By that time, Merritt had relocated again – this time to England. 1971–1976: England 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 and the Moody Blues 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 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, the Nashville Rooms in West Kensington, the Windsor Castle on the Harrow Road and in 1976 played a memorable gig at Alexandra Palace 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 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, in 1977 and signed as a solo artist with Polydor Records, 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 Rugby