On the 65th anniversary of the massive manhunt for jail escapee Kevin John Simmonds, the saga of Australia’s most daring fugitive is told in They’ll Never Hold Me – the new book from Michael Adams, creator of the Forgotten Australia podcast and author of Hanging Ned Kelly and The Murder Squad.
In 1959, Australia was captivated by a new criminal underdog, a Ned Kelly for the rock ‘n’ roll era. ‘Simmo’ – as he was nicknamed – was a charismatic crook whose brazen crime spree had scored him a lengthy prison sentence. But as he was led from court, he boasted, ‘They’ll never hold me.’
After Simmo staged a daring daylight escape from Long Bay Gaol, his bid to stay free led to tragedy. Legendary hard-man Detective Ray ‘the Gunner’ Kelly then took charge to put the fugitive in the crosshairs of the biggest armed manhunt in Australian history.
‘Shoot or be shot’, the cop told his men. Yet, Simmo, the antihero with a code of honour, captured the public’s hearts so completely that he had fan clubs. It didn’t hurt that he looked like pin-up, either.
Walking in his subject’s shoes, Michael travelled across Australia, tracking down Simmo’s best mate and his family members, casing out his old crime scenes in cities and country towns, and uncovering haunting details of his life and death in unpublished official records.
Such meticulous research takes us beyond the sensationalism that made Simmo into Public Enemy No. 1 – revealing not only the larrikin and loyal friend but also the haunting tragedies of his childhood, the inside scoop on his daring capers and the dreadful crimes committed against him in the name of the law.
A captivating true crime thriller, They’ll Never Hold Me explodes off the page, putting us on the run – and under the gun – with Australia’s most colourful fugitive.
Michael Adams has worked as a magazine journalist, his words appearing in the likes of Rolling Stone, Empire and Men’s Style, and as a television scriptwriter, producer and/or presenter, on favourites such as Masterchef, Travel Guides, Aussie Inventions That Changed The World and The Movie Show.
He is the author of ten novels for children and young adults. His non-fiction works include Australia’s Sweetheart, Hanging Ned Kelly and The Murder Squad, which was short-listed for the 2024 Ned Kelly Award in the True Crime category.
Michael is also the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Forgotten Australia, which has racked up more than six million episode downloads since 2019. For his sins, he also admits he being the author of the memoir Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic’s Year-Long Quest to Find the Worst Movie Ever Made.
They’ll Never Hold Me is published by Affirm Press and is available from all leading book sellers including QBD Books.
Image: They’ll Never Hold Me – courtesy of Affirm Press