After returning to Australia for another national tour Bell met Dorothy Gough in Brisbane in 1955 and she convinced him to relocate to Sydney in 1957. Aside from playing, Bell was one of the leading promoters of jazz in Australia, bringing American performers such as trumpet player, Rex Stewart to Australia. There was some opposition from the Australian Musicians Union to foreign artists joining Australian bands, so Stewart had to play standing a metre (3 ft) in front of them to be classified as a soloist.