unavailable, one such band was Ray Columbus & the Invaders 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's 1959 tour of New Zealand. Christchurch had been chosen as the site for a United States paramilitary base to access Antarctica. Code-named "Operation Deep Freeze", 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, HMV 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 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 on recordings. Her best known single, "Reet Petite", from September 1964 reached No. 1 on the New Zealand charts and No. 6 in Melbourne, 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