The Searchers are a British
rock
act who emerged as part of the 1960s merseybeat scene along with The
Beatles, The Swinging Blue Jeans,
and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
The band's hits included "Sweets
for My Sweet," "Sugar and Spice," "Needles and Pins," and
"Don't Throw Your Love Away", as well as a cover of The
Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". They
were, in fact, the second group from Liverpool after the Beatles to
have a hit in America when "Needles and Pins" charted during the first
week of March, 1964.
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Contents
- 1 Band
history
- 2 Hit
singles
- 3 Cover
versions of songs by The Searchers
- 4 The
Searchers Timeline
- 5 References
- 6 External
links
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Band history
Originally founded as a skiffle group in Liverpool in
1959
by John McNally (born 30 August 1941, at Walton General Hospital, 107 Rice
Lane, Walton,
Liverpool,
Lancashire) and Mike Pender (born Michael John
Prendergast, 3
March 1942,
in Kirkdale,
Liverpool,
Lancashire),
the band took their name from the classic 1956 John Wayne western
The Searchers.
Prendergast claims that the name was his idea, but McNally ascribes it
to 'Big Ron'
Woodbridge (born Ronald Woodbridge, 1938, in Liverpool, Lancashire),
their first lead singer. The genesis remains unresolved.
The band grew out of an earlier skiffle group formed by
McNally, with his friends Brian Dolan (guitar) and Tony West (bass).
When the other two members lost interest McNally was joined by his
guitarist neighbour Mike Prendergast. They soon
recruited Tony Jackson
(born Anthony Paul Jackson, 16 July 1938, in The Dingle, Liverpool, Lancashire,
died 18
August 2003,
in Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire)
with his home-made bass guitar and amplifier and styled themselves Tony
and the Searchers with Joe Kelly on drums. Kelly soon left
to be replaced by Norman McGarry (born 1 March 1942, in Liverpool, Lancashire),and
it is this line-up—McNally, Pender (as he soon became known), Jackson
and McGarry—that is usually cited as the original foursome.
McGarry did not stay long, however, and in 1960 his place was
taken by Chris Crummey (who later
changed his name to Curtis). Later that year Big Ron had a successful
audition with Mecca and became a ballroom singer. He was replaced by
Billy Beck, who changed his name to Johnny
Sandon. The band had regular bookings at Liverpool's Iron
Door Club as Johnny Sandon and the Searchers.
Sandon left the band in late 1961 to join The
Remo Four in February 1962. The group settled into a quartet
sharing the vocal lead and billed simply as The Searchers.
They continued to play at the Iron Door, The
Cavern, and other Liverpool clubs. Like many similar acts they would do
as many as three shows at different venues in one night. They
negotiated a contract with the Star-Club in the St. Pauli
district Hamburg
for 128 days, with three one-hour performances a night, starting in
July 1962.
The band returned to a residency at the Iron Door Club and it
was there that they tape-recorded the sessions that led to a recording
contract with Pye Records with Tony
Hatch as producer.A deal was later arranged
with U.S. based Kapp Records to distribute their records in America.
Hatch played piano on some recordings and wrote "Sugar and
Spice"—the band’s second number one record—under the pseudonym Fred
Nightingale; a secret he kept from the band at the time.
After scoring their monumental hit "Needles and Pins", bassist
Tony Jackson went solo and was replaced by Hamburg pal Frank
Allen of Cliff
Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.
Chris Curtis left the band in 1966 and was replaced by the Keith
Moon-influenced John Blunt, who in turn was replaced by Billy Adamson in 1970. In 1967, Chris
Curtis formed a new band called Roundabout with keyboard
Player Jon
Lord and Guitarist Ritchie
Blackmore. Although Curtis's involvement in the project was
short-lived, Roundabout would eventually evolve into Deep
Purple the following year.
As musical styles evolved, the Searchers could not keep up and
as a result, the hits ran out. While they continued to record for Liberty
Records and RCA Records, they ended up on the
British "Chicken in a Basket" circuit, although they did score a minor
US hit in 1971 with "Desdemona".
The group continued to tour through the 1970s and were
rewarded in 1979 when Sire Records signed the band to a
multi-record deal. Two albums were released: The Searchers
and Play for Today (retitled Love's
Melodies outside the UK). Both records garnered critical
acclaim but did not break into the charts. They did, however, revive
the group's career.
According to John McNally, the band were ready to head into
the studio to record a third album for Sire when they were informed
that due to label reorganization, their contract had been dropped.
In 1981, the band signed to PRT Records (formerly Pye, their
original label) and began recording an album. But only one single, "I
Don't Want To Be The One" backed with "Hollywood", ended up
being released. The rest of the tracks would be included as part of
2004's 40th Anniversary collection.
Soon after the PRT release, Mike Pender left the group amidst
great acrimony and now tours as Mike Pender's Searchers.
McNally and Allan recruited former First Class vocalist Spencer James to fill Pender's shoes.
In 1988, Coconut Records signed The Searchers
and the album Hungry Hearts was the result. It
featured updated remakes of "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets For My
Sweets" plus live favorite "Somebody Told Me You Were Crying". While
the album was not a major hit, it did keep the group in the public eye.
The band continues to tour with Eddie Rothe replacing Adamson on drums
and is considered to be one of the most popular 1960s bands on the UK
concert circuit. The Searchers incorporate full band
electric performances with an acoustic set as well. Creating ample
amounts of confusion, former Searchers lead singer Mike
Pender also tours, but with his new full band electric outfit
Mike Pender's Searchers, as
they perform hits of The Searchers and some new material of
their own.
Hit singles
| Release date |
Title |
Chart Positions |
| UK
Singles Chart |
US
Charts |
| 1963 |
"Sweets for My Sweet" |
#1 |
- |
| 1963 |
"Sweet Nothins" |
#48 |
- |
| 1963 |
"Sugar and Spice" |
#2 |
#44 |
| 1964 |
"Needles and Pins" |
#1 |
#13 |
| 1964 |
"Ain't That Just Like Me" |
- |
#61 |
| 1964 |
"Don't Throw Your Love Away" |
#1 |
#16 |
| 1964 |
"Some Day We're Gonna Love Again" |
#11 |
#34 |
| 1964 |
"When You Walk in the Room" |
#3 |
#35 |
| 1964 |
"Love Potion No. 9" ( This
song was only released as a single in America, being pulled off a
current LP by the band's American label, Kapp Records ) |
- |
#3 |
| 1964 |
"What Have They Done to the Rain" |
#13 |
#29 |
| 1965 |
"Bumble Bee" |
- |
#21 |
| 1965 |
"Goodbye My Love" |
#4 |
#52 |
| 1965 |
"He's Got No Love" |
#12 |
#79 |
| 1965 |
"When I Get Home" |
#35 |
- |
| 1965 |
"Take Me For What I'm Worth" |
#20 |
#76 |
| 1966 |
"Take It Or Leave It" |
#31 |
- |
| 1966 |
"Have You Ever Loved Somebody" |
#48 |
#94 |
| 1971 |
"Desdemona" |
- |
#94 |
| ? |
"Umbrella Man" |
- |
- |
Cover
versions of songs by The Searchers
- "Needles and Pins"
(written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny
Bono, first recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1963) was also covered
by:
- The Ramones, as a single
and on their 1978 album Road to Ruin.
- Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers on their 1986 album Pack up the
Plantation: Live!.
- Megadeth
used a sample of the song in "Use the Man" on their 1997 album Cryptic
Writings.
- Crack The Sky on their World
in Motion 1 album.
- "Popcorn Double Feature" was released as a single by The
Fall in 1990,
and is also included on their album Extricate.
The Searchers Timeline
1957-1959
- John McNally: Guitar, Vocals
- Ron Woodbridge: Vocals
- Brian Dolan: Guitar
- Joe West: Bass
- Joe Kennedy: Drums
1960-Feb 1962
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Mike Pender: Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Chris Curtis: Drums, Vocals
- Tony Jackson: Bass, Vocals
- Johnny Sandon: Lead Vocals
Feb 1962-July 1964
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Mike Pender: Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Chris Curtis: Drums, Lead Vocals
- Tony Jackson: Bass, Lead Vocals
July 1964-April 1966
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Mike Pender: Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Chris Curtis: Drums, Lead Vocals
- Frank Allen: Bass, Lead Vocals
May 1966-December 1969
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Mike Pender: Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Frank Allen: Bass, Lead Vocals
- John Blunt: Drums
January 1970-December 1985
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Mike Pender: Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Frank Allen: Bass, Lead Vocals
- Billy Adamson: Drums
January 1986-November 1998
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Frank Allen: Bass, Lead Vocals
- Billy Adamson: Drums
- Spencer James: Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals
November 1998-present
- John McNally: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
- Frank Allen: Bass, Lead Vocals
- Spencer James: Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals
- Eddie Roth: Drums
References
External links
