Masters Apprentices

They formed in Adelaide in 1964 and continued until 1972, reforming briefly in 1988 and on several subsequent occasions. Their raw sound and wild stage act led top Australian radio DJ Stan Rofe to dub them "Australia's Rolling Stones". Like their contemporaries The Easybeats and The Twilights they tried unsuccessfully to break into the British music scene, although one of the later members of the band, Glenn Wheatley, learned valuable lessons from their travails, and after moving into artist management in the 1970s he played a major role in the Australian music industry and the media over the last thirty years, most notably through his management of Little River Band -- who became the first Australian rock band to achieve major commercial success in the USA -- and Australian vocalist John Farnham. The Masters were hugely popular throughout Australia, scored a string of chart hits and were consistently hailed as one of Australia's best live and recording acts. They started out as an instrumental band, rose to prominence during the mid-Sixties "Beat Boom", moved through psychedelia and bubblegum pop, finally becoming one the first and best Australian progressive/hard rock groups of the early Seventies. They went through many lineup changes, with vocalist Jim Keays being the only constant, and their membership also illustrates the intricate interconnections between many Australian bands of that era. The group was also notable in the Australian context in that they played mainly originals. One of their biggest Australian hits, "Undecided" (1967), was revived by Silverchair in 1997, and their best-known song "Because I Love You" has been revived many times, including its use in an Australian jeans commercial in the late 1980s. Swedish death metal band Opeth named the track "Master's Apprentices" (from their 2002 album Deliverance) in honour of the band, of which Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt is a fan. The career of The Masters Apprentices can be divided into three main phases: the original '65-'67 lineup, headed by guitarist-songwriter Mick Bower the transitional period of '67-'68 the classic '69-'72 lineup of Doug Ford, Jim Keays, Glenn Wheatley and Colin Burgess.The Masters Apprentices formed in Adelaide, South Australia in early 1965. The group began its career as The Mustangs, a dance band formed by four Adelaide teenagers, Mick Bower, Brian Vaughton, Gavin Webb and Rick Morrison. The Mustangs were a typical example of the early-'60s guitar-instrumental bands who modelled themselves on groups like The Shadows and The Ventures. Like almost every other pop group in the country, the band's outlook was profoundly altered by the epoch-making Australian tour by The Beatles in June 1964. Their visit had a particular impact in Adelaide, because many recent migrants from Britain had settled there. When the Fab Four arrived in Adelaide they were greeted by the largest crowd ever seen in their touring career -- estimates put the figure as high as 300,000 — a figure that is doubly remarkable, given that the population of Adelaide in 1964 was less than 1 million, which means that one-third of the entire population of Adelaide turned out to greet the group (see the Beatles' influence on popular culture). The rapid musical changes that followed the Beatles' chart breakthrough and world tours made it obvious that the surf/instrumental style was rapidly becoming passe, so like scores of other groups the Mustangs decided to change their style, and take on a singer, selecting a young Scottish immmigrant, Jim Keays. The Mustangs rehearsed regularly in a shed behind the hotel owned by drummer Brian Vaughton's family. Their original manager Graham Longley made a tape recording of one of these rehearsals, and fortunately it survived; it was rediscovered and released on CD in 2004 and despite the primitive recording quality and rough-and-ready performances, it provides a unique glimpse of the group's formative days. The Masters soon established themselves on the thriving dance circuit around Adelaide, playing in suburban halls and migrant hostels and building up a strong following with local teenagers, many of whom were, like Keays, migrants from the UK. Adelaide was a major destination for British assisted passage migrants in the 1950s and 1960s. These young migrant audiences were an important influence for the band; many young fans were recent arrivals who had seen the top UK bands in action only weeks before. Fans also had a strong effect on the band's appearance since they were directly in touch with current mod fashions, a trend which was then not very well-known in Australia. In late 1965, they renamed themselves The Masters Apprentices (deliberately omitting the apostrophe) as an homage to musical heroes like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. By early 1966 they were one of the most popular beat music bands in Adelaide, regularly selling out concerts in the city, as well as making visits to outlying towns and cities like Murray Bridge, Mt Gambier and Whyalla. Their first TV appearance, on Good Friday that year, was on a Channel 7 telethon hosted by Adelaide TV celebrity Ernie Sigley. Later in 1965 the Masters Apprentices shared an out-of-town engagement with pop star Bobby Bright from the Melbourne duo Bobby & Laurie. He was greatly impressed and recommended them to his label, Astor Records. A few weeks later, they were contacted by Astor, who requested a four-track demo. The band went to a local two-track studio to record it, but realised that they had only three songs that they felt confident to record. Needing a fourth track, guitarists Mick Bower and Rick Morrison recorded a new song, "Undecided", in about 15 minutes; the backing track was cut in about the same time. The title reportedly came from the fact that they were undecided about a name for the song when quizzed by the producer. The biting fuzz-tone of Bower's guitar on the track was a fortunate accident; it was caused by a malfunctioning valve in his amplifier, but the group liked the sound and kept the faulty valve in until after the session. In August 1966, the band made their first visit to Melbourne, which was at the time the epicentre of the burgeoning Australian pop scene. They made a strong impression with showcase performances at the city's leading discotheques, The Thumpin' Tum and The Biting Eye. Their debut single "Undecided" / "Wars or Hands Of Time" was released in October and gradually climbed the Adelaide charts, thanks to strong support from local DJs. "Wars or Hands of Time", is particularly notable as the first Australian pop song to directly address the issue of the Vietnam War, which was now directly affecting the lives of many young Australians because of the controversial introduction of conscription in 1965. The band members were not exempt from this and 20-year-old Keays was one of hundreds of potential conscripts whose birthday (September 9) was picked in one of the 1966 conscription ballots. He was able to legally avoid the draft by signing on for a term with the Citizens' Military Force (later renamed the Army Reserve). He managed to avoid the compulsory short back and sides haircut with the aid of his girlfriend, who carefully pinned his long hair up under his slouch hat each time he had to attend CMF sessions. By the time of their second trip to Melbourne in late 1966, leading Melbourne DJ Stan Rofe had picked up the single and was playing it regularly. The Masters Apprentices were one of many famous Australian acts that Rofe championed during the 1960s, and he was a strong supporter of the band throughout their career. Another crucial connection was their meeting with Ian Meldrum,who was then a staff writer for the pop magazine Go-Set. He and Keays became lifelong friends, and Meldrum (who went on to becaome a record producer and host of the influential pop show Countdown) promoted the band vigorously in Go-Set. Returning to Adelaide, they recorded more original songs, including "Buried & Dead", which became their second single, plus other tracks which eventually wound up on their debut LP. The success of the second trip made it obvious that they should turn professional and relocate to Melbourne. This led to the departure of original manager Graham Longley and drummer Brian Vaughton, both of whom decided to remain in Adelaide.Brian Vaughton was replaced by Steve Hopgood, and in February 1967 the Masters relocated to Melbourne permanently, as "Undecided" raced up the local charts (NB: Australia had no national chart at this time). The group quickly established themselves as one of Melbourne's top attractions, performing regularly at discos like Catcher, Sebastians, Thumpin' Tum and The Biting Eye, and the multitude of suburban dances. Despite their apparent popularity, they led a hand-to-mouth existence for the first year or so in Melbourne, often relying on the hospitality of fans and friends. In May 1967 "Buried and Dead" was released as single, and the band made a promotional film clip for TV (at their own expense), which is believed to be one of the first pop music videos ever made in Australia. They also undertook their first trip to Sydney, where they made a chaotic live appearance on the ABC pop show Saturday Date, where they were chased by fans on their way into the studio and had their clothes almost ripped to shreds before they went on air. In June 1967 Astor released the group's self-titled debut LP, featuring the aforementioned singles, several more fine originals by Mick Bower, a cover of Bo Diddley's "Dancing Girl" and a version of The Beatles' "I Feel Fine". (NB: subsequent re-releases of this album, including the first CD release in 1996, dropped the Beatles track and added two later singles, "Elevator Driver" and "Brigette"). By now the group was assimilating influences from the burgeoning psychedelic scene, although it is not known whether any of the band had actually tried the drug LSD at this point -- Keays maintains that it wasn't until some time afterwards that they began to experiment with it. Nevertheless, their next single, Mick Bower's "Living in A Child's Dream", is now widely regarded as a classic of Australian psychedelic rock and one of the greatest Australian pop songs of the era. It was recorded at the newly-opened Armstrong's Studios in South Melbourne and like all their Astor cuts it was nominally produced by Astor staff producer Dick Heming. However Keays later said that Heming's input was limited and that most of the actual production was done by renowned engineer Roger Savage, with considerable input from Ian Meldrum. Released in August 1967 at the peak of the "Summer Of Love", it became one of their biggest successes, topping the charts in most Australian capitals. Both "Living In A Child's Dream" and "Undecided" ranked in the Top 5 Australian singles of 1967, and "Living In A Child's Dream" was voted Australian Song of the Year. The success of the new single rapidly elevated the Masters to the status of national teen idols, but with such rapid and huge success, pressures began to mount. The first victim was lead guitarist Rick Morrison, who was forced to quit after passing out on stage during a concert in June 1967, suffering a collapsed lung. He was ordered to give up performing and was replaced by Tony Summers (ex-Johnny Young's Kompany). Meanwhile the endless round of concerts and tours continued, with the group playing up to fifteen shows per week. A tour of New South Wales in July 1967 included some of the last pop shows staged at the famed Sydney Stadium on 30 July, and more shows at the famous Trocadero ballroom (both later demolished). Also in July, they made it into the South Australian finals of the new national band competition, the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds. In September 1967, while touring Tasmania, the shy and sensitive Bower suffered a nervous collapse just before a show in Hobart. Although Bower was found in his room in a state of extreme distress, the promoter insisted that the group had to perform and, faced with the prospect of going unpaid and being stranded in Hobart, they had no choice but to comply, so he was dressed, taken to the concert and pushed on stage with his guitar around his neck. The stricken Bower stood motionless all through the gig, arms hanging limp, in a near-catatonic state. He was hospitalised immediately after the gig, suffering a severe nervous breakdown, and was ordered to give up performing. He was sent home to Adelaide to recuperate, and only returned to live performance years in the late '70s. The loss of Mick Bower was a blow comparable to Pink Floyd's loss of its leader Syd Barrett, and it threatened to end the Masters' career just as it was taking off. Like Barrett, Bower was central to the Masters' success, having composed all their singles and all the original tracks on their debut album. His forced departure left the group floundering for some time, as they tried to work out how to proceed without him. When they met back in Melbourne, they decided to continue, with de-facto leadership passing to Keays. At the end of the September Keays and Gavin Webb chose Bower's on-stage substitute, guitarist Rick Harrsion, but it was to be another year before a true replacement was found. On 14 October 1967 the Masters played a free concert in Sydney's Hyde Park, as part of the Sydney Waratah Spring Festival. After parading down George St in a limousine, they were greeted by an estimated 50,000 frantic fans who had packed into the park, but after only a few songs the concert degenerated into a riot. Dozens were injured as thousands of young people crushed forward, with the force of the surging mob lifting people off their feet. When the crowd surge threatened to topple the makeshift stage, police were forced to pull the plug. In the ensuing chaos, the band was hustled through one car and into another, just as the first of the two limos hired to carry them was overturned and wrecked, with fans pummelling their car and faces blocking every inch of window. The band barely escaped, their panic-stricken driver crashing through garden beds until they lurched out onto William St and drove off with hundreds of fans pursuing them up the hill towards Kings Cross. That same evening, still dazed by the afternoon's events, they headlined a university dance named in their honour, the "Living In A Child's Dream" Ball, organised by students of the University of NSW. Keays vividly described the event in his memoirs: "The ball itself was a psychedelic experience of the highest order. Because of its theme, everyone was dressed as a schoolgirl or boy, some licking lollipops and others playing with yo-yos. There were people frolicking in huge cages filled with Minties and Jaffas (popular Australian sweets) and everyone seemed suitably spaced. The band was taken backstage, whereupon we climbed into a giant dice which had been specially constructed. The dice was then wheeled out on a cue from the stage manager and pushed through the audience up to the stage. At this point the lid of the dice flew open and up we popped. Someone from the university then presented me with the key, to thunderous applause by the vast crowd, and we jumped out, slung on our guitars and blasted into the most acid-inspired sounds we could muster. The audience went out of their minds -- probably because most of them already were -- and pandemonium broke out when we ended the set with "Living In A Child's Dream". The psychedelic light show was as magnificent as had been seen anywhere in the country, with 'trippy' oil lights, the first mirror balls I'd ever seen, smoke machines and the full range of state-of-the-art psychedelia." New guitarist Rick Harrison quit the band immediately after these concerts and when they returned to Melbourne they recruited a new lead player, Peter Tilbrook, another Adelaide friend. His previous band, The Bentbeaks, had released a single "Caught Red Handed", which had been banned by Melbourne radio in March that year for alleged obscenity. Not long after this, Jim Keays tried LSD for the first time, an event that is hilariously recounted in his book. With Astor pressing for a new single, the band turned to their friend Brian Cadd of The Groop, who had already written a number of successful songs for his own band and for other artists, including Johnny Farnham. Cadd presented them with the song, "Silver People", which was retitled "Elevator Driver" and released in February 1968 as their fourth single. As 1967 ended the Masters' career reached a critical juncture. They still had no songwriter, and both drummer Steve Hopgood and lead guitarist Tony Sommers were becoming disenchanted with the band's erratic fortunes. Keays then decided to replace them and also their second manager, Tony Dickstein. Around this time they also hired their first permanent roadie, Neil McCabe, and he soon became an indispensable part of the band. Returning to Melbourne via Sydney, Keays met two musician brothers, bassist-singer Denny Burgess and his drummer brother Colin, who played in a support band, The Haze, at a gig in suburban Ashfield, NSW. Both musically and personally, Jim was impressed and immediately earmarked Colin as a possible new drummer. Returning to Melbourne, Keays approached Ross East, lead guitarist with Jeff St John's band Copperwine and asked him to join. but East declined. 1968 was a year of major changes for the group, taking them to some of the lowest points of their career. The exact chronology of events in this period is rather unclear, and while Glenn Wheatley and Jim Keays' books are generally in accord, there are some specific points where their accounts of this year differ markedly. In January 1968 Jim Keays began to reorganise the band, and Summers and Hopgood were sacked. Impressed by his energy and his ability to find work, Keays approached Glenn Wheatley, who was then playing guitar for blues band Bay City Union, as well as that band's drummer, Tony Buettel, both of whom lived in the same street as Keays. Wheatley and Buettel opted to stay with their band, although Wheatley subsequently became the Masters' new bassist. Meanwhile, Keays arranged for Colin Burgess to be flown to Melbourne and he was hired as the Masters' new drummer. Keays then approached guitarist Doug Ford, who also lived down the road from Keays' St Kilda flat. Ford was already recognised as one of the strongest and most innovative electric guitarists on the Australian pop scene and had made his name in the second lineup of pioneering Sydney garage-punk-R&B legends The Missing Links, and its offshoot Running Jumping Standing Still. The new recruits revitalised the Masters' flagging career. Ford -- who had gained renown among musicians as a member of legendary Sydney group The Missing Links -- was a strong songwriter, a good singer and an accomplished electric guitarist who brought a new depth to the band's sound. He agreed to join as soon as he had fulfilled his obligations to his current band, and as soon as he joined the Masters, he and Keays began working as a writing team. Ford's arrival finally filled the gap left by Mick Bowers' departure and made possible their transition from pop band to rock group. As the partnership developed, Keays and Ford created a repertoire of memorable songs which balanced heavy guitar rock with lyrical acoustic touches."Elevator Driver" was released in February 1968, accompanied by another film clip and a full-colour promotional poster. The band had to pay for both items themselves because Astor refused to pay for such 'extravagant' promotional items. "Elevator Driver" was perfect for the moment, providing them with another Top 10 hit, and keeping the momentum going as they rebuilt the band. In April 1968 bassist Gavin Webb -- the last remaining member of the original Mustangs -- was forced to quit, suffering from stomach ulcers. Keays set about finding a new bassist. His first choice was Beeb Birtles of Zoot (and later of Little River Band) but Birtles declined. On the flight home, Keays found himself seated next to artist manager Darryl Sambell, who was then enjoying huge success with his young protege Johnny Farnham. Keays and the flamboyant Sambell hit it off, and Sambell soon took over the Masters' management. Sambell's management turned out to be a mixed blessing. He was a master networker and had a flair for getting publicity; he also freed them from their Astor contract and signed them to EMI, the largest label in Australia at that time. He was also a partner in the newly-formed AMBO booking agency, a new 'superagency' put together by a group of leading agent-managers including Gary Spry, Bill Joseph, Jeff Joseph and Don La Roche. This proved very helpful for concert bookings but in the long run Sambell proved to be more interested in Farnham's career and the day-to-day management duties gradually fell to Glenn Wheatley. Sambell's pop tastes were also were at odds with the developing progressive direction of the Masters' music. Glenn Wheatley joined the band sometime during the early months of 1968, probably in March or April, just after Gavin Webb had to leave. Their next single, "Brigette" -- released in June 1968 and their last single for Astor -- marked the debut of the Ford/Keays writing partnership. Keays has noted that it was inspired by his love of Donovan's "Mellow Yellow", although it also bears a resemblance to some of The Move's earlier singles. The quasi-baroque arrangement included a string section scored by The Strangers' John Farrar, and while it did not fare as well as previous efforts, it took them back into the Top 40. Mid-year, they topped the annual Go-Set Pop Poll as 'Most Original Group', and they came second to The Twilights as 'Most Popular Australian Group'. They entered the South Australian heats of the 1968 Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, beating local rivals Zoot in a tense contest, but ultimately they were again runners-up in the national final. It was held in Melbourne in July, and they were beaten this time by The Groove, with Doug Parkinson In Focus coming third. After the Hoadleys final, the band was approached by the manager of the Sitmar cruise line, the other major sponsor of the contest. He told the band that he had voted for them in the final, thought they should have won, and offered them a working trip to England, with free passage in exchange for performances during the voyage. At a meeting the week after the Hoadleys finals, the Masters took Sambell's advice, and decided not to renew their contract with Astor. Sambell indicated that he would be able to negotiate a new contract with EMI, which he did. Sambell also announced that he was "poaching" faithful roadie Neil McCabe to work in his office and take care of his No. 1 act, Johnny Farnahm. Although disappointed to lose McCabe, the band soon found an able replacement in the equally loyal and capable Adrian "Ada" Barker. Live performances continued throughout the year and in the second half of 1968 they went back into Armstrong's Studios to cut their first single for EMI, although this was not released until early 1969. Meanwhile, Astor released the song "But One Day" (an old track from their debut LP) as a single in August, but the band urged fans not to buy it and it failed to chart. The band played hundreds of concerts during the year, touring around country Australia, visiting interstate capitals and dashing from dance to dance around greater Melbourne. Their schedule was punishing -- typically they would play three shows a night on Fridays and Saturdays (performances in those days usually averaged about 45 minutes), and then head to the Channel 0 TV studios on Saturday mornings for appearances on the leading pop show of the day,