Born on 30 April 1941 in Christchurch, New Zealand, Max Merritt assembled the Meteors there in 1956 alongside Ross Clancy on saxophone, Ian Glass on bass, Peter Patene on piano and Pete Snowden on drums. Black R&B and soul discs brought in by American naval staff stationed locally shaped Merritt’s tastes, allowing the group to become the first act to deliver this sound to New Zealand listeners through LPs and multiple chart singles. Their 1960 debut album featured Merritt and Glass together with Rod Gibson on saxophone, Bernie Jones on drums and Billy Kristian on piano. Subsequent personnel shifts occurred, yet Merritt and Kristian—who moved to bass—stayed constant. After outgrowing the domestic market the band reached Australia late in 1964 and soon settled there permanently. Five singles issued on the new continent failed commercially, yet the players’ technical command kept the unit in demand as a live attraction frequently admired by other musicians.
A steadier configuration emerged in 1967 when Stewie Speer—born 26 June 1928 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and deceased 16 September 1986 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia—joined on drums with Bob Bertles on saxophone and John ‘Yuk’ Harrison on bass. That June a road accident cost Merritt an eye and left Speer with lasting injuries, a blow the band struggled to surmount. Late in 1969 they scored an Australian hit with their reading of Jerry Butler’s “Western Union Man”; the matching album likewise performed strongly. The musicians headed to the UK in October 1970. Management difficulties placed them in limbo until they secured a foothold in the pub-rock circuit. By 1975 Arista Records had signed them; “Slippin’ Away” became a hit and both A Little Easier and Out Of The Blue appeared. Merritt passed most of 1978 in the United States. Although further albums followed, his profile declined. Speer suffered a fatal heart attack in 1986. Merritt withdrew to Los Angeles, where he worked as a film-set carpenter while making occasional Australian tours. In 2002 a fresh Meteors line-up was assembled for the Australian Heart & Soul Of Rock & Roll tour.
