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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 10:49:00 GMT
Here's a nice statement from Frank (from The Searchers' website). I wonder if The Hollies will someday announce a retirement, or just, like many, gradually grind to a halt?
Hello everyone,
As they said in the old Looney Tunes cartoons, Well That`s All Folks.
The time has finally come to say goodbye to everyone who has enjoyed our concerts and our music over an amazing five and a half decades. It has been an exhilarating ride for us with some ups and some downs, some laughs and some dramas but it has always been full of interest and discovery.
When we started out we never ever thought it would continue through the years and into a new millennium. In fact we could hardly believe we were allowed to become professional musicians in the first place. And not just that but an international attraction whose sounds and style influenced so many other altogether more famous contemporaries.
We`ve seen the world and enjoyed sights, sounds and tastes that so many of our friends could only dream of. To be a professional musician is to live out a childhood fantasy for anyone who ever picked up a guitar, tinkled on a keyboard or banged a drum in the mid sixties. To be there way up in the charts alongside The Beatles, Elvis and a host of legends of the pop world seemed unreal. For us the fantasy had become real life.
And now it is all over we can relax and see what the world has to offer with time to spare, something we have never really had. Are we going to miss those wonderful hours on stage? You bet your life we will. But personally I hope that I am mature enough to fill my time with things to do that might not completely replace it but which will hopefully give me interests in other directions.
John McNally and I (who along with Spencer James and Scott Ottaway comprise the latest incarnation of The Searchers here in 2019), would like to thank every one of you so much for the loyalty and support you have constantly given us throughout our career. The chance of a new future and new experiences for ourselves sadly means that so many of your are left with a void but I hope it is one you can fill with memories of our shows over the years, the pleasure of making new friends as you broadened your horizons while travelling to places you never thought you`d visit and with the record successes that gave us our career and which will be there forever on your sound systems.
Tony Hatch, the man who could arguably be called “Britain`s Burt Bacharach”, deserves so much praise for his essential role in the story of the band`s success. He produced every one of our hits and even wrote Sugar And Spice for us as the all important follow up to the debut record Sweets For My Sweet, albeit under the intriguing pseudonym of Fred Nightingale. He was nice man to be around and always made those sessions at the PYE Studios fun. We are truly indebted to him.
We also have to thank those people who have contributed so much of their spare time to bring you up to date with our day to day, week to week and year to year happenings. It has been a lot of hard work for them and every bit of it conducted out of the goodness of their hearts and their love of our kind of music. Wendy Burton and Gary Jackson who have magnificently taken charge of the website and Tim Viney who produced such an interesting and informative magazine through his Searchers Appreciation Society. We owe all of you so much.
We must not forget Alan Field who has handled the bookings for over forty years providing us with an amazingly packed datebook that I doubt has been surpassed by any other in our league. And of course our thanks have to go to our incredible road crew. Phil Hayes and John Semark are as far as we are concerned the best crew in the business and their invaluable work has allowed us to carry out our relatively simple tasks without having to worry about whether the equipment will arrive or if the sound will be good.
They have removed worry from the equation for us. And over the years they have become firm friends with us all. As far as I`m concerned I am going to miss them a lot. And without being presumptuous I think everyone, fans included, feels the same. They are two of the nicest guys you could wish to meet and if you can`t get on with them you can`t get on with anyone. We wish them a successful and a happy future in whatever they choose to do.
Those who came in and out of the group over the years such as John Blunt, Billy Adamson and Eddie Rothe all played their part in The Searchers Story and despite the acrimony that ensued following his departure in 1985 Mike Pender has to be remembered as one of the all important four lads who first stormed the charts in June of 1963.
Special tributes must be made to Chris Curtis and Tony Jackson who have sadly passed on. They will surely be remembered always.
Will we ever tour again? I have no idea. We have no plans but I`ve learnt from other peoples` experiences that you should never say never again. Some way down the line we may all feel the urge to give it one more go, maybe a short tour, a Sixties Gold package or even a solo outing. Health might be an issue. We are of a certain age and not getting any younger. But I suppose it is a possibility although a faint one.
So, thank you one last time for everything you have given us. Without you it never would have happened.
Frank Allen. (Written on behalf of himself, John McNally, Spencer James and Scott Ottaway)
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Post by JamesT on Apr 4, 2019 13:12:11 GMT
Yes, a nice note to end on. It's a pity the wealth of information on their website has just all been taken down.
Anyone know anything about drummer John Blunt? Seems to have been a bit eccentric, but little information online.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 13:38:12 GMT
Anyone know anything about drummer John Blunt? Seems to have been a bit eccentric, but little information online. I don't know much about him, but here's an interesting video of him with the band in 2012 (sounds great on 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody'!).
I always thought the band looked at their coolest when he was in the band (Billy Adamson was a great drummer but he never looked the part).
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Post by JamesT on Apr 4, 2019 14:33:42 GMT
Superb, Peter! Definitely a bit Keith Moon influenced, I'd say. What was Billy Adamson's hairstyle like? Funnily enough, the last place I saw the band was in Motherwell, not far from where Billy was from. I wondered if there were any relatives or friends in the audience.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 14:49:12 GMT
What was Billy Adamson's hairstyle like?
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Post by gee on Apr 4, 2019 15:16:45 GMT
Here is the longer Beat Beat Beat performance
I believe Johnny Blunt was a Londoner and he added great power playing to the band as can be seen here - his percussive work on 'Western Union' and 'Second Hand Dealer' was especially impressive
and despite being drained of power in the mix (even more so on the stereo version) on 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' his actual drumming performance is great (shades of Bobby on 'Gasoline Alley Bred' !), so John must have been quite 'miffed' at Chris Curtis jibe re the; 'rat scurrying across the snare drum'
I was told years ago by the guy who ran the appreciation society that John was a great addition to begin with but by 1969 he was eager to move on thus they let him go and got in Scot Billy Adamson
- in that reunion video above John jokes how 'it took 'em three years to get rid of me...'
I think John Blunt could be somewhat unpredictable at times as a character back then, he was a few years younger than the front line famous members which might have been a key factor - note on 'Beat Beat Beat' performance above John is dressed in more casual sweater quite unlike the three 'smart suits and ties' in the front line which shows how he didn't quite fit their image either looks wise or age wise (John actually looks far more in keeping with the mid sixties look than the rather dated look of the front three - who looked perfectly 'cool' again like that later on in 1982 but rather dated back in 1966-67)
I must have missed those clips from 1979-81 era - when I saw them both live and on TV then they were back in the suits - they were indeed back in the suits and ties by the time they were promoting songs from 'Play For Today' as I saw them on daytime TV dressed like that playing 'Silver' and of course they were then on 'Unforgettable', 'Royal Command Performance' and 'The Leo Sayer Show' in the early 80's dressed in the smart suits
whatever John is seen with them here and is featured on the cover of 'Searchers Smash Hits vol 2' album plus some latter PYE singles picture sleeves
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Post by gee on Apr 4, 2019 15:36:06 GMT
They began work on a third album for Sire but after cutting a few tracks were told due to the very poor sales of the two albums the third proposed album had been scrapped
this probably was what made Mike Pender begin to look beyond the band while he also saw how much Gerry Marsden was pocketing by hiring a young band of backup musicians as his 'Pacemakers' as opposed to his own split between the other Searchers
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 15:55:06 GMT
this probably was what made Mike Pender begin to look beyond the band while he also saw how much Gerry Marsden was pocketing by hiring a young band of backup musicians as his 'Pacemakers' as opposed to his own split between the other Searchers Maybe, but I'm sure there were other factors too. One which is touched on in both Frank's and Mike's books, is that Mike wanted to introduce some of the songs, but Frank didn't want to relinquish that role. Yes, Frank is a great raconteur, but as anyone who's witnessed Mike live in recent years can testify, he's a more than capable front man too. Must admit, much as I love Frank, I do (or did) find it strange that Spencer, the lead singer in the group, never actually spoke to the crowd. It would be a bit like Tony Hicks doing all the talking instead of Peter.
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Post by JamesT on Apr 4, 2019 18:31:25 GMT
Interesting that you should mention this, Peter. I find the fact that Spencer did not speak at all incredibly odd. I don't think I've actually heard him say 'thank you' - he simply mouths it. We're thinking about taking in one of his solo shows. Presumably he'll speak then! Frank was a good raconteur, but I remember once he went on for over five minutes about nothing in particular - band and audience were getting rather agitated. There was (what we call in Glasgow) a 'gallus wumin' who made her way onto the stage at Motherwell to announce that it was her friend's birthday. Despite quips from him afterwards his banter was well and truly upset thereafter.
By the way, re: Billy's hairstyle, I meant it as a rhetorical question. Makes Clarkey's perm seem restrained for sure! 😂
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 19:13:49 GMT
I've a video somewhere of a complete club show circa '82 (they were back in their suits but still doing lots of Sire tracks), and although he's singing and playing with enthusiasm, Mike doesn't say a single word between songs. When he went solo, I assumed he'd be a very shy performer, but he's not. It was around a decade ago when I saw him live, but when I did I thought he was fantastic.
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Post by JamesT on Apr 4, 2019 20:18:22 GMT
I've a video somewhere of a complete club show circa '82 (they were back in their suits but still doing lots of Sire tracks), and although he's singing and playing with enthusiasm, Mike doesn't say a single word between songs. When he went solo, I assumed he'd be a very shy performer, but he's not. It was around a decade ago when I saw him live, but when I did I thought he was fantastic. He's playing at a venue about a couple of hours away tomorrow and Saturday as part of the Sensational 60s Experience (or something similar). I must admit, I'm tempted.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 21:32:49 GMT
I've a video somewhere of a complete club show circa '82 (they were back in their suits but still doing lots of Sire tracks), and although he's singing and playing with enthusiasm, Mike doesn't say a single word between songs. When he went solo, I assumed he'd be a very shy performer, but he's not. It was around a decade ago when I saw him live, but when I did I thought he was fantastic. He's playing at a venue about a couple of hours away tomorrow and Saturday as part of the Sensational 60s Experience (or something similar). I must admit, I'm tempted. Go for it! He's still got it judging by recent youtube clips. Here he is just a couple of weeks ago on 17th March:
I think the above clip compares favourably to Frank and John's group, filmed by the same guy 2 days earlier:
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Post by moorlock2003 on Apr 5, 2019 2:04:36 GMT
Caught The Searchers on three dates between December and early March, with the best performance and atmosphere being at Barrow-In-Furness in early February. A fairly recent 'convert' to The Searchers, I first saw them in 2011 when they were playing a favourite, reasonably local venue. So, I thought 'Why not?'. Have seen them a total of 11 times. It's true that their setlist hasn't varied much and the banter is fairly static, but they still put in a wonderful performance with a friendly, jovial atmosphere which the audience warmed to. They have always taken time to meet fans and sign after gigs. I still think that this is not truly 'the end' - give them a year and I think there might be rumblings of the odd date or two. We'll see. Oh, and I still think their version of 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' is far superior to The Hollies version. Far superior? Smoother, yes, but for me, Tony's blistering guitar makes it the better of the two.
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Post by johnt on Apr 5, 2019 13:20:13 GMT
Someone has put on YouTube a clip of the encore - medley of hits - from the Searchers final concert. When the camera pans round, I'm there on the opposite side clapping away!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2019 13:49:10 GMT
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Post by gee on Apr 5, 2019 16:37:54 GMT
Re the Searchers onstage 'PR' role
- early on you would NEVER have thought that John McNally founded the band or was in any way 'leader' indeed John looked the most 'junior' Searcher back then as he often just grinned and strummed backup guitar, only occasionally taking a 'rare but great' lead vocal as a album sleevenote put it
Tony sang lead, Mike was lead guitarist and co-lead singer while Chris from behind his drumkit was very much their 'PR' guru and third lead vocalist besides high harmony man in addition to main songwriter and 'song finder' for them - happily winding up audiences with his friendly banter and showmanship just as Nash did for The Hollies
see Chris doing his 'PR' stuff live here;
even after Tony left the band John McNally, though joining in with Tony here vocally, didn't step up to the microphone as a regular featured harmony singer for the group on records ....indeed new boy Frank Allen took co-lead vocal with Mike on 'When You Walk in The Room'
Frank duly took over as 'PR' man onstage after Chris dropped out in 1966 and only then did John begin singing regular harmonies as on that 'Beat Beat Beat' show
I get the impression that John was something of a 'Tony Hicks' figure personality wise (besides Tony's lead guitarwork) who was overall quite happy to play along without having to take a more featured public role re any 'PR' work all the while others in the band were there to do it for him..!
the clip of them doing America's song 'Sandman' with John singing lead and playing great lead guitar with strong solos proves he was of course more than capable of being a major band figurehead...but he was seemingly content with his occasional featured spots and only did a bit more 'front line work' full time WHEN necessary after Chris left and more so later on after Mike had departed the band
much like Tony only began addressing his public properly after Nash, Sylvester and Clarke were gone - before that he did a little bit of chat, and later in the 70's and 80's had vocal exchanges with Allan Clarke and Carl Wayne onstage but was not THE natural 'PR' man for the band either Nash or Wayne were (Clarkey did it but often seemed rather uneasy doing it) while Terry Sylvester did as much as he was allowed to.
now Tony and even Bobby address their audience (with input from Peter too) while Frank Allen has held The Searchers 'PR' job for umpteen years
I do agree Mike Pender should have had some more audience contact while in The Searchers - you would have assumed Mike was 'senior Searcher' after Chris departed, clearly John was even tho' he himself never seemed to really be that prominent as a 'PR' figure in the band he founded right through their long career
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Post by gee on Apr 5, 2019 17:02:46 GMT
and here in 1965 at the London Palladium note John McNally is still not a featured vocalist on their vastly underrated sadly minor chart single 'When I Get Home' as Mike, Chris and Frank feature vocally
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Post by johnt on Apr 5, 2019 21:27:30 GMT
I wasn't aware until recently that Chris Curtis produced Paul and Barry Ryan's version of Have You Ever Loved Somebody.
I wonder how the Searchers felt about that at the time?
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Post by gee on Apr 6, 2019 13:21:46 GMT
As I understand it they were NOT pleased at all !
- I have heard that Tony Hicks gave John McNally a demo of HYELS while Graham Nash also gave one to Chris Curtis !
(possibly Nash may have assumed Chris would record it with The Searchers ?)
I have also heard that Chris originally wanted to produce The Searchers version but despite him doing a single 'Aggravation' on PYE it seems he was 'non persona' re the band after he quit (shades of the earlier Tony Jackson situation ?) whatever they did their version with longtime producer Tony Hatch and featuring new drummer Johnny Blunt
so Chris did produce a rival version with Paul and Barry Ryan who had a much stronger promotional agency behind them to plug their version, their stepfather being American agent / music promoter Harold Davison
this situation probably led to Chris Curtis 'Lennon-ish' snide dig re the drums sounding 'like a rat scurrying across the snare drum' on The Searchers version - which in truth it actually rather DID (especially in stereo all squeezed up on one channel) due to the mix draining all the power out of Johnny Blunt's hard percussive work and reducing it to a very frantic 'tap tappy' sound minus any great depth betraying all the effort Blunt put into his drumming here !
with less of a promotional plug The Searchers version nevertheless outdid the rival Curtis produced Paul and Barry Ryan version ...but only very slightly, sales were probably split robbing each of a better hit and The Searchers made a disappointing no.48 with Paul and Barry Ryan at no.49 in the UK singles chart
John McNally once said The Hollies demo sounded awful - hardly gratitude - The Everlys version on 'Two Yanks in England' was fine and as I said my fav version is The Hollies great fuzz guitar led 1967 cut on 'Evolution', tho' it would be interesting to hear the earlier 'Eric Haydock' version from 1966 currently still left unissued (Ron Furmanek are you there ??)
A shame the two single versions rather cancelled each other out re sales, I prefer The Searchers version out of the two and had they alone released the song then it might have given them a MUCH needed bigger chart hit and possibly saved them longer term with PYE records (?) plus boosted The Hollies songwriting standing too
this incident was another blow to The Searchers credibility as hit makers and served to decrease their relationship with Chris Curtis even further
- I believe at one point ALL FOUR of the original Searchers band members were not on speaking terms !
the lack of any sense of civil 'band relationship' between the former members during the lives of Chris Curtis and Tony Jackson together with the rival touring versions in latter years and the sadly seemingly permanent rift between John McNally and Mike Pender post his departure from the group has done The Searchers no good at all and very probably some harm in the eyes of Rock historians, music writers and critics who often overlook their influence on the likes of The Byrds, Tom Petty, The Long Ryders even The Bangles etc
.... and probably has contributed to The Searchers not being inducted into that Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when some far less influential artists and some who had less UK chart hits than The Searchers ARE already inducted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2019 15:12:09 GMT
John McNally once said The Hollies demo sounded awful - hardly gratitude
To be fair, he could be right! We haven't heard it, and we do know that The Hollies themselves recorded the song at least 3 times at 3 different sessions before they came up with a version satisfactory to them. I do agree that there's nothing wrong with The Everly's version, though both the duo and the session musicians with them were more than capable of creating something out of nothing of course.
The sadly seemingly permanent rift between John McNally and Mike Pender post his departure from the group has done The Searchers no good.
Back in October (as I've mentioned), I presented Frank with a copy of my 'Channelling The Beat!' book, which has "Foreword by Mike Pender (etc)" on the front cover. Frank took it graciously, joking that a book that size would last longer than his retirement, and asked me to sign it, but when I shook John's hand afterwards he gave me a very limp shake back, not speaking or smiling! I do know that they were both already aware of the book, as a Searchers-fanatic friend emailed them both beforehand, and he did warn me that John still has a major grudge with Mike.
I don't think Frank has such a grudge (or vice versa), in fact it would be nice if Frank now guested occasionally at Mike's shows, just like the late Tony Jackson did in the '90s.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2019 15:17:52 GMT
For the record, here's what Mike wrote for the book (certainly doesn't sound like the egotist that some people claim he is):
‘Softly, somewhere, a voice is singing, taking me back down the vista of years to the parlour of my childhood home. A young teenage boy sits with an old battered guitar! And so the journey begins, a journey that will take him to places and faces beyond his wildest dreams in the world of Pop Music. From the bringing together of The Searchers and success on both sides of the Atlantic to meeting his Rock n Roll heroes Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison (just to mention a few), and not forgetting the many TV appearances by just about everyone in the world of Pop over the last 50 years. All of which is recorded by Peter Checksfield in his book ‘Channelling The Beat!’, which, when reading, brought it all back to me. Well done Peter, you’ve reminded us just how famous we all were!’
MIKE PENDER
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 8:29:07 GMT
Ex-Searchers drummer Scott Ottaway found himself on tour supporting Mike Pender recently, and met him for the first time. Report and pic here!
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Post by moorlock2003 on Nov 16, 2019 0:09:28 GMT
The Searchers never really recovered from the loss of Tony Jackson in 1964. Sure, they went on to have some more hits and some excellent recordings with Frank Allen, but Allen lacked the pizazz that Jackson had. What a shame he was squeezed out of the band. Tony Jackson with the Vibrations recorded a scorching, modish cover of "Fortune Teller" on one side of a 45, and "Love Potion No. 9", which meant Jackson was covering his own record, since he sang on lead on The Searchers' "Love Potion No. 9", which become the band's biggest US hit after he left the band, in a story that sounds vaguely familiar.
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Post by stuball on Nov 16, 2019 15:39:37 GMT
The Searchers never really recovered from the loss of Tony Jackson in 1964. Sure, they went on to have some more hits and some excellent recordings with Frank Allen, but Allen lacked the pizazz that Jackson had. What a shame he was squeezed out of the band. Tony Jackson with the Vibrations recorded a scorching, modish cover of "Fortune Teller" on one side of a 45, and "Love Potion No. 9", which meant Jackson was covering his own record, since he sang on lead on The Searchers' "Love Potion No. 9", which become the band's biggest US hit after he left the band, in a story that sounds vaguely familiar. Yes, I've always thought along similar lines. Jackson provided that searing, soaring lead vocal that gave the group that rocking ability. When he was ousted, The Searchers had a gentler, softer sound. Fine for light pop and excellent for ballads, but somewhat unconvincing on rock & roll. You could easily make the argument that Jackson's voice added the same qualities to The Searcher's vocal sound, as Clarke's did to The Hollies.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2019 12:04:54 GMT
A little pre-Christmas treat I've just uploaded, enjoy!
THE SEARCHERS - 30 GLORIOUS YEARS (HULL '91)
Taped live at Hull City Hall on 22nd December 1991, parts of this show were released on two VHS tapes, both with different track listings (see my book 'Channelling The Beat!' for full details).
Here, from both VHS tapes, I've edited together ALL of the released songs. Enjoy!
Backstage Interview
Sweets For My Sweet
Love Potion No. 9
Don’t Throw Your Love Away Medley: Bumble Bee - Have You Ever Loved Somebody
Beach Baby
‘Till I Met You
Take Me For What I’m Worth
Young Girl
Hearts In Her Eyes
Goodbye My Love
No Other Love
Some Body Told Me You Were Crying
Medley: Sugar And Spice - Some Day We’re Gonna Love Again - Do Doo Ron Ron
Medley: Silent Night – Mistletoe And Wine – Winter Wonderland – Merry Xmas Everybody – White Christmas
When You Walk In The Room
What Have They Done To The Rain
Needles And Pins
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Medley: Sweets For My Sweet - Don’t Throw Your Love Away - When You Walk In The Room - Love Potion No. Nine - Sugar & Spice
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