Max Merritt And The Meteors - Back Home Live (1977) + Bonus Track

(New Zealand 1956 - 2008)

In January 1971, deciding that his band had now probably done their dash in Australia, Max Merritt decided to make the trip to England that he had always wanted to do, but had been delayed by the accident. So he added two saxophone players and a trumpet player to the line-up and did a National farewell tour, taking in theatres only. The group stopped over for a few gigs in Singapore and then flew on to London.

In England, the group played the British pub circuit, slowly building up a solid following. As their popularity grew, they secured support roles for leading British bands, including Slade and the Moody Blues. Max Merritt and the Meteors returned to Australia in January 1972 to headline the first Sunbury Festival, after which they went on a national pub tour. They came back again in 1973 to do the Sunbury Festival again and then returned to England to concentrate on the British market.

Once again by 1974 it looked like Max was starting to make headway in England when another major problem occurred. His then manager, Peter Raphael, departed, leaving the group with no money and a pile of debts. They were forced to sell their transport to survive, and as a result the band basically fell apart. Dave Russell returned to New Zealand, Bob Bertles accepted a position with top UK jazz band Nucleus and Stewie Speer toured Europe with Alexis Korner. Max was forced to go back to his original trade of laying bricks for a while.

Max, always the determined fighter, never gave up and by the end of 1974 had put together another five-piece band. After Stewie finished the tour he joined back up with Max and together they added Barry Dugan on saxophone, John Gourd on guitar and piano, and Howard 'Fuzz' Deniz on bass guitar. Max also found a new manager, Bill Utley.

Throughout 1975 they continued to build on the pub rock reputation they had developed over the previous couple of years. Later in the year Barry was replaced by Lance Dixon, who was a keyboard player as well as a saxophonist. With his keyboards and Gourd's slide guitar, the new sound emanating from the Meteors was a long way removed from the sounds they were best remembered for in Australia. The soul had gone and they were far less jazz orientated.

In May 1975 Clive Davis, head of Arista Records arrived in London to establish a British branch of the US-based company. Following a recommendation to check out the Meteors on their pub circuit, he liked what he saw and contracted them as his first 'British' signing. A single was recorded and released in July called "A Little Easier"/"Long Time Gone". The single was ignored by most people, but Arista pressed on releasing an album also called "A Little Easier" in September.

Released at the same time was another single from the album called "Slippin' Away"/"I Keep Forgetting". "Slippin' Away" caught the attention of radio program directors in both Australia and New Zealand and with constant playing over the summer of 1975/76 it climbed to number 2 on the Australian national charts becoming their biggest Australian hit ever. The song was also well received in New Zealand where it climbed to number 5 and stayed on the charts for 6 months. The song should have been an international hit, but Arista were still in their set-up stages in England and that made distribution difficult. As a result interested people couldn't get a copy so sales soon tapered off. Meanwhile the album, buoyed by the success of the single in Australia, peaked at number 4 on the Australian charts, but interestingly failed to chart in New Zealand.

The Meteors returned to Australia in June 1976 for a triumphant tour, coinciding with the release of their second Arista album "Out Of The Blue". From it came a re-recorded version of "Let It Slide" and this followed "Slippin' Away" into the charts in Australia. The single was released with "Whisper In My Ear" and "Coming Back" on the B-side, while in New Zealand it had "Gotta Have Your Love" as the flip-side.

Their tour over three weeks was once again performed at only larger theatres and was seen by more than 30,000 people. The first concerts at Melbourne's Dallas Brooks Hall were recorded and later released as an album in 1977 as "Back Home Live", their third and final Arista album. A final single for Arista also came in 1976 called "Blame It On The Reggae". Once again differing B-sides, "Whisper In My Ear" in New Zealand and "Take Part Of Me" in Australia.

If was hard for Max, because he was once again receiving superstar status in Australia, but in England, where he wanted to be, it was still tough going, trying to make it on the pub scene. But it wasn't Max's inability that failed him there, it was the onslaught of punk music that killed the pub rock scene in Britain.

At the end of 1976, Max Merritt and the Meteors broke up as a working band. In 1977, Max relocated to America and signed a solo deal with Polydor Records, releasing two solo albums and several singles over the next 10 years. However, he never reached the same status as his previous albums with the Meteors, and eventually moved into retirement. [extract from sergent.com]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from vinyl (thanks to Sunshine) and full album artwork for vinyl, cassette and CD releases.  This live recording contains his hits from the 70's along with the bonus live track "Respect".  Label scans and all photos are also included.

Track Listing

01  A Little Easier  5:09

02  Wrong Turn  5:14

03  Coming Back  4:07

04  Ain't You Glad You Came  2:34

05  Try a Little Tenderness  4:28

06  Slipping Away  3:15

07  Find a Home  4:49

08  Long Time Gone  4:03

09  Let It Slide  4:03

10  Fannie Mae  4:08

11  Respect (Bonus Track) 2:13

Recorded live at The Dallas Brooks Hall, Melbourne (June 15 & 16, 1976)

Max Merritt - Lead Vocals, Guitar

Stewart Speer - Drums

Lance Dixon - Keyboards, soprano & tenor saxophone, backing vocals

John Gourd - Guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals

Howard 'Fuzz' Deniz - Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals

Max Merritt Live (280Mb)

Max Merritt & The Meteors - A Little Easier (1975) / Out Of The Blue (1976) with Bonus Tracks

(New Zealand 1956 - 2008)
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There's an attitude among some of the more churlish citizens of the Mother Country to dismiss anything remotely Antipodean or otherwise Australian and New Zealand in origin. Bad judgement on their part. Not for them an eloquent bouquet of well chilled Fosters. Not for them the literary richness of Barry McKenzie. Worse still. No Max Merritt and the Meteors.

Max Merritt is one of the Antipodes' finest. Introduced to a guitar at the age of twelve in his native Christchurch, New Zealand, the enterprising Merritt lost little time in creating his own club residency. He opened the Teenage Club with his parents.
Fueled by rare soul and rhythm and blues records supplied by US servicemen at a nearby Army base, Max Merritt and the Meteors quickly became the talk of the North and South Islands. Soon the Merritt talent began to encompass song-writing and at 19 his hot teenage single "Get A Haircut" was danced into the Top Ten.
Australia beckoned and it was conquered. Then it was time for the Mother Country.

A few years to settle in and then a contract to capture the Meteors' magic on wax. Amusingly, while most of the Mother Country still awaits the pleasure of succumbing to Max Merritt and the Meteors, these platters have caused their fame in their homelands to escalate out of all proportion. When Max Merritt and the Meteors now canter homeward, they play in concert halls and sports stadia.
Featured in this post are the first 2 Max Merritt and the Meteors LP's to grace the Arista label. Unlike its 1970 RCA predecessor, we find the group in a more rocking mood, as the racing "Let It Slide" and acid "Monopoly" readily atest.

But Max hasn't totally forgotten those special moments: "The kind of song I wanted to hear coming over the car radio when I was around sixteen or seventeen, sitting in a car with my arms around a girl, just, y'know, looking at the sea."

You said it, Max. There are several such moments contained herein, and Max is a master at creating exactly the song you want to hear at those special times. Close your eyes and you can almost smell the salt air and see the surf curling as Max croons "Midnight Man" or "Ain't You Glad You Came' .
Like it's predecessor, this record is a bonzer platter. The Meteors play with verve and panache, and Max's sandpaper-to-silk voice is in top form. This is a record to give parties that extra spark, to impress friends with your expansive cultural and musical tastes, to add that tang and allure to those magic moments.
When you're sitting in the comfort of your own home with this waxing wafting around you, remember those churlish chaps who, unlike you, will never experience what makes a country great. Silly sods [Liner notes by Jonh Ingham].

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MAX MERRITT- THE LEGEND RETURNETH

Max Merritt 1973

The Story So Far: Back in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the early 60's a teenage brick-layer called Max Merritt started up a teenage dub to play the sort of music he liked. There was an American Military Base nearby and the Yankee, servicemen would supply Merritt with rare (in New Zealand and Australia) soul singles for the club juke box. Merritt came to Australia, playing the same rough edged R&B that inspired him so mightily. The band built into a legend — a roaring soul outfit whose popularity never faded, no matter what variation the pop scene was going through at the time. In I970, Merritt took his band to England. Years of re-building his musical reputation from scratch ensued. But once again, Merritt was building into a legend — this time on the London pub circuit, especially at two pubs, the Windsor Castle and the White Hart. Finally, in 75, Merritt and the Meteors were signed to the prestigious Arista label in England and released the album A Little Easier which had "encouraging" sales in England, but did bloody well in Oz. We catch him just before the opening of his Oz tour.

You've been through a hell of lot, both in Australia and now over in England. Would you-like to tell us how you felt when you left Australia to go to England after having battled it out for so many years here.

MAX MERRITT: The reason I left Australia in the first place is that I couldn't really see much more of a future for me and the band as we were then, because we were sort of played out right round the music scene. You know, we'd been around so many times everybody had seen us and the only thing left for us to do was go into RSL and Leagues clubs and things. And I thought, well I'm never gonna do that... I'd rather give up than do that. So I figured we d go over to England and have a crack at it because we had nothing to lose. Rather than go into RSL clubs, I'd stop playing altogether. So we went to England instead. I hadn't really realised the size of the place and when I got there I got such a shock. Mainly because it's hard to get to see people. Nobody's really interested because of the size of the place. They've got so many groups and so many managers going to see them all the time that its very hard to get a breakthrough.

Has it been heartbreaking for you over there, or have you found it more of a challenge?

MAX MERRITT: Well I found it a challenge the last three years. The first part I found a bit heartbreaking. What happened was ... I got involved with this manager ... and he ripped me off for a considerable amount of money. I was really pretty destitute at that time, you know, I've got a wife and a family and I had nowhere to live. To be in London like that is pretty frightening. I mean, it's alright for a single guy, you can manage, you can do anything ... but when you've got a wife and kids it makes it a bit different. That scared me a bit at that time. But after that I went and got a job in a timber yard for about 6 months to just get some bread together. Then I started up a new band with Stewart (drummer Stewie Spears — ed) Stewart stuck by me and I got various London guys together, and that's how it is now.

In Australia, at the moment, there seems to be a revitalized interest in Max Merritt — your records are really starting to pick up and things seem to be going incredibly welt. Are there similar signs to a breakthrough elsewhere.

MAX MERRITT:  Well, it's doing that in New Zealand too.

What about Europe, rather than America or England? I believe you've been doing quite a bit of work over there, and you have quite a following in Europe.

MAX MERRITT: Well I'm not sure exactly what's happening in Europe, but I think there's been quite a bit of interest and at the moment we're getting quite a bit of airplay with "Let it Slide" in England.

Max with Stewie Speers

Talking about that Max, do you find that English radio is not as encouraging for acts who are not a straight out pop, band? Do you find that English radio is restricting in that way?

MAX MERRITT: Well it can be, yeah, because the whole thing is governed by the BBC. They pick what's going to go on  their play lists and if you don't make the pi ay list it just doesn't get played in England because even the commercial radio stations listen to what happens on the BBC.The BBC is the one that most people listen to.

Can you tell us a little about the backtrack of "Let It Slide"?

MAX MERRITT: That was one I wrote a while back and we actually released it in Australia at one time but it did nothing, it just died.

There are a few people who remember that, but this is a brand new version isn't it?

MAX MERRITT:  Yeah. This is more like I wanted to record it In the first place. Unfortunately, at the time we originally recorded it, I was involved with this certain fellow management-wise — I don't really want to mention his name — and he insisted on producing the record. It ended up something that I didn't want. To my mind it spoiled the song because I wanted just a plain rock n" roll sort of thing. Bar-room rock "n' roll if you like. But he hanged all that, he spoilt the whole feel of it. So I thought, well, I can't be all that wrong, so I tried it again.

And you weren't wrong this time?

MAX MERRITT:  No.

Haven't you ever thought about going to America?

MAX MERRITT: Yeah, we have. We want to cater everything towards the American market, more than the English one. We  should know in a couple of weeks what's happening about the American side of things because we haven't had  anything released there.

How do you feel about coming back to Australia ... the last time you were here was five years ago for a Sunbury Festival?

MAX MERRITT: Well, naturally very, very excited because it's the old home territory. I'm very pleased that "Slipping Away" did so well because it can't be relying on our past history. I feel it must be selling to a reasonable extent to another generation. So I'm very pleased about the record doing so well for that reason. And I guess we'll probably be seeing a lot of new faces at the concerts. I hope so anyway. I just feel that we've gotten through to a younger generation.

Well, it seems the legend of Max Merritt just keeps on going. It gets passed down from punter to punter til you've got a whole stack of people still talking about Max Merritt, this great ex-Australian (they class you as Australian because a lot don't know you're from New Zealand). It seems a lot of people are really looking forward to the concerts.

MAX MERRITT: I hope so. I'm really looking forward to it. We did a farewell concert in London  at a place called The Nashville Room. It's not all that far from Earls Court so we got a lot of Australians  and New Zealanders down there and it was really a terrific night. Really a great night.

Can you tell us a bit about your next album?

MAX MERRITT:  Well, we were in the recording studio right up until we left for Australia. "Let It Slide" and "Whisper In My Ear" ... they'll be on it. Seven of the songs are my songs and there'll be three others. There's not all that much I can say because we haven't got them down at the moment. All I can say is that they're slightly different from the first album. Probably a little bit of a country feel has crept in slightly. And it's a little more rockier.

Are there any tracks in particular you've written you'd like to talk about?

MAX MERRITT: There's one I've written called "Ain't You Glad You Came", and I'm quite pleased with that one because I wrote it about a friend of mine. I'm pleased with the way it came out because I think it actually touches the feeling.

Are there any favourite tracks on the upcoming album?

MAX MERRITT: Let me think ... Aw, I like them all, otherwise I wouldn't be recording them.

That's a fair enough answer. We can't ask any more questions following that statement [extract from RAM Magazine, June 18, #34, 1976, p24]
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The post consists of two albums, both ripped from my personal vinyl collection in FLAC format, supported with full album artwork and label scans. Please note the alt New Zealand cover for A Little Easier, shown below.
As usual, I have sourced some bonus tracks to enrich your experience and am indebted to a mate (Sunshine) for making the single: "Slipping Away / I Keep Forgetting" available. It is worth noting that the single release of "Slipping Away" is shorter than the version recorded on the LP and the B-Side has never been released in any other format. In addition, an earlier version of "Let It Slide" (as discussed in the above interview with Max) is also included along with a rare recording the band made for Levi Jeans back in the early 70's.
Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the source of the interview with Max - 'The Legend Returneth', taken from RAM Magazine, June 18, #34, 1976, p24, and a scanned copy is also included.
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A LITTLE EASIER

01 King Size Rosewood Bed 6:25
02 Mr. Horizontal 3:28
03 Wrong Turn 5:32
04 Coming Back 5:05
05 A Little Easier 4:48
06 Find A Home 5:23
07 Long Time Gone 4:29
08 Slipping Away 5:34
09 Live Levis (Bonus Track) 3:04
10 I Keep Forgettin' (Single B-Side)  3:09
11 Slippin' Away (Single A-Side)  3:36
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Credits:
Bass – Martin Deniz
Drums – Stewart Speer
Engineer – Richard Dodd
Guitar – John Gourd
Keyboards – Dave MacRae
Pedal Steel Guitar – BJ Cole
Percussion – Ray Cooper
Producer – Del Newman
Saxophone – Barry Duggan
Vocals – Max Merritt

A Little Easier FLACs Link (281Mb) New Link 25/02/2024
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OUT OF THE BLUE
01. Let It Slide
02. Whisper In My Ear
03. Monopoly
04. Blame It On The Reggae
05. Midnight Man
06. Rosie
07. Gotta Have Your Love
08. Tell Me Mama
09. Take Part Of Me
10. Ain’t You Glad You Came
11. Let It Slide (Bonus Track Early Version)

Credits:
MAX MERRITT: Vocals, Guitar
STEWART SPEER: Drums
LANCE DDCON: Keyboards, Saxaphone,
Backing Vocals
MARTIN (FUZZ) DEN IZ: Bass, Backing Vocals
JOHN GOURD: Guitar
PRODUCED BY: Joe Renzetti for CUKce Productions 
RECORDED AT: Trident Studios, London, England
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Out Of The Blue FLAC Link (210Mb) New Link 25/02/2024

Max Merritt & The Meteors - Selftitled (1970) plus Bonus Tracks

(New Zealand 1956 - 2008)
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Max Merritt was a star in New Zealand when he came to Australia in 1964. The Meteors bluesy rock fitting perfectly with Merritt's warm growling vocals. In 1967, Max Merritt and his metereors almost died in a car accident. Merritt lost the sight in his right eye and drummer Stewie Speer was hospitalised for four months.
They headed to England were in 1969 they recorded their biggest hit 'Western Union Man' which stayed in the Australian charts for 11 weeks, and peaked at #13 for RCA.
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MAX MERRITT & THE METEORS 
Original (1965) line-up: MAX MERRITT (guitar, vocals); PETER WILLIAMS (guitar); JOHNNY DICK (drums); TEDDY TOI (bass guitar).

Max was born on 30th April, 1941 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He started taking guitar lessons at the age of twelve and eventually formed the Meteors. They began as a part-time group while Max worked during the day as a bricklayer. Max and the band moved to Auckland after a while and began recording. It was at this time that they scored a local hit with a single called, 'Get a Haircut'.
In December, 1964 they came to Australia to do a four week stint at the Rex Hotel in Sydney. The gig was so successful that they decided to stay on. Max and the boys gained immediate respect from both pop fans and fellow musicians. By April '65 they had released their first Australian single entitled 'So Long Baby'.

Early Max Merritt & the Meteors in Christchurch

During their first twelve months or so the line-up experienced many changes, but by early 1966 it had consolidated at Max, Peter Williams and newcomers BRUNO LAWRENCE (drums) and BILL CHRISTIAN (bass). It proved to be the year that the group really put themselves on the map in Australia and they released four singles for the Parlophone label, all of which sold steadily — 'You Deserve What You Got', 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah', 'Shake'/'I Can't Help Myself, (a double-sider) and 'Fannie Mae'.

Stewie Speer

By early 1967 they had become perhaps the country's most respected band and Max decided to travel to the UK around August. He completely rebuilt the group in preparation for the trip to consist of STEWIE SPEER (drums), JOHN 'YUK' HARRISON (bass), BOB BERTLES (sax) and of course Max on guitar. (N.B. - Peter joined the Groove.) Then came an unfortunate incident that was to postpone the trip for over six months. In July '67 the band was involved in a terrible head-on motor accident. The most seriously hurt were Max, who lost the sight in his right eye, and Stewie, who was in hospital for four months. However, their esteem in the business was signified by the generous donations which poured in from all sections of the entertainment world.

Late in 1967, they were back on stage and within no time at all they were sounding as good as ever. The next two years saw the consolidation of the group's line-up, an overseas jaunt and also a change of record companies to RCA. In fact in December, 1969 they scored their first national hit with 'Western Union Man'.
In January '70 they experienced their first member change in two and a half years when John left to be replaced by DAVE RUSSELL (ex-Invaders). The change didn't seem to affect their sound and in March they released their best-selling selftitled 'Max Merritt and the Meteors album'.

L - R: Max Merritt, Bob Bertles, Stewart Spear & John 'Yuk' Harrison 1970

Then in October 70, they left for a full onslaught of the English market. At first things looked good, but management rip-offs forced Max to let the band go and take on a job in a timber yard. After a while he re-formed with Stewie and two London musicians and they gradually established themselves on the local pub circuit.
Early in 1971 they released another album, Stray Cats and a single from it called 'Good Feeling'. By now their material had developed a more experimental feel as opposed to a strictly soul feel. Another single, 'Hello L.A., Goodbye Birmingham' followed in May '71 and in January '72 they returned for the Sunbury Rock Festival in Victoria.

Max Merritt And The Meteors On Stage at Sunbury 72

'Let It Slide' was released for the first time (on RCA) to coincide with their return to London. During this trip they played in the more exclusive venues such as the Windsor Castle, and when they re-visited the Sunbury Festival in January '73, they portrayed a highly professional sound and style.
Back in London they completed negotiations with Arista/Bell Records and put down their first album for the label which was called 'A Little Easier'. The album was released in Australia during October, 1975 and it took the charts by storm as did the single from it, 'Slipping Away'. Another track, 'Mr. Horizontal' was also lifted off the album.

Just prior to their return to Australia for a national tour during May and June, 1976 they released 'Let It Slide' (with 'Whisper In My Ear' on the flip) for the second time. This time the song became a hit. The line-up for the tour was — Max (guitar), Stewie Spears (drums), JOHN GOURD (guitar/piano), HOWARD MARTIN DENIZ (bass), LANCE DIXON (sax). On the completion of their tour they were happy to note that the latest album, Out Of The Blue, had soared into the LP charts.

In February, 1977 Max recorded a live performance at the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne before a crowd of enraptured fans. The resultant LP was released under the title of 'Back Home Live'. Towards the end of the year another change of record label occurred, from Arista to Polydor.

All in all Max Merritt must be one of the most persistent rock legends Australia (and New Zealand) has ever known.   Note:  Bob Bertles remained in Europe and popped up later playing in a German band. (extract from Noel McGrath's 'Australian Encyclopedia of Rock', Outback Press, 1978. p199-2000)

Merritt decided to relocate in Nashville, USA in 1977 and signed as a solo artist with Polydor Records, which released 'Keeping In Touch' in 1978. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to reside, and toured Australia in 1979 and 1980. On the second tour, he put together a band with Stewie Speer on drums, Paul Grant on guitar, John Williams on keyboards, Martin Jenner on guitar and Phil Lawson on bass. This was Merritt and Speer's last major tour together: Speer died of a heart attack on 16 September 1986. Merritt released singles "Growing Pains" in 1982 and "Mean Green Fighting Machine" in 1986, the second was a promotional single for the Canberra Raiders Rugby League team. He toured Australia in 1991 with Brian Cadd (ex-The Groop, Axiom, solo) in the Brian Cadd and Max Merritt Band, which comprised Merritt, Cadd (vocals, piano), John Dallimore (guitar; ex-Redhouse, Dallimore, Jon English Band), Craig Reeves (keyboards), Des Scott (bass) and Dave Stewart (drums; ex-Daniel). In late 1996, Merritt returned to Australia to tour the club and pub circuit.

Max Merritt today

Merritt toured Australia on a short club circuit in April 2001 along with Doug Parkinson - a fellow veteran rocker from the 1960s. This marked a resurgence of interest for Merritt: April and May were spent touring Australia under the banner "The Heart & Soul of Rock & Roll" with Parkinson; August and September 2002 was the Long Way To The Top - The Concert tour. After that, whenever Merritt returned to Australia, a reformed Max Merritt & The Meteors was in demand for special events and music festivals: Melbourne Music and Blues Festival, The Perth Moonlight Festival, The Veterans Games in Alice Springs, The Queenscliff Festival and The Toyota Muster in Gympie. In April 2006, the group appeared at the Byron Bay Blues Festival and the Gladstone Harbour Festival.

In mid-April 2007, Merritt was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital suffering kidney failure. He was diagnosed as having Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare auto-immune disorder that affects the kidneys and lungs. Merritt was struggling with his health and finances, so his manager, Wal Bishop, along with Australian music industry friends, organised a Concert for Max held at the Palais Theatre,
St. Kilda, Victoria, on 21 October 2007, and raised $200,000. He is currently on a dialysis machine awaiting a kidney transplant and is unable to tour extensively. On 1 July 2008, Merritt was inducted by Glenn A. Baker into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Merritt was joined on-stage by Kasey Chambers and Bill Chambers to perform "Slipping Away" [extract from Wikipedia]
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This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD and includes full album artwork for both media. Also included are three bonus tracks, featuring a very early version of "Let It Slide" and some rare live recordings. Although this album is a classic, I personally enjoyed their later 70's releases - 'A Little Bit Easier' and 'Out Of The Blue'. If there is enough interest, I might be coerced into ripping my treasured copies and post them for your pleasure. Anyhow, hope you enjoy the classic album featuring his big hit "Hey, Western Union Man".

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Tracklist
01  Hey,Western Union Man 3:52
02  Fannie May 3:39
03  To Be A Lover 3:00
04  Louisiana Anna 3:33
05  You Touch Me 5:40
06  I've Been Away Too Long 3:02
07  Home Is Where The Heart Is 3:47
08  It's Just Wasting Time 2:45
09  Turkish Bath 4:37
10  Lay A Little Love On Me 3:25
11  You Can't Come Back 3:20
12  Respect (Bonus Live) 2:13
13  Live Levis (Bonus Track) 3:06
14  Let It Slide (Bonus Early Version) 3:34
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Band Members
Max Merritt - Guitar, Vocals
Stewie Speer - Drums
Bob Bertles - Sax, Flute, Bass Clarinet
John 'Yuk' Harrison - Bass
Gentlemen Of the Ensemble:
Russell Smith, Barry McKimm - Trumpets
Brian Brown - Tenor Sax

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Max Merritt & The Meteors FLACs link (329Mb)

New Link 25/12/2023

Various Artists - Sunbury (1972)

(Various Australian Artists 1972)
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Though not the first major music festival in Australia, the Sunbury Music Festival was the first to turn a profit and to run consecutively for several years. For 4 years from 1972, the festival was held on the Australia Day long weekend at a private farm on the outskirts of Sunbury near Melbourne, attracting around 35,000 punters of pop. Likened at the time to Woodstock, today Sunbury can be seen as a forerunner to big festivals like Big Day Out, Falls and Splendor in the Grass. Line-ups included home-grown acts such as Skyhooks, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Sherbet, Daddy Cool and Captain Matchbox; with international guests like Queen and Deep Purple headlining in later festivals. However, it was Deep Purple who tolled the death knell for the Sunbury festival in 1975. Operating at a loss, organisers paid out the UK rock stars at the expense of the local acts who went home penniless.

Sunbury 72
 David Hill (a youthful ABC journalist) reported the pioneer festival culture at Sunbury '72 as a mix of hippies, yobbos, organic food stalls and makeshift tents and swags. The first Sunbury concert was held over the Long Weekend period from 29th to 31st January, 1972.
Tickets cost $6 for the 3 days and there was an estimated 35-40,000 in attendance. Gerry Humphreys (of the The Loves Ones) was the MC and the festival sported the largest number of bands of all the Sunbury concerts.  Bands playing at the festival were:

The Bushwackers and Bullockys Bush Band
Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band
Glenn Cardier
Carson
Chain
Company Caine
Friends
Healing Force
The La De Das
Mackenzie Theory
Phil Manning
Max Merritt and the Meteors
Pilgrimage
Pirana
Wendy Saddington
SCRA
Spectrum
Tamam Shud
Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs
Total Fire Band
The Wild Cherries
Greg Quill & Country Radio
Highway
Indelible Murtceps
The La De Das
Mulga Bill's Bicycle Band
Blackfeather
Barry McCaskill & The Levi Smith Clefs

Because the site of Sunbury Music Festival was closer to Diggers Rest than Sunbury itself, many patrons travelling by train to the festival would get off at Diggers Rest station. However, the "Diggers Rest Pop Festival" just didn’t have the same zing to it. While the inaugural concert of 1972 is usually remember as being an all-Australian event, many of the performers actually hailed from New Zealand. But as we do, we’ll turn a blind eye to that and claim them as our own, especially Thorpie.

Sunbury '72 also exemplifies the male domination of the popular music scene at that time, although photographs indicate that the audience seems to have been fairly evenly split in gender terms, almost all the performers were male. Wendy Saddington was the only female headliner on the bill, and only one other band, Mackenzie Theory, featured a female member (violist Cleis Pearce).
The festival was organised in late 1971, when a company called Odessa Promotions was formed in Melbourne. Its principals were, according to Adrian Rawlins, "industry people" from the Melbourne television scene, including several TV floor managers and directors; it is likely that several had worked on Melbourne pop TV like Uptight. The principal of the company was John Fowler.
By this stage, five other major festivals had already been mounted, and the oft-repeated claim that Sunbury was Australia's first rock festival is quite untrue. Unfortunately, none of these earlier festivals was financially successful. Undeterred, Odessa Promotions organised and promoted a major rock festival with an all-Australasian line-up, although it's important to note that we don't know for sure whether this was a deliberate decision (or one merely dictated by financing) or whether or not Odessa considered bringing in overseas acts (or not).
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The evidence suggests that Sunbury's success was a mixture of good luck and good timing, rather than careful planning and good organisation. Like Woodstock, Sunbury almost didn't take place, when they began looking for a site, the organisers discovered that few landowners were willing to allow their property to be used for a three-day rock festival that would attract tens of thousands. Fortunately, the festival was saved by a local landowner who offered Odessa the use of part of his property at Glencoe, just outside the township of Sunbury, about 35 km north-west of the city. The farmer, Mr George Duncan, was reportedly motivated to make the offer because he "believed in young people".

Opinions vary greatly about Sunbury's significance. Most commentators claim that it was a turning point in Australian rock, a symbolic coming-of-age for youth culture, and the birthplace of the pub-rock scene. These theses have been prosecuted by rock historian Ian McFarlane and the writers of  'Long Way To The Top', among others. As a result, the assertion that Sunbury was a defining moment in Australian music history has been accepted virtually without question, and without reference to any other evidence, and much of the information about it remains unconfirmed and anecdotal. As far as we know, no-one as yet has undertaken the tasks of recording a comprehensive oral history that includes performers, organisers and patrons.
However, the website used in the above account of Sunbury 72, probably boasts the most extensive accounts and photos of the four Sunbury concerts, and is worthwhile visiting.
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Sunbury 72 (extract from The Real Thing)
According to Billy Thorpe, 'Australia was always about two years behind the States. They had Woodstock in 1969 and we had Sunbury in 1972.' Billy continues: 'I went to Sunbury for five days with my wife and we got a tent backstage and lived there while they built the site. It was a real community. And the vibe was just extraordinary.'
The first day of the Sunbury pop festival, 28 January 1972, marked the beginning of the modern era for Australian rock & roll. Held over three days on a 300-acre site just outside Melbourne, Sunbury was the biggest single rock event to be staged in Australia. The bill was largely home-grown and, as Thorpe points out, all the architects of the Successes  of the '70s  were  at that  festival— Michael  Browning, Michael  Chugg, Michael Gudinski, Sam Righi and Roger Davies. The acts were even more crucial. Max Merritt and The Meteors flew back to Australia from the UK for the gig, which also featured every major Australian artist with the exception of Daddy Cool. As with Woodstock (the film of which had recently been shown across Australia and which had done more to propagate the myth of the rock festival  than the event itself), Sunbury was  a celebration of youth culture.

Max Merritt And The Meteors

The Acacia River was the inevitable site for skinny-dippers, coverage of which was the most interesting phenomenon for the mass media. Two young men were arrested for public indecency after having sex with a sixteen-year-old girl, two babies were born, and the kids behaved well.
Nudity notwithstanding, the show really belonged to Thorpie. The Aztecs were then at their absolute prime and they blew the heads off most of the music fans with a two-hour set of relentless boogie. By the time they rocked into 'Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy' it was clear that Thorpie was king and that the country had a new national anthem.

By early 1975 Billy Thorpe and The Aztes had become the loudest and heaviest band in the country. Their appearance at Sunbury '72 cemented their popularity with the yob crowd and resulted in the Live at Sunbury album. Also in 1972 the band released the single 'Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy' which became Billy Thorpe's first Top 10 hit in seven years. The album More Arse Than Class followed in 1974 which found favour with the 'Suck More Piss' crowd. [extract from 'The Real Thing (1957-Now)', Toby Creswell & Martin Fabinyi, Random House 1999, p58-59]
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This post consists of MP3 (320kps) and FLACs ripped from my treasured double vinyl set, which I acquired some years ago at a garage sale (and let it be known that the early bird does catch the worm).  I couldn't believe my luck when I found this gem tucked away in amongst some throw away titles and happily paid the $2 price tag.  When I discovered its immaculate condition, I knew it was the find of the century.
So here it is folks, in all its glory. No pops or crackles to be heard and full album artwork for both LP and CD are included (thanks to Micko for the CD Artwork).  I have also chosen to include the full rendition of Mamma (by Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs) released on their own Live At Subury album, which is 2 minutes longer than this release.  In addition, the bonus Sunbury 72 recording " I Wanna Make Love To You" by SCRA is also included to help fill out this resulting 2 CD set.
I would also like to acknowledge the use of photos sourced from the National Australian Library and others taken by Soc Hedditch.

Update: I've just added a tribute track by Max Merritt entitled "Sunbury" which was released on his 2020 album 'I Can Dream', a song he wrote about the 1972 Sunbury Concert.  RIP Max - we miss you mate.
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Track Listing
01 - Morning Good Morning (The La De Das)
02 - Roundabout (The La De Das)
03 - Gonna See My Baby Tonight (The La De Das)
04 - Soul Sacrifice (Pirana)
05 - Some Good Advice (Spectrum)
06 - I'll Be Gone (Spectrum)
07 - We Are Indelible (The Indelible Murtceps)
08 - Be My Honey (The Indelible Murtceps)
09 - But That's Alright (The Indelible Murtceps)
10 - Try A Little Tenderness (Max Merritt And The Meteors)
11 - Fanny Mae (Max Merritt And The Meteors)
12 - You Touch Me (Max Merritt And The Meteors)
13 - Roly Poly (SCRA)
14 - Mamma (Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs)
Bonus Tracks
14 - Mamma (Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs - Full Version) *
15 - I Wanna Make Love To You (SCRA - Bonus Track) +
* Taken from The Aztecs Live At Sunbury
+ Sourced from YouTube
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Sunbury 72 Link (MP3) New Links 21/10/2015
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Sunbury 72 Part 1 (FLAC) New Link 12/11/2016
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Sunbury 72 Part 2 (FLAC)

Max Merritt - Sunbury (FLAC)  New Link 05/05/2021

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