''Play for Today'' is the eighth studio album by English

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

and the last band's album to feature lead singer

Mike Pender Michael John Prendergast (born 3 March 1941), known professionally as Mike Pender, is an English singer and guitarist. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit s ...

. LP was released both in the UK and the US with completely different cover art and slightly divergent track listing. Album contained songs originally performed by

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

("Almost Saturday Night"),

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new l ...

("September Gurls") or

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

("Sick and Tired"). Session musicians on the album included Martin Hughes on drums and keyboard player

Mick Weaver Mick Weaver (born 16 June 1944, Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English people, English session musician, best known for his playing of the Hammond organ, Hammond B3 organ, and as an exponent of the blues and funk. Career Weaver's band perfor ...

Overview and recording

Despite previous album, '' Searchers'', was a flop in the UK, it was a moderate commercial success in the US and that opened door for a follow-up on the

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

. The general feeling in the company was that, there was a need for an extra depth and edge to any new product, and the American producer Ed Stasium was brought in to add the missing elements. Mike Pender sings lead on all tracks, drummer

Billy Adamson Billy Adamson (27 May 1944 – 11 November 2013) was a Scottish musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English pop rock band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He joined them shortly after their most famous peri ...

was replaced for the sessions by Irish drummer Martin Hughes. Keyboard player Mick Weaver, who worked as a session musician for

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

or John Lodge, was also on the board. The title, ''Play for Today'', was a play on words, having been lifted from the popular BBC drama series of the same name. It was a phrase that would serve to strike a chord of identification with listeners in Britain.

Release and reception

The album was released in April 1981 in a simple black cover featured a radio tuner drawn in contrasting green lines (made by Sara Batho). One of the album's catchy rock tunes, band's self-penned "Another Night", was released as a lead single. Despite positive reviews and the fact that band's jangly-pop sound was tailor-made for the eighties new wave, both album and single missed the charts. ''Play for Today'' became the last album to be released by the Searchers in the UK (in fact, '' Hungry Hearts'' on the German Coconut Records was the last album recorded by the band).

Track listing

US version (Love's Melodies)

Nobody in America knew what the "Play for Today" meant to be, so Sire decided to rename the record for the US (and international) market. It was named ''Love's Melodies'' after the title song and the main US single ("Love's Melody" was not included on the UK version), although the Searchers' were not satisfied with the change. "It conversely gave a false impression of the content," says Frank Allen in his autobiography. "It was a hard driving rock album and not a collection of soppy love songs." The album was released in a brand new packaging, designed by famous

John Van Hamersveld John Van Hamersveld (born September 1, 1941, Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American graphic artist and illustrator who designed record jackets for pop and psychedelic bands from the 1960s onward. Among the 300 albums are the covers of ...

(the man standing behind the artistic covers of ''

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'' by

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, ''

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'' by

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or ''

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'' by

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). Unfortunately record missed the charts even in the US. "Sire Records and

Seymour Stein Seymour Stein (born April 18, 1942) is an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was Vice President of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed bands that became central to the new wave era of the 1970s a ...

had put their faith in the band," says Mike Pender. "But the lack of any kind of backup and fading compatibility within the band, all our hard work had come to nothing." ''Love’s Melodies'' becoming the final Searchers‘ album to be released in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

The Searchers *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* John McNally –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, vocals * Frank Allen –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, vocals *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(note: according to Pender's and Allen's autobiographies, Martin Hughes did all of the drumming) Additional musicians and production * Martin Hughes – Drums , Percussion * Dave Charles – Percussion *

– keyboards * Pat Moran – Producer, Recording engineer *

Ed Stasium Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour. History Stasium began his recording career in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine. ...

– Producer, Keyboards * Paul McNally – Executive Producer

References

{{Authority control The Searchers (band) albums 1981 albums