Max Merritt – The Legend
 |
|
In August 1966 they returned to New Zealand for a national tour. They hadn't done one for two years, and with the airplay that "Shake" was receiving, they were welcomed in both the North and South Islands. While they were there, they appeared on television's "Let's Go", and also visited HMV studios in Wellington, where they recorded the single "Fannie Mae"/"Baby Come Home". The last release on Parlophone, it became one of their best and enduring hits over the years. Back in Sydney, they continued to live well, were never short of a gig and appeared regularly on television. Graham Dent ensured that they also got good press coverage. Problems were starting to arise in the direction the group was taking. Dent had always tried to steer Max into the cabaret and club circuit, but Max was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the suit and tie routine. In the early part of 1967, there were still hassles. "Fannie Mae" hadn't set the world on fire. They were becoming frustrated by the lack of a major commercial breakthrough and finding themselves labouriously working in a residency at the Hawaiian Eye disco, the Meteors didn't seem to be going anywhere. Dent convinced the boys that they should try a cruise ship, and organised for them to provide on-board cabaret entertainment on a Pacific cruise liner. Just before the cruise ship departed, both Billy Kristian and Peter Williams announced that they would be leaving the band after the voyage. Rather than try and find another guitarist for the band on their return, Bruno suggested bringing in his mate from earlier times, Bob Bertles the saxophonist. Max agreed to try it out, so Bob joined them for the cruise, making a temporary five-piece line-up. Once underway, Bruno, who had a reputation for being a wild-man, lived up to it during the cruise. When the liner arrived in Auckland, Bruno jumped ship and after gracing a number of other bands, he went on to his illustrious career in Blerta, and beyond as a movie star. Also there to meet the boat in Auckland was Graham Dent, who had decided that he could no longer attempt to mould the group into what Max didn't want to be, so they parted company on an amicable note. Max was left to play the drums himself on the final leg of the voyage back to Sydney. While Max was in Auckland, he did visit a friend of his, Jimmy Sloggett. Jimmy played Max a copy of Otis Redding's new "Dictionary Of Soul" album. One track in particular stood out with Max. It was "Try A Little Tenderness". This was the sound and style Max was looking for. After hearing this track, Max had decided he had found his niche and was transformed forever. When they got back to Sydney, Billy and Peter left, as they had previously announced. Peter went on to form the Groove along with Rod Stone from the Librettos. Later on in the seventies Peter was also a member of the Mixtures. Billy went on to have stints with the Keil Isles, the Mojomen and Headband. Meanwhile Max was left to ponder his future. All at once he had lost three members of his band and also his manager. With his new ideas in mind, he set about rebuilding the band once again. Max decided to keep Bob Bertles on saxophone. On bass he recruited John 'Yuk' Harrison, who was fresh from Levi Smith's Clefs. John had previously played with many groups, some of whom were the Embers, the Keil Isles and the Brew. On drums was Stewie Speer, who had previously played with Bertles at the Latin Quarter, replacing Bruno Lawrence. Stewie had been around the Australian music scene since the late 40's and had a wealth of experience on the jazz arena. 1967 Line-Up: This new line-up debuted at the Martin Plaza Disco in May 1967 and only played one other Sydney gig before deciding to relocate to Melbourne, which had now become Australia's rock music capital. It was hard for them to fit into this scene as they were the only group who presented a combination of guitar, bass, saxophone and drums. They left audiences confused and finding it difficult to get work, started having to take whatever gigs were offered. They even had to accept gigs miles away from Melbourne. That's where Max Merritt and the Meteors was heading on the afternoon of Saturday June 24, 1967, destination Morwell, 90 miles south-east of Melbourne. They were halfway there, on the outskirts on Bunyip. Max was driving the Commer van, Stewie was seated next to the passenger door with Bertles between them. 'Yuk' was squeezed into the back with the equipment. As they were approaching an on-coming truck, a car pulled out from behind it to overtake it, and the vehicles collided head-on. The left side of the van crunched in around Stewie like an aluminium can, crushing both his legs, breaking both arms and taking the tops off several fingers. Bertles' right leg snapped, Max was thrown forward, hitting his head hard against the hand-grip above the door. Only 'Yuk', cushioned by the equipment, escaped injury. Max's face was left badly scarred and he'd lost his right eye. Bob Bertles was left with a permanent limp and Stewie, who remained hospitalised for four months, never regained full mobility. They were all lucky to be alive. Benefit concerts were organised with two weeks in Melbourne and Sydney to raise funds to help them through their convalescence period. Such was Max's reputation in the industry, and along with the long-time colleagues of Stewie, every name band in the city took part. After nearly six months since the accident, Max Merritt and the Meteors started the come-back trail. On December 2nd 1967, they played a one-off gig at Berties in Melbourne to a sell-out audience. Stewie wasn't quite ready for regular work, so they held off from doing any more work for a little while. During 1968, Max Merritt and the Meteors were to become one of the most popular bands in Australia. Around mid-year they made regular appearances on the television show 'Uptight'. There was a touch of sympathy for the group and it seemed everyone was talking about them. Before long the journalists picked up on it and there always seemed to be articles on the group in all the trade magazines. Now hard-working and hard-living, they had a reputation of being live crowd pleasers. Max continued with the soul music and was now recognised as the 'soul king' of Australia. That year they entered the Hoadley's Battle Of The Sounds and after winning the Victorian section of the event, placed third in the National finals. Second was Master's Apprentices, with the winner being the Groove, the group that included Max's former guitarist, Peter Williams. After five years trying to crack Australia, Max had finally made it. The Max of five years ago was in a suit and tie, a far cry from today's appearance. The Meteors looked like a bunch of unlikely candidates for success. They were a lot older than their contemporaries, and in the appearance stakes, Max had close cropped hair in a time when everyone else had long hair. Stewie was over-weight, over-40 and greying. He kept his lack of hair hidden with a cap. 'Yuk' looked like a rough long-haired version of Rolf Harris, while Bob Bertles looked more like a beatnik than someone who should have been portraying the flower image of the 'love' generation. |