"Undecided" is the debut single by Australian rock group, the Masters Apprentices, which was issued in October 1966 on Astor Records. It peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Setnational singles charts. It was included on The Masters Apprentices debut EP and The Masters Apprentices debut studio album, both released in 1967.
Background
In mid-1966 Adelaide-based rock group, the Masters Apprentices, shared a gig with pop star, Bobby Bright (of Melbourne duo, Bobby & Laurie), who was impressed and recommended them to his label, Astor Records. A few weeks later, they were contacted by Astor's Max Pepper, who requested a four-track demo.[1][2] The band went to a local two-track studio to record it, but realised that they had only three suitable songs: "Hot Gully Wind", "Buried and Dead" and "She's My Girl".[1][3] The demo became their debut extend play, The Masters Apprentices (February 1967).[3][4]
Needing a fourth track, the group's guitarists Mick Bower and Rick Morrison wrote a new song, "Undecided",[1][5] in about 15 minutes;[1] the instrumental backing was cut in about the same time.[1][2] The title came from the fact that they were undecided about a name for the song when quizzed by studio owner and producer, Pepper.[1][3] The biting fuzz-tone of Bower's guitar on the track was a fortunate accident; it was caused by a malfunctioning valve in his amplifier, but the group liked the sound and kept the faulty valve in until after the session.[2][3]
Their debut single, "Undecided" backed by "Wars or Hands of Time", was released in October 1966 and gradually climbed the Adelaide charts, due to support from local DJs,[3] peaking at No. 4.[6] The B-side, "Wars or Hands of Time", written solely by Bower,[7] is the first Australian pop song to directly address the issue of the Vietnam War,[8] which was then affecting the lives of many young Australians because of the controversial introduction of conscription in 1965.[3] Teen pop newspaper, Go-Set, started publishing their national singles charts in October 1966. By February of the following year the group had relocated to Melbourne and issued their four-track EP on Astor.[4] "Undecided" peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set National Top 40 in June 1967,[9] spending sixteen weeks in the charts.[10]
ABC-TV series, Long Way to the Top, was broadcast in August 2001.[11] Lead singer Jim Keays featured in "Episode 2: Ten Pound Rocker 1963–1968" where he discussed the UK migrant influence on the Masters Apprentices early work and how "Undecided" was issued.[11] He recalled "I was at the drive-in with my girlfriend and in between the two movies I switched off the drive-in speaker and put on the car radio and 'Undecided' came on, one of the songs we'd recorded as a demo. And I couldn't believe it, it was just a shock. There it was and sure enough we were the last ones to know that it was released."[11]
"Undecided" (December 1975) was re-recorded and issued as a single by Jim Keays as lead singer of Jim Keays' Southern Cross with Peter Laffy (ex-Fox) on guitar, Ron Robinson on bass guitar and John Swan (ex-Fraternity) on drums.[12][13] From 2000, he performed "Undecided" as a member of Cotton Keays & Morris alongside other former 1960s artists, Darryl Cotton and Russell Morris.[5]
Kimball, Duncan (2002). "The Masters Apprentices". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
Spencer, Chris; Nowara, Zbig; McHenry, Paul (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN1-86503-891-1.[14] Note: [on-line] version was established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from September 2010 the [on-line] version is no longer available.
The Masters Apprentices: Holmgren, Magnus. "The Masters Apprentices". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
