1967-1971: Melbourne
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 collided head-on with a car near Bunyip -- Birtles suffered a broken leg, Speer had both legs crushed, broke both arms and lost the tops off several fingers, and Merrit lost his right eye and had his face scarred. It took the band nearly a year to recover, and by July 1968 they competed in the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds finishing behind winners The Groove, The Masters Apprentices and Doug Parkinson.
1969 saw the group 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 #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 #8 on the National albums chart. Dave Russell (ex-Ray Columbus & the Invaders) replaced Harrison on bass and Merritt's band were asked by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to provide a four part TV series Max Merrit and the Meteors in Concert. Late 1970 they released Stray Cats and followed with singles, "Good Feelin'" and "Hello LA, Bye Bye Birmingham" in 1971, and "Let it Slide" in 1972 but neither album nor singles charted well. By that time, Merritt had relocated again - this time to England.
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