MelissaÕs beginnings can be traced back to 1964 when Ken Frazer and Richard (Rick) Barrett were at High School. They formed a band playing instrumental music by The Shadows and The Ventures. It wasnÕt long before they came under the influence of the British bands and started to play music by Them, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles etc; and later The Yardbirds and Traffic. For a time the band was called The Senate, and although they didnÕt get many gigs, they certainly rehearsed a lot. It was probably in 1968 when drummer Warren Sparke and singer Robert (Bob) Gunn joined with bass player Ken Frazer and guitarist Rick Barrett and started playing gigs around Sydney as Molten Hue.In early 1970 the bandÕs name was changed from Molten Hue to Melissa. Later that year they recorded their one and only single Mississippi Mamma b/w Too Much of Nothing. In September 1970, Ken Frazer (who had married in June) played his last gig with the band. That brought to an end his musical adventure started with Rick back in 1964. September 1970 also brought new bass player and singer Joe Creighton to the band. Joe came from Belfast in Ireland. Although Joe was only with Melissa for six months (until March 1971), this was probably the bandÕs most exciting and productive period. The influences of Van Morrison, Charles Mingus, Roland Kirk etc. were having a marked effect on what music the band was playing and how they were playing it. Bob Gunn had been playing flute for a while now and that added a new and distinct flavour to the sound. Joe Creighton and Rick Barrett started writing together and their original songs were added to the bandÕs repertoire. Still signed to Banner Records, and Rick and Joe to Dal MylesÕ Mountain Music for publishing, the band started recording the Midnight Trampoline album later in 1970. The meaning of the title is left to your imagination. Recording was again at United Sound Studios with Spencer Lee producing and engineering. This was where the earlier single was recorded with Spencer engineering that session. Most of the recording was done in late night to early morning sessions and spread over many months.