Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are " Slippin' Away", which reached No. 2 on the 1976 Australian singles charts, and "

Hey, Western Union Man "Hey, Western Union Man" is a 1968 soul single by Jerry Butler written by Butler with Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. It was Jerry Butler's second number one R&B hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' chart, where it stayed for a week. "Hey, ...

" which reached No. 13. Merritt rose to prominence in New Zealand from 1958 and relocated to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, in December 1964. Merritt was acknowledged as one of the best local performers of the 1960s and 1970s and his influence did much to popularise soul music / R&B and rock in New Zealand and Australia. Merritt was a venerable pioneer of rock in

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

who produced crowd-pleasing shows for over 50 years. He engendered respect and affection over generations of performers. This was evident at the 2007 ''Concert for Max'' which was organised to provide financial support for him after it was announced he had Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...

. The

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) recognised Merritt's iconic status on 1 July 2008 when he was inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremo ...

. In 2020, Merritt was inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

Biography

1956–1962: Early career in Christchurch

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, Merritt was interested in music from an early age and started guitar lessons at 12. By 1955 he encountered the rock and roll of

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. After leaving school in 1956, aged 15, Merritt formed the Meteors with friends Ross Clancy (sax), Peter Patonai (piano), Ian Glass (bass) and Pete Sowden (drums). Initially a part-time group, they played dances and local charity concerts, Merritt continuing his day job as an apprentice bricklayer in his father's business. When his parents, together with local Odeon theatre manager Trevor King, developed the Christchurch Railway Hall into a music venue, The Teenage Club, they hired Merritt and the Meteors. The Teenage Club drew hundreds of locals and increased their popularity in the city when most businesses and public venues closed until late on Sunday afternoon. Clancy was replaced by Willi Schneider during 1958, the band released their debut single, "Get a Haircut", in June on

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

. By 1959, the Meteors had become a top youth attraction, regularly pulling crowds of 500 or more. Merritt borrowed players from other bands if a Meteors' member was unavailable, one such band was

Ray Columbus & the Invaders Ray Columbus & the Invaders were a New Zealand rock group from Christchurch that was active from 1964 to 1966. It was fronted by the lead vocalist, Ray Columbus. Part of the new surf music craze, they were the first New Zealand band to have a ...

fronted by vocalist Columbus. From this band Merritt recruited guitarist Dave Russell and bass guitarist / keyboardist Billy Karaitiana (a.k.a. Billy Kristian). In January 1959, New Zealand's top rocker, Johnny Devlin, played in Christchurch. Devlin later saw Merritt at a "Rock'n'Roll Jamboree" charity concert where Devlin's manager Graham Dent was impressed enough to praise their performance to Auckland promoter Harry M. Miller. Miller added the Meteors to Australian rocker

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the early 1950s. A pioneer of Rock music in Australia, his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". O ...

's 1959 tour of New Zealand. Christchurch had been chosen as the site for a United States paramilitary base to access

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. Code-named "

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze is the code name for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an init ...

", it had the only airfield large enough to handle the huge transport planes. The US presence provided a greater influence of rock and roll music – young servicemen discovered The Teenage Club and the gravel-voiced young Kiwi singer, Merritt. More rock and roll and R&B records entered local jukeboxes and were on radio. From their US connections, both the Meteors and the Invaders were able to equip themselves with Fender guitars and basses, which were still rare in Australia and the UK due to import restrictions. By 1959 the line-up for the Meteors had become Rod Gibson (saxophone), Ian Glass (bass guitar), Bernie Jones (drums) and Billy Kristian (piano). Early in 1960, His Master's Voice released their debut album, ''C'mon Let's Go''. Follow up singles were "Kiss Curl" and "C'Mon Let's Go" in 1960 and "Mr Loneliness" in 1961. They had local support but were almost unknown beyond the South Island. In an effort to break into the more lucrative North Island market, both Max Merritt & The Meteors and Ray Columbus & the Invaders relocated to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in November 1962.

1963–1964: Auckland and Invaders & Max Merritt's Meteors

After reaching Auckland, Merritt's band became the second most popular band in New Zealand behind the Invaders which played a beat pop style while the Meteors tackled rock and roll, soul and R&B. Max Merrit & The Meteors backed

Dinah Lee Diane Marie Jacobs (born 19 August 1943) known as Dinah Lee, is a New Zealand singer who performed 1960s pop and adult contemporary music. Her debut single from early 1964, "Don't You Know Yockomo?", achieved No. 1 chart success in New Zeal ...

on recordings. Her best known single, "

Reet Petite "Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" (originally subtitled "The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet") is a song written by Berry Gordy, Billy Davis, and Gwen Gordy Fuqua, and made popular by Jackie Wilson in his 1957 recording for the Bruns ...

", from September 1964 reached No. 1 on the New Zealand charts and No. 6 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. The Meteors' line-up of Merritt, Peter Williams (guitar), Teddy Toi (bass) and Johnny Dick (drums) recorded material for their second album, ''Max Merritt's Meteors''. They relocated to Sydney in December 1964.

1965–1967: Sydney and ''Shake''

In Sydney, the Meteors made their first Australian television appearance on

's ''Sing Sing Sing''. By April 1965, the second Meteors' album was finally released on

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

Records and contained a range of styles, including the single "So Long Babe". Other singles followed but Toi and Dick left to join

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1963. They were active in two incarnations, the first as a beat band from 1963–1967, and as a hard rock band from 1968–1973. They emerged in 1964 with their cover ...

and were eventually replaced by former member Kristian on bass and

Bruno Lawrence David Charles Lawrence (12 February 194110 June 1995) known as Bruno Lawrence was an English-born New Zealand musician and actor, who was active in the industry in New Zealand and Australia. Initially notable as a musician and founder of 1970s ...

on drums. During February 1966, visiting UK acts

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

the Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

were supported on tour by Max Merritt and The Meteors. After a cruise ship gig to New Zealand (during which Lawrence abruptly left the group), Merritt heard

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

's version of "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Early versions It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorde ...

" and recorded his own cover in 1967. Turmoil within the Meteors saw a rapid turnover of members and by May, Merritt with

Bob Bertles Bob Bertles (6 March 1939 – 30 December 2024) was an Australian jazz alto, tenor and baritone saxophonist and bandleader. Life and career Bertles was born in Melbourne on 6 March 1939. A self-taught musician, Bertles in the late 1950s and earl ...

on saxophone, Stewart "Stewie" Speer on drums and John "Yuk" Harrison on bass guitar, decided to relocate to Melbourne.

1967–1971: Melbourne and ''Max Merritt and the Meteors''

In Melbourne, Merritt and his band initially found it difficult obtaining regular gigs and so travelled widely through the state. On 24 June 1967 the van they were travelling in to

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the capital and administra ...

collided head-on with a car near

Bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

, Bertles suffered a broken leg, Speer had both legs crushed, broke both arms and lost the tops off several fingers. Merrit lost his right eye and had his face scarred. It took the band nearly a year to recover. By July 1968 they competed in

Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was an annual national rock/pop band competition held in Australia from 1966 to 1972. The winners of the national finals were the Twilights (1966), the Groop (1967), the Groove (1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (mai ...

, finishing behind winners the Groove,

the Masters Apprentices The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) are an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which originally formed as The Mustangs in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria, in February 1967 ...

and

Doug Parkinson Douglas John Parkinson (30 October 1946 – 15 March 2021) was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1970, 1971), Fanny Adams (1970� ...

. In 1969 the group were re-signed by RCA and they released their first single for over two years, a cover of Jerry Butler's "Hey, Western Union Man", which reached No. 13 on the Australian singles charts. In early 1970 their third album, '' Max Merritt and the Meteors'', was released with six original tracks and five covers. It reached No. 8 on the national albums chart. Dave Russell (ex-

) replaced Harrison on bass and Merritt's band were asked by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

(ABC) to provide a four-part TV series called ''Max Merritt and the Meteors in Concert''. In late 1970 they released ''Stray Cats'' and followed with the singles "Good Feelin'" and "Hello LA, Bye Bye Birmingham" in 1971 and "Let it Slide" in 1972. Neither the album nor the singles charted well. By that time, Merritt had relocated again – this time to England.

1971–1976: United Kingdom

In London from early 1971, the group played the UK pub circuit, initially with little success but their popularity slowly grew and they supported

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

and

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

on their tours. In 1974, however, the Meteors fell apart again, leaving Merritt and Speer to recruit John Gourd on guitar, slide guitar and piano; Howard Deniz on bass and Barry Duggan on sax and flute. This line-up were signed by US-based

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

for their newly established UK label and released ''A Little Easier'' with the title single "A Little Easier" in 1975. " Slippin' Away" was their second single from the album and captured the attention of radio listeners in both Australia and New Zealand, reaching No. 2 in Australia and No. 5 in New Zealand. Their best performed single drove the sales of ''A Little Easier'' which reached No. 4 on the Australian album charts. Another album, ''Out of the Blue'' (No. 13, 1976), was released with a renewed version of "Let it Slide" (No. 29) as a single in Australia. During this time the group played regular gigs at the White Hart in

Willesden Green Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has forme ...

, the Nashville Rooms in

West Kensington West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includ ...

, the

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

on the Harrow Road and in 1976 played a memorable gig at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

where Merritt got to the gig on the day after travelling back from New Zealand to visit his dying mother, who died while he was en route. By 1977, with the advent of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

the band's popularity on the UK pub circuit had declined and they effectively disbanded. Merritt then relocated to the US.

1977–1999: Based in United States

Merritt relocated to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, in 1977 and signed as a solo artist with

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, which released ''Keeping in Touch'' in 1979. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to reside. He 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 The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team. He toured Australia in 1991 with

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and th ...

(ex-

The Groop The Groop were an Australian Folk music, folk, R&B and rock band formed in 1964 in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and had their greatest chart success with their second line-up of Max Ross on bass, Richard Wright on drums and vocals ...

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

, solo) in the Brian Cadd and Max Merritt Band, which comprised Merritt, Cadd (vocals, piano), John Dallimore (guitar; ex-Redhouse, Dallimore,

Jon English Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...

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.

2000–2020: Resurgence and death

Merritt toured Australia on a short club circuit in April 2001 along with

, a fellow veteran rocker from the 1960s. This marked a resurgence of interest for Merritt and 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 ''Long Way to the Top'' was a six-part weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary film series on the history of Australian rock and roll, from 1956 to the modern era, it was initially broadcast from 8 August to 12 September 2 ...

'' concert tour. After that, whenever Merritt returned to Australia, a reformed Max Merritt & The Meteors were in demand for special events and music festivals such as the Melbourne Music & 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 with symptoms of kidney failure. He was diagnosed with

Goodpasture syndrome Goodpasture syndrome (GPS), also known as anti–glomerular basement membrane disease, is a Rare disease, rare autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the basement membrane in lungs and kidneys, leading to bleeding from the lungs, glomeru ...

, a rare

autoimmune disorder An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...

that affects the kidneys and lungs. Merritt was struggling with his health and finances, so his manager Wal Bishop and Australian music industry friends, organised a ''Concert for Max'' benefit held at the

Palais Theatre The Palais Theatre, formerly known as Palais Pictures, is a historic Movie Palace, picture palace located in St Kilda, Victoria, St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. With a capacity of nearly 3,000 ...

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

, on 21 October 2007 which raised $200,000. On 1 July 2008, Merritt was inducted by

Glenn A. Baker Glenn A. Baker (born 28 July 1952) is an Australian journalist, commentator, author and broadcaster known for his vast knowledge of rock music. He has written books and magazine articles on rock music and travel, interviewed celebrities, manag ...

into the

. Merritt was joined on stage by

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country music, Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Mount Gambier to musicians Diane and Bill Chambers (musician), Bill Chambers. Her older ...

and Bill Chambers to perform "Slipping Away". Merritt died in Los Angeles, California, on 24 September 2020, at age 79, 13-years after being diagnosed with

. Prior to his death, Merritt had recorded a new album, titled ''I Can Dream''. The album was released on 27 November 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and halls of fame

ARIA Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. In 2008, Max Merritt was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , Max Merritt , ,

, , , -

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. The

is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. It was established in 2007. In 2020, Max Merritt was inducted into it. , - , 2020 , , Max Merritt , ,

, , , -

Band members

Members of Max Merritt & The Meteors, Max Merritt's Meteors or The Meteors; arranged chronologically: * Max Merritt (1956–2020) — guitar, vocals, drums * Ross Clancy (1956–1958) — saxophone * Ian Glass (1956–1960) — bass * Peter Patonai (1956–1959) — piano * Pete Sowden (1956–1959, 1960–1963) — drums * Willi Schneider (1958–1959) — saxophone * Rod Gibson (1959–1960) — saxophone * Bernie Jones (1959–1960) — drums * Billy Kristian (Billy Karaitiana) (1959–1963, 1965–1967) — bass guitar, piano, keyboards * Maurice Cook (1960) — guitar * Geoff Cox (1961–1962) — guitar * Peter Williams (1962–1967) — lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals * Mike Angland (1963–1964) — bass * Johnny Dick (1963, 1965) — drums * Teddy Toi (1964–65) — bass * John Blake (1965) — bass * Jimmy Hill (1965) — drums * Bill Flemming (1965–1966) — drums * David "Bruno" Lawrence (1966–1967) — drums * John Charles (1967) — keyboards * Mike Gibbs (1967) — brass instruments *

(1967–1974) — tenor saxophone * Stewie Speer (1967–1976, 1980) — drums * John "Yuk" Harrison (1967–69) — bass * Dave Russell (1969–1974) — bass * Howard "Fuzz" Deniz (1974–1977) — bass * Barry Duggan (1974–1975) — sax, flute * John Gourd (1974–1977) — guitar, slide guitar, piano * Lance Dixon (1975–1977) — keyboards, saxophone * Paul Grant (1980) — guitar * Martin Jenner (1980) — guitar * Phil Lawson (1980) — bass * John Williams (1980) — keyboards

References

External links

AudioCulture profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Max 1941 births 2020 deaths APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees New Zealand guitarists New Zealand male guitarists New Zealand pop singers New Zealand male songwriters Musicians from Christchurch People educated at Linwood College Deaths from autoimmune disease