most famous songs are "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", and "Walking in the Rain", all of which charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Walking in the Rain" won a Grammy Award in 1965, and "Be My Baby" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Col Loughnan
The Soulmates were a house band at the Coogee Bay Hotel, owned by Mrs. Munro, a widow who was known to have a favourite saying: "It's permanent, you know!". By October 1967, Loughnan had joined the band, not as a vocalist, but as a saxophonist. In his book "Behind the Rock and Beyond", Leon Isackson describes the band's reaction: "everybody remembered [Loughnan] as the lead singer [of] the Delltones ... [and] here he was blowing us all away with the saxophone!" At that time, The Soulmates were led by guitarist, Jimmy Doyle along with Les Young on bass, Brian Myers on piano, Loughnan, and, shortly thereafter they were joined by drummer, Isackson. Loughnan and Doyle were to become lifelong friends, as well as working together from time to time over several decades.