1964–1965: Formation and the Mustangs The Mustangs were a
surf music instrumental/dance band formed in
Adelaide in 1964 with Mick Bower on rhythm guitar, Rick Morrison on lead guitar, Brian Vaughton on drums and Gavin Webb on bass guitar. Initially they played
covers of
the Shadows and
the Ventures songs. By early 1966 they were one of the most popular beat bands in Adelaide, regularly selling out concerts in the city, as well as making visits to outlying towns of
Murray Bridge,
Mount Gambier and
Whyalla. The band went to a local two-track studio to record it, but realised that they had only three suitable songs to record. in about 15 minutes; is the first Australian pop song to directly address the issue of the
Vietnam War, which was now affecting the lives of many young Australians because of the controversial introduction of
conscription in 1965. 20-year-old Keays was one of hundreds of potential conscripts whose birthday (9 September) was picked in a 1966 ballot. He was able to legally avoid the draft by signing with the
Citizens Military Force (CMF, later renamed the Army Reserve) and eluded a "short back and sides"
haircut with the aid of his girlfriend, who pinned his long hair up under his
slouch hat whenever he attended CMF sessions. During their second trip to Melbourne in late 1966, local radio DJ,
Stan Rofe, had picked up "Undecided" and was playing it regularly, their raw sound and wild stage act led him to state: Rofe, also a columnist with pop magazine,
Go-Set, championed many Australian acts during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The band promoted "Undecided" on Melbourne TV series,
Kommotion, where members met
Ian Meldrum who
mimed to "
Winchester Cathedral", Meldrum was also a staff writer for
Go-Set and was later a record producer, host of the influential TV pop show
Countdown and a music commentator. which became their second single, plus other tracks which were later on their debut
LP album. 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 Longley and drummer Vaughton, both deciding to remain in Adelaide.
Go-Set had published
national singles charts since October 1966, and "Undecided" peaked at No. 13 in April. The group became established as one of Melbourne's top attractions, performing regularly at
discos like Catcher, Sebastians, the Thumpin' Tum and the Biting Eye and at a multitude of suburban dances. Despite such 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 their second 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 made in Australia. They also undertook their first trip to Sydney, where they made a live appearance on the
TCN-9 pop show
Saturday Date, where they were chased by fans on their way to the studio and had their clothes partly ripped before appearing. In June 1967,
Astor released the group's self-titled debut LP,
The Masters Apprentices (also styled as ''The Master's Apprentices''), featuring earlier singles, several originals written by Bower, a
cover of
Bo Diddley's "Dancing Girl" and
the Beatles' "
I Feel Fine". Nevertheless, their next single, Bower's "
Living in a Child's Dream", is regarded as an early example of Australian
psychedelic rock and one of their greatest pop songs. Released in August 1967, at the peak of the
Summer of Love, it reached Top Ten in most Australian capitals and peaked at No. 9 on
Go-Sets Top 40. 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 by
Go-Set readers. which was re-titled as "Elevator Driver" and released in February 1968 as their fourth single. As 1967 ended the band's 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 decided to replace them and also their second manager, Tony Dickstein. In Sydney, Keays met two brothers, bass guitarist and singer Denny Burgess (ex-
The Throb), and drummer
Colin Burgess, both had played in a support band, The Haze, at a gig in suburban
Ashfield. Keays was impressed and considered them for possible new members. In April 1968, bassist Gavin Webb—last of original line-up of The Mustangs—was forced to quit, suffering from
stomach ulcers. Keays first choice for bass guitar was
Beeb Birtles of Adelaide band
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 the success of his protégé Johnny Farnham with his No. 1 hit single, "
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)". Keays and the flamboyant Sambell hit it off, and Sambell took over the band's management, which was a mixed blessing: he was a master networker and had a flair for getting publicity; he was also a partner in the newly formed AMBO
booking agency, which proved helpful for concert bookings; but in the long run Sambell was more interested in Farnham's career and the day-to-day management duties gradually fell to band members. Sambell's pop tastes were also at odds with the developing progressive direction of the band's music.
Glenn Wheatley (from Brisbane's
blues group Bay City Union) joined on guitar just after Webb had left and Tilbrook switched to bass guitar. Upon Sambell's advice, they decided not to renew their contract with Astor and negotiated a new contract with
EMI. Their next single, "Brigette"—released in June 1968 was their last recording for Astor—marked the debut of the Ford/Keays writing partnership. It was inspired by
Donovan's "
Mellow Yellow" and 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 also took them into the Top 40. In 1968, 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. They were runners-up in the national final, held in Melbourne in July, with
The Groove winning and
Doug Parkinson in Focus coming third. After the Hoadleys final, the manager of co-sponsor
Sitmar cruise line, who had voted for them, offered the band a working trip to UK, with free passage in exchange for performances. Keays was interviewed by
Go-Set staff reporter,
Lily Brett and the 'expose' was printed on 17 July 1968, headlined "Sex is thrust upon us", the article and its follow-up, "Whose breasts are best?", threats of physical beatings from male audience members and the press claiming they were "sex maniacs". and initiated a string of Top 20 hits. It was a deliberate move towards a heavier sound, as the band were keen to move away from the current bubblegum craze that their manager and producer wanted. Also in July, with "5:10 Man" climbing the charts, they had their next attempt at the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, and once again they were runners-up—although this time they ran such a close second to
Doug Parkinson in Focus that they were also offered the same prize, a trip to UK with the Sitmar line. According to Keays, his band won on points but the judges felt their 'bad boy' image did not make them suitable for first.
1970: Masterpiece and United Kingdom first year Early in 1970, the band officially parted with Sambell and set up their own booking agency, Drum. Based in a
terrace house office in Drummond St
Carlton, Drum began by handling the band's own management but within a few months it was also booking and promoting gigs for The Sect, Ash, Lovers Dream, Big Daddies, Thursday's Children, Looking Glass,
Daisy Clover, Nova Express,
Company Caine, Plastic Tears, Little Stevie,
Tamam Shud, Jeff St John,
The Flying Circus and fourteen other acts, as well as promoting tours by overseas acts
The Four Tops and
Paul Jones (ex-
Manfred Mann). The Masters Apprentices had been stockpiling tracks since they signed with
EMI, in February their long delayed second LP
Masterpiece was released. Although something of a hodgepodge—as Keays freely admits—it showed the band developing a much broader range. It included the singles "Linda Linda" and "5:10 Man" and album tracks, "A Dog, a Siren & Memories", and "How I Love You", although it omitted the song "Merry-Go-Round". By then they were coming to grips with the album format and emulated the current fad for
concept albums by linking the songs with a short guitar-and-string arrangement, crossfaded between tracks. The title track, a live recording, provides a vivid aural snapshot of their live show during 1968, complete with the deafening screams of fans. The album also includes their own version of "St John's Wood", a track Ford and Keays wrote for Brisbane band The Sect, who had released it as a single on
Columbia during the year. In April 1970, EMI released, "Turn Up Your Radio", produced by Gable, and engineered by John Sayers. It was recorded at a late-night session and Keays later recounted that he was so drunk when he recorded his vocals that he had to be held up to the microphone. The song was deliberately designed to be loud and offensive, and was intended as the final nail in the coffin to their ill-conceived
teenybopper image. It was released just before the start of the
1970 radio ban—a major dispute between commercial radio stations and record companies—which resulted in the banning of many major-label releases. Despite little commercial radio airplay, the song raced up the charts and peaked at No. 7 nationally. Since receiving their prize in the Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds in mid-1969, The Masters Apprentices were set on breaking into the UK market. They worked to save money for the effort with a national farewell tour in April–May. On 25 May 1970, they boarded the
Fairsky for UK, their agency business was left in the hands of Adrian Barker. They were given a send-off by a crowd of fans and friends including Rofe, Sambell, Meldrum,
Ross D. Wyllie, Johnny Young and Ronnie Burns. The six-week ocean voyage provided a break after years of constant gigging. Without the pressure and distraction of touring, they wrote and rehearsed new material. Arriving in English in July, the band entered a productive period, where they continued to write and rehearse, and made contact with other Aussie expatriates. Freed from constant performing, they immersed themselves in the cultural life of London, going on shopping sprees for clothes in
Kings Road,
Chelsea, ploughing through scores of new records and doing the rounds of clubs and concerts, seeing the best music on offer. Wheatley continued work on a manuscript he had begun on the ocean voyage, "Who the Hell is Judy in Sydney?", which recounted his experiences with the group. His memoirs were too hot for publishers at the time and were not printed until decades later when they became the basis for his autobiography
Paper Paradise. Wheatley contacted EMI in London and met with Trudy Green, secretary to staff producer Jeff Jarratt. She liked the Australian band and got Jarratt interested, he agreed to produce them. EMI Australia agreed to pay for the album's recording, with EMI UK providing the artwork; the group were thrilled to record at the legendary
Abbey Road Studios with Jarratt and engineer Peter Brown. Just before the start of recording, Keays made a trip to mainland Europe, and was in
Copenhagen when he heard of the death of
Jimi Hendrix, one of his idols. Back in London, Ford and Keays penned "Song for a Lost Gypsy", which they added to their songlist. The band entered the studio in September to record
Choice Cuts. The staff and facilities were superior to those in Australia, which allowed a greater range of expression. The songs they brought to the sessions—many written during the voyage—were original and distinctive, distilling their recent musical influences. This included the heavier sounds of Hendrix,
King Crimson and
Free, as well as the acoustic styles of
Donovan, the
Small Faces and
Van Morrison. They brought in outside musicians to augment some tracks, and made use of
Paul McCartney's white
grand piano on a few cuts, including "Because I Love You". Towards the end of recording, they found themselves one song short of the optimum LP length, so at Jarratt's suggestion they wrote a new song, built up from a Latin-flavoured instrumental shuffle that Ford had been playing with. Keays wrote lyrics for the piece overnight, they cut it the next day and it became the album's opening track "Rio de Camero". The entire LP was recorded, mixed and mastered within a month. The choice of the first single was, "Because I Love You", a song of love, separation and independence, and became a popular and enduring recording. and became one of the key songs of the new era of Australian rock. Lindley became an ardent supporter and started work on a film about the band: he shot several performances in the weeks before they returned to UK, but the project foundered when Lindley committed suicide, only fragments of his material survived. They made numerous TV appearances, including a three-song live set for the ABC's
GTK which included a live-in-the-studio performance of "Future of Our Nation". In Melbourne they played a concert at the
Town Hall, supported by
Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs.
Choice Cuts was released in the UK it was well received by critics. In May 1971, John Halsall called from London to inform them that
Choice Cuts was receiving glowing notices in the English music press, including a rave review in
Melody Maker. He told them it was selling well in UK and starting to make an impression in Europe—the track "I'm Your Satisfier" had been released in France and had gone into the Top 10 there. Halsall urged them to return to London as soon as possible and that they would be able to record a new album there, so they organised their return and EMI agreed to finance another LP when they got to London. By the time they arrived in the UK, almost three months had passed since Halsall's phone call and interest was waning. At this point a new UK label
Bronze—who had just signed
Slade and
Uriah Heep—made an approach to the band. Although the group was hesitant, being still signed to EMI, they decided to use the offer as leverage in hopes of getting a better deal out of EMI. Wheatley delivered an ultimatum to EMI Australia, demanding that they either release the band from their contract or match Bronze's offer of £90,000 (or $180,000 in Australia). EMI did neither, responding with an advance of $1,000. Fearing legal repercussions, the band declined Bronze's offer. Keays' later opined that the best course of action would have been to "sign with Bronze and let the lawyers work it all out later." He had a
bad LSD trip the night before they went into the studio and began the recording in a negative frame of mind. In November 1998, Colin and Denny Burgess narrowly escaped death after the car in which they were travelling was struck by a semi-trailer. Both were severely injured—Colin suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries and as a result could not be moved from the wreck for some time. Denny also received serious injuries and had to undergo
plastic surgery. Both made a recovery and were the subject of a critically acclaimed documentary. In 1999, Ford, Keays and Wheatley reunited in Melbourne to perform 'unplugged' at the launch of Keays' memoirs, ''His Master's Voice: The Masters Apprentices: The bad boys of sixties rock 'n' roll'', in which he stated that he would not initiate any further reunions. Wheatley's own memoirs, ''Paper paradise: confessions of a rock 'n' roll survivor
, was released later in the year. and the Long Way to the Top national concert tour during August–September 2002, which featured a host of the best Australian acts of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The tour was inspired by the ABC-TV series Long Way to the Top'' broadcast in August 2001. Keays featured on "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" where he discussed the UK migrant influence on their early work and "Undecided"; and in "Episode 3:Billy Killed the Fish 1968–1973" where he described pioneering
pub rock and the band's groupies. The classic line-up of Burgess, Ford, Keays and Wheatley reformed although Wheatley only performed for a couple of the concerts and was subbed by his son, Tim Wheatley. Keays died from pneumonia related to
multiple myeloma on 13 June 2014. In 2020, the band continued in their original five-piece format featuring original 1960s members Mick Bower, Brian Vaughton, Gavin Webb and Rick Harrison along with bassist Bill Harrod and lead singer Craig Holden. Their bassist and founding member, Gavin Webb, died on 16 April 2024 after a cancer battle. The band announced in 2026, that Doug Ford would be rejoining the band for the first time in over 20 years for select dates. ==Legacy==