In July 1962 Noel Widerberg died in a car accident in Brighton-le-Sands in Sydney, and three weeks later the group's single, "Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands", reached the top five on the local charts.

[2] They were interested in four-part doo wop harmonies, "such as The Diamonds and Elvis Presley's The Jordanaires," and began singing together at club socials.

But the follow-up release, a DooWop version of Vera Lynn's classic "White Cliffs of Dover", with Wilson singing a bass vocal lead, failed to make an impression.

Disenchanted by Leedon's failure to promote these singles to a larger national audience, the group accepted an offer to switch to the CBS (Coronet) label in June 1960.

An anecdote of The Delltones auditioning for Denis Wong, the colourful owner of the famous Sydney nightclub Chequers, has now entered into folklore.

In early July 1962, two weeks after "Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands" entered the charts, Noel Widerberg was killed in a car accident in the Sydney beachside suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands.

At this time The Delltones participated in a modern pantomime for children, titled Mother Goose and The Three Stooges, which opened at the Palais Theatre in Sydney.

The production also featured other pop stars and celebrities of the time including: Robie Porter aka "Rob E.G.", Brian Davies, Lucky Starr, Dig Richards, Jay Justin, and actor Jacki Weaver.

Since the surf craze showed little signs of waning, the next single "Out the Back" was also written by Ben Acton, but it failed to capture the light hearted spirit of "Hangin' Five".

The final release on Leedon "Tonight We Love", was heavily produced in the style of Phil Spector, and was adapted from Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B-flat minor.

[citation needed] The album was arranged and conducted by Bill Shepherd of Bee Gees fame, and backed by Australian band The Twilights, led by guitarist Terry Britten, who would later write global hits for Cliff Richard, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson.

One outstanding track was a reworking of Steve Winwood's "Gimme Some Lovin'" which became Radio Luxembourg's hit pick of the week and top DJ Tony Blackburn's opening signature tune.

The single release from this album "Birmingham" was also written by Bob Pierse and backed with a cover of Frank Zappa's "Tears Begin To Fall".

Martin and Pierse continued performing as a duet, while Wilson and Perkins embraced alternative lifestyles and settled with their families at Eungai on the mid-north coast of NSW.

[citation needed] By the end of 1981, Wilson, the only surviving member, realised the limits of a harmony ensemble in a live environment dominated by tensile Oz Rock bands.

Contributors to these changes included musicians and vocalists: Alan Freeman, who previously played bass with the jazz singer Kerrie Biddell; Johnny Charters, who played with Johnny Rebb's Rebels in the 1960s; Alex Plavsic, an ex-member of the progressive rock group Sebastian Hardie; as well as Vic Schrier, Ralph Wilcock, Bob Cook, and Robert Kitney.

The Delltones went on to play a record sixteen-week run at Kinselas in Sydney's Taylor Square, Darlinghurst, including a memorable guest performance by Tiny Tim.

They performed at the Anti Nuclear Rally,[citation needed] alongside Aboriginal band No Fixed Address, and then at the Tivoli with Mondo Rock.

[23] The Delltones then played at Moomba, the Adelaide Festival of Arts and the AFI Awards, and appeared on the Australian television soap opera A Country Practice.

These appearances, along with press exposure, opened the doors to a national touring circuit, of clubs, pubs, theatres, and concert halls with sellout shows.

In January 1988, the group performed as part of Australia's Bicentennial celebrations in front of Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles.

[27] Perkins, after seven years of absence from performing, formed a band called "The Dellies", a well-known Australian colloquialism for The Delltones, with ex-Delltones vocalist Danny Mayers, Sydney bass singer Max Wright, and Rikki Organ.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s The Delltones had as their support acts some of the top, up-and-coming-stars of the country music industry, such as: Brett Parlane, James Blundell, and Adam Harvey.

Later the same year, Nevin and Alan would team up with former Delltones drummer and musical director Leon Isackson, and Idris Jones from the Mixtures, to form another vocal band called Phoenix.

Booth was a former member of Aesop's Fables and bass player for many international touring artists, including Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry.

At the same time they recorded the single "Breaking Waves", written by Allan Caswell and dedicated to the Surf Life Saving Clubs of Australia.

[citation needed] In 2005, forty-six years after backing O'Keefe, The Delltones were invited by Jimmy Barnes to sing back-up vocal for his version of "Shout".

In 2008, The Delltones embarked on a national tour to celebrate fifty years of performing in theatres, clubs, town halls, civic centres, and outdoor concerts.

The second CD Electrified contained songs with elements of pop, rock and soul, from different periods throughout their career, including their own hits from the Sixties.

In 2016, drummer, Merv Dick, and guitarist, Rod ‘Woody’ Finlayson, took legal action seeking long service leave payments they perceived they were eligible for after being members of the band for 31 years.