Making up the band Mercury White from Warragul and Drouin are, from left, Nathan Benbow, Kevin Spadaro, Paul Cooper and John Reid.By Bridget Brady
JOHN Reid was nursing a serious knee injury in hospital and digesting news he might never run again when a friend gave him the boost he needed – and from there Mercury White was born.
Reid, 24, severely injured his knee while playing football for Warragul last year.
“They said I wouldn’t walk properly again and never run again. It was pretty upsetting,” he said.
Mate Paul Cooper, 23, thought music would take Reid’s mind away from his injury, and approached him about starting a band after reminiscing about old jam sessions.
“He’s always been interested in music and driven by sport because he’s such an athlete. It gave him something else to aspire to,” Cooper said.
“It definitely was a big crutch,” Reid said.
Guitarist Nathan Benbow, 21, and drummer Kevin Spadaro, 23, make up the other half of Mercury White.
“It all sort of fell into place,” Cooper said.
The band drew their influences from groups such as The Killers, Muse, Arcade Fire and Kaiser Chiefs, and described their style as indie pop.
Mercury White has had a hectic 2009 and recorded their EP ‘Gravity Says’ which will be released in February and has also recorded a film clip for one of their songs.
They have supported acts such as the Hoodoo Gurus and Evermore.
“This year has been pretty chaotic,” Cooper said.
“It’s going better than you could imagine seeing as though we are such a young band.”
Reid said the support from friends and people in the Warragul and Drouin area had been “awesome”.
“The biggest goal is just to push as hard as we can to make it something we can do for the rest of our lives.”
Mercury White will perform at the Espy Basement in Melbourne on 14, 21 and 28 January and continue touring to Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Brisbane in February.
