L to R: Bob Price, Peter Thornton, Don Stehr, John Stanford and Malcolm Campbell.
Meteors
L to R: Bob Price, Peter Thornton, Don Stehr, John Stanford
and Malcolm Campbell.
Line-Up:
Malcolm 'Gene' Campbell (Guitar)
Don Stehr (Guitar
/ Vocals)
Bob Price (Guitar)
Peter Thornton (Tea-Chest
Bass)
John Stanford (Washboard)
The Meteors were an Auckland band formed in 1957 by a group of school friends from Auckland Grammar. They were in no way connected to the Max Merritt version that had formed in Christchurch the year before, other than by name.
This Auckland group were into skiffle when they formed and even though its members were still at school, they did play regular engagements at the weekends, mainly doing weddings and social events. By 1958, rock and roll had taken over from skiffle and the boys now started to incorporate some of the current hits into their repertoire.
Early in 1959, Malcolm and another school mate, Terry Cusack, began to hang out at Curries Milk Bar in Queen Street on Friday nights. Playing their guitars, they entertained the other patrons with their rock and roll songs. Their popularity grew and before long, Malcolm, who was now calling himself Gene, decided to team up with Terry and form a new group. The Meteors folded and Gene's new group became the happening thing on the Auckland scene. They were called Gene and the Dynamites.