Interview with Peter Williams(Max Merritt and the Meteors/The Groove/The Mixtures) Part 1- Max Merritt and the Meteors

1. the Sheb Wooley show promo is from the Telegraph Brisbane November 30th 1963.2. Hawaiian Eye venue in Sydney 1966. 3. MAx Merritt and the Meteors on It's Happening 1966(both pictures sent to me by Peter Williams). A month ago I did a email interview with Peter Williams an member of Max Merritt and the Meteors(1961-67),founding member of the popular Australian group the Groove and a member of the Mixtures and I have 3 parts of the interview talking about each of the groups that Peter were in as well as seeing a comment on the Go Set page on facebook said by Peter that he had not been interviewed by historical websites in Australia and New Zealand as well as info about Max Merritt and the Meteors is totally inaccurate so that inspired me to do this interview. In this first part Peter talks about his time in MAx Merritt and I hope you will enjoy this read. Peter Williams- I started to play guitar so I could play at parties to impress girls. Influenced by early Elvis and Sam Cooke Silhouettes were my first group & I just sang with them doing old R&R while I was learning to play guitar. Max needed a new guitarist a guitarist & Went to my guitar teacher (Tommy Kahi) & asked who was his best student,I was actually his 2nd best, his best being a girl, But in those days there was no girls in R&R bands! So I got the gig!! Ray and the Invaders and Max & the Meteors got on well with each other even in those days we did different types of gigs, theirs were more church dances etc while ours were more R&R & teenage clubs etc. I played on all of Max's records apart from the very early ones "Get A Haircut" etc & the First Ch.Ch.album! The first record I was involved with was "Weekend" then everything when we went to Auckland & Sydney up til 'Shake & Can't Help Myself" The crowds in Christchurch were great & the Teenage club Sunday afternoons was an institution!! It actually was exciting to leave home in 1962 & have a crack at the bigtime in Auckland & further afield!! We Went there for a residency at a new Teenage Club in Auckland called the Top Twenty and I think the reason we got the nod there was because of the Beat Boom was just starting and we tended to suit as most of the Auckland bands were more "Polynesian" oriented! Our American influences (Bought about by the Operation deepfreeze base in Ch Ch.)also helped!. We worked extremely hard (by today's standards) did a couple of hours at lunchtime on workdays for the young workers to come and have their lunch and a dance, Weds to Sat 8pm til 1am then Sunday afternoons 3 til 7 I seem to remember! But we were well paid! At the Same time the Beatles were doing the same thing in Germany. W took the occasional month or so off so we could tour with & back most of the best known acts of the day and we learnt a lot about showbiz while we were at it. The downside to this was we weren't in Auckland all the time to build a stronger following but I think overall it stood us in good stead for things that were to come in our later careers. We had a few lineup changes on the way but there did'nt seem to be any problems with the new guys fitting in. All the time we were in Auckland we were the houseband for Viking records & backed all of their artists on their records because we suited the Beatboom thing of the day & gave their records a modern feel at the same time as trying to get our own recording career moving. In those days there was a bit of a cultural cringe about local product just a few managed to breakthrough Dina etc. Dinah Lee & us guys were great mates as we were both from Ch.Ch. Our first visit to OZ for the Sheb Wooley Hootenanny Hoot tour wow a national tour of Australia to kick off with. Great fun Sheb was an easy going guy and to do a tour like that(we backed all the artist) At that level professionalism once again was great so early in our careers. After a couple of weeks back to Auckland for a Residency at the Galaxy(previously the Shiralee) More hard work!! But Well Paid. About 6 months later we were offered a 3 month contract at the Rex Hotel in Sydney and never came back to NZ. Everything really kicked off in OZ for us after that(I have read reports in some historical sights that we were starving & Scraping for work but that must have been another max & the Meteors) starnge for 2 bands to have the same name?? We Did all the TV shows of the day and played in all the major venues across Australia, more line up changes but we had seamless transitions so that was good. We moved into the "Soul Genre" because we knew that's where the Beatles and other British groups were getting their early influences so the reports that Bruno Lawrence's arrival in the band introduced us to that Genre are inaccurate we were already there. Bruno was a great guy to work with and did really bring something to the band. About a year later I felt it was time to have a crack at being a lead singer so the Groove was formed and Max and I parted as great mates. Still are til this day. I stayed with the Meteors til Bob,Stewie and Yuk settled in. My last gig with them was at Martin's Place in Sydney 1967. Then I jumped a train with guitar & suitcase to head down to Melbourne for the formation of the Groove