The Searchers were an English

Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffl ...

group who emerged during the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, " Sweets for My Sweet"; " Sugar and Spice" (written by their producer Tony Hatch); remakes of Jackie DeShannon's " Needles and Pins" and " When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' " Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' " Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' " Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.

Band history

Origins

Founded as a

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

group in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 1959 by John McNally and Mike Pender, the band took their name from the 1956

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

film '' The Searchers''. The band grew out of an earlier skiffle group formed by McNally in 1957, with his friends Brian Dolan (guitar) and Tony West (bass – born Anthony West, in 1938, Waterloo, Liverpool, Lancashire – died 11 November 2010, West Way, Hightown, Merseyside). 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, The Dingle, Liverpool, Lancashire – died 18 August 2003,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

) with his homemade bass guitar and amplifier, who was recruited as a lead singer, but took a back seat at first in order to learn the bass. The band styled themselves as "Tony and the Searchers" with Joe Kennedy on drums. Kennedy soon left to be replaced by Norman McGarry (born 1 March 1942, Liverpool, Lancashire), and it is this line-up – McNally, Pender (as Prendergast soon became known), Jackson and McGarry – that is usually cited as the original foursome.

1960s and 1970s

McGarry was forced to quit the band when he was put on the nightshift at the bakery where he worked and in 1960 his place was taken by

Chris Crummey Christopher Crummey (born 1993) is an Irish hurler who plays for Dublin Senior Championship club Lucan Sarsfields and at inter-county level with the Dublin senior hurling team. He currently lines out as a wing-forward having previously lined ou ...

(26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005), who later changed his name to Chris Curtis. Billy Beck, who changed his name to Johnny Sandon (born William Beck, 27 May 1941, Liverpool – died 23 December 1996) became the lead singer. The band had regular bookings at Liverpool's

Iron Door Club The Iron Door Club was a music venue at 13 Temple Street, Liverpool, England founded by Geoff Hogarth and Harry Ormesher. to join The Remo Four in February 1962. The group settled into a quartet named "The Searchers", with Jackson becoming the main vocalist. 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 Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

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

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...

recording contract with

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

as producer. The first single, " Sweets for My Sweet", featuring Tony Jackson as main vocalist supported by Pender and Curtis, shot to number one in the UK in 1963, firmly establishing the band as a major spearhead of the "Merseybeat" boom, just behind

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

and alongside Gerry and the Pacemakers. Their first album, '' Meet The Searchers'', sung mostly by Jackson and Pender, was released in August 1963 and reached number 2 on the British album charts the next month. With a slightly changed track listing, including the song " Needles and Pins", it hit #22 in the US album charts in June 1964. In the US their first single was issued on Mercury and the second on

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, both without success; then a deal was arranged with US-based Kapp Records to distribute their records in America. Philips Records then released an earlier recording they held of a cover of Brenda Lee's hit 'Sweet Nuthins', which dismayed the group. It made the lower end of the UK chart, but did not disturb their momentum. In the 1964 film '' Saturday Night Out'' the group played the title song of the soundtrack. Hatch played piano on some recordings and wrote " Sugar and Spice", the band's UK #2 hit record, under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale, a secret he kept from the band at the time. Apparently Curtis disliked this song (largely a revamp of the key aspects of first hits) and refused to sing on it. Jackson again took lead vocal, though Curtis later agreed to sing the distinctive high-harmony vocal links between verses. "Love Potion No.9", sung by Jackson, was a non-UK single lifted from the first LP that was a hit in the US on Kapp Records in 1965. Mike Pender took the main lead vocal on the next two singles, both of which topped the UK charts: " Needles And Pins" and " Don't Throw Your Love Away", each featuring Chris Curtis on co-lead/high-harmony vocal. However, live footage of these songs, as performed on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' and NME Poll Winners concert respectively, show Pender and Jackson singing the lead vocal together in close harmony, with vocal support from Curtis. That suggests some differences existed between the live band and the studio version at that time. After scoring with their hit "Needles And Pins", bassist Tony Jackson, who was only allowed one co-lead vocal on their third album (on "Sho Know A Lot About Love"), left the band and was replaced by a Searchers' Hamburg pal, Frank Allen (born Francis Renaud McNeice, 14 December 1943,

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Ha ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) from Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers. Jackson was then signed to Pye as a solo act and, backed by The Vibrations, issued a few singles of which the first, "Bye Bye Baby", charted in the UK in 1964. He also re-cut "Love Potion No. 9" but it failed to chart. The next Searchers single to chart in the UK during this period was "Some Day We're Gonna Love Again" (1964). Frank Allen's debut single with the band, a strong cover of Jackie DeShannon's " When You Walk in the Room", shot to #3 in the UK, suggesting all was well for the revised lineup (some fans had been unhappy about Jackson's shock departure), and later UK chart hits followed with "What Have They Done to the Rain", "Goodbye My Love" (a rather experimental single for that time, with long harmonised passages, that reached number four), then the folk-flavoured "Take Me For What I'm Worth" (written by P.F. Sloan). Some lesser UK chart hits followed in 1965 and 1966, with "

He's Got No Love "He’s Got No Love" is a song written by Chris Curtis and Mike Pender and released by British pop rock group The Searchers. The song was released as a single in July 1965 by Pye Records in the United Kingdom and later on Kapp Records in the U ...

", "When I Get Home", and finally "Have You Ever Loved Somebody". An EP release, "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya", featuring The Searchers' first LP track, "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya" (sung by Jackson), also charted in 1963. Pye rather "rush-released" LP product by the group in 1963 and 1964, as the cobbled-together '' Sugar and Spice'' LP was quickly issued in 1963, consisting of tracks not used on the first album and others, plus the second single. This album charted while the first was still in the charts, possibly diluting sales. Further Pye albums ''

It's the Searchers ''It's the Searchers'' is the third studio album by English rock band The Searchers. Album features the band's famous hit singles " Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks originally ...

'' (1964), ''

Sounds Like Searchers ''Sounds Like Searchers'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers (band), The Searchers and the group's first LP featuring singer and bass player Frank Allen (bassist), Frank Allen. Album features title track of the ba ...

'' and finally '' Take Me for What I'm Worth'' (both 1965) were better spaced, but a budget "Golden Guinea" reissue of the second album, plus a compilation ''Smash Hits'' and ''Smash Hits Vol 2'', on Pye's budget "Marble Arch" label were issued during 1966 and 1967 in place of any later "new" album. As late as 1970, Marble Arch issued an edited version of ''It's the Searchers'', the group's third album, originally released in 1964. Chris Curtis, who had songwriting ambitions, left the band in April 1966 and was replaced by the Keith Moon-influenced John Blunt (born John David Blunt, 20 March 1947 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

). In January 1970 he was replaced by

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 ...

(born William Adamson on 27 May 1944 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government ...

, Scotland; died on 11 November 2013 in France). In 1967, Curtis formed a new band called Roundabout with keyboard player Jon Lord and guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guit ...

. Curtis's involvement in the project was short-lived; Roundabout evolved into Deep Purple the following year. Chris Curtis's choice of Bobby Darin's "When I Get Home", despite a strong band performance, was a relative chart failure by their standards. This to an extent undermined Curtis's position as song selector for the band, and some internal disagreements resurfaced over musical policy and direction that had been evident earlier when Tony Jackson had left, and likely played a part in Curtis leaving as well after the 1966 Australian tour. This departure was a major blow, as Curtis had been chief songwriter, song selector, and key high harmony voice, as well as a figurehead member and the main PR man. As musical styles evolved, The Searchers did attempt to move with the times, recording covers of songs by The Rolling Stones (" Take It Or Leave it") and The Hollies "Have You Ever Loved Somebody", which was a minor UK chart hit though a rival cover by Paul & Barry Ryan probably robbed both parties of a bigger hit). They began to write their singles'

A-sides ''A-Sides'' is a compilation album by the American rock band Soundgarden with songs spanning the band's thirteen-year career. It was released on November 4, 1997, through A&M Records. Overview The album was released in 1997 on A&M Records an ...

, first with the Curtis-Pender track "

", which had a Stones-style guitar hook, and later a Pender-Allen song, "Secondhand Dealer", the final Pye single, which was a Ray Davies-style "observational" song. However, Pye records dropped the group in 1967 when their original contract expired. Without any follow-up to the strong 1965 album, ''Take Me For What I'm Worth'', and despite some strong later recordings, no further chart successes occurred, doubling the impact of Chris Curtis's departure. After Curtis' departure Frank Allen handled the high harmonies, and new drummer John Blunt boosted them musically but, despite some promising latter Pye singles, including a cover of "Western Union", their UK chart days were over. Although they continued to record for

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

, they ended up on the British " Chicken-in-a-Basket" touring circuit, although they did score a minor US hit in 1971 with "

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

". A contract with RCA Victor's UK wing resulted in an album of rerecorded hits titled ''

Second Take ''Second Take'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers and the first with drummer Billy Adamson. Album consists of re-recordings of their earlier hits as well as their last US hit single "Desdemona" from the previous ye ...

'' (1972), later reissued on the budget RCA International label as '' Needles & Pins''. However, that was overshadowed by Pye's "Golden Hour of..." compilation of the original hits that came out at the same time. Despite recording new material, including covers of Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire" and the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

' " Spicks And Specks", which were issued as RCA singles with scant promotion, much of their new work was not issued at the time, and RCA later dropped the group. The group continued to tour through the 1970s, playing both the expected old hits as well as contemporary songs such as a powering extended live version of Neil Young's "Southern Man". They were rewarded in 1979 when Sire Records signed them to a multi-record deal. Two albums were released: '' The Searchers'' and ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stag ...

'' (retitled ''

Love's Melodies Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned chain of more than 500 truck stop and convenience stores in 41 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and hea ...

'' outside the UK). Both records garnered critical acclaim and featured some original tracks, as well as covers of songs such as Alex Chilton's "September Gurls" and John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night". But with scant promotion and little if any radio airplay, they did not break into the charts. The first album was quickly revamped following release with a few extra tracks added, one song dropped (a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "Coming From The Heart"), and a new sleeve, which may have only confused the public. The albums did, however, revive the group's career, because concerts from then on alternated classic hits with the newer songs that were well received. A Sire single, "Hearts in Her Eyes", written by Will Birch and John Wicks of The Records, and successfully updating their distinctive

12-string guitars A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in oc ...

/vocal harmonies sound, picked up some radio airplay, and with more promotion might have charted. Meanwhile, PRT Records actively promoted the group's sixties back catalogue, with compilations such as "The Searchers File" and "Spotlight on the Searchers", which were on sale at group gigs, along with the Sire albums, and helped re-establish them. According to John McNally, the band was ready to head into the studio to record a third album for Sire when they were informed that, due to label reorganisation, their contract had been dropped.

1980s – 2020s

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. They promoted this with a UK Television appearance on "The Leo Sayer Show", which was rare for them by then, but the single got little if any radio airplay (like their Sire singles) and was not stocked by most record shops. The rest of the tracks, except one, would be included as part of 1992's '' 30th Anniversary collection''. After a farewell performance in London in December 1985 Mike Pender left the group to form a new band"Search Party", '' Sounds'', 14 December 1985, p. 4 and now tours as

Mike Pender's Searchers Mike Pender's Searchers contains lead singer and guitarist Mike Pender, formerly of The Searchers (band), The Searchers. Pender left The Searchers in December 1985 hoping to explore new musical directions while preserving the classic 12-string ...

(originally a permanent band but now made up of musicians hired as necessary), performing Searchers' songs and some new material of his own. McNally and Allan, following Pender's departure, recruited former First Class vocalist Spencer James as his replacement. In 1988,

Coconut Records Coconut Records is a German record label formed in 1981 by producers Tony Hendrik and Karin Hartmann. The label has released multiple genres of music, including dance, schlager, eurodance, electronica, Hi-NRG, Dance-pop and R&B. Artists A ...

signed the Searchers and the album '' Hungry Hearts'' was the result. It featured updated remakes of "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets for My Sweet" 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 continued to tour, with Eddie Rothe replacing Adamson on drums, and during that period was considered to be one of the most popular 1960s bands on the UK concert circuit. In turn, in 2010 Eddie Rothe left The Searchers after becoming engaged to singer Jane McDonald, and was replaced on 26 February by

Scott Ottaway Scott Ottaway (born 13 May 1972) is an English drummer. Career He was the drummer for veteran Merseybeat band The Searchers, replacing Eddie Rothe in February 2010, until the band retired in 2019. Ottaway is also the drummer for The Pocket G ...

. Billy Adamson, the band's drummer from 1970 to 1998, died in France on 11 November 2013, aged 69. In September 2017, John McNally had a stroke and stood aside from the band for two months to recover. In 2018, The Searchers announced that the band would be retiring, and they ended their farewell tour on 31 March 2019. They did not rule out the possibility of a reunion tour, and it was announced on the band's website in 2021 that they would undertake a further farewell tour in 2023.

Discography

The Searchers have a core catalogue consisting of nine studio albums. Studio Albums * 1963 – '' Meet The Searchers'' * 1963 – '' Sugar and Spice'' * 1964 – ''

'' * 1965 – ''

'' * 1965 – '' Take Me for What I'm Worth'' * 1972 – ''

'' * 1979 – '' Searchers'' * 1981 – ''

* 1988 – '' Hungry Hearts''

Members

Timeline

References

External links

*
Mike Pender's Searchers official site
*
The Searchers discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Searchers, The Musical groups established in 1959 English pop music groups Musical groups from Liverpool Pye Records artists Beat groups British Invasion artists Liberty Records artists Mercury Records artists RCA Victor artists Sire Records artists Philips Records artists Kapp Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 2019 1959 establishments in England