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| 'The Seachers' most recognised line-up signed by Tony Jackson. |
The Searchers evolved from the skiffle group formed by John McNally, born in Walton in 1941, together with friends Brian Dolan on guitar and Tony West on bass, in Liverpool in 1959. When his friends lost interest John was joined by his guitarist neighbour Mike Prendergast, also born in 1941 in Kirkdale, later to become Mike Pender, and together with Joe Kelly on drums and Tony Jackson, with his home-made bass guitar and amplifier, they became 'Tony and The Searchers' taking 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, their first lead singer.
The arguments still continue.
Kelly soon left to be replaced by Norman McGarry, and it is this line-up, 'McNally, Pender (as he was now 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 Oldham born Chris Crummey ( later changing his name to Curtis) who had attended the same Primary school with Mike Prendergast. Later that year 'Big Ron' had a successful audition with Mecca and left a group he claimed were too young for him to 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.
Kelly soon left to be replaced by Norman McGarry, and it is this line-up, 'McNally, Pender (as he was now 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 Oldham born Chris Crummey ( later changing his name to Curtis) who had attended the same Primary school with Mike Prendergast. Later that year 'Big Ron' had a successful audition with Mecca and left a group he claimed were too young for him to 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 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. Their first single was issued in the U.S. on Mercury, the second on Liberty without success and then a deal was arranged with U.S. based Kapp Records to distribute their records in America.
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| Their 1st Album released in 1963. |
Their first single released by Pye was 'Sweets For My Sweet' featuring Tony Jackson as lead vocalist which soared to No.1 in the U.K. charts in 1963. They were now almost as popular on Merseyside as the Beatles and on a par with Gerry and The Pacemakers. Tony Hatch played piano on some recordings and wrote their No.2 chart success “Sugar and Spice” under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale, a secret he kept from the band at the time. Further hits followed with 'Needles and Pins' (co-written by Sonny Bono with Jack Nitzsche) and 'Don't Throw your Love Away', both achieving No.1 spot in the U.K. charts in 1964 this time with Mike Pender as main lead vocalist.
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| Appearing with The Beatles on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' |
It was in 1964 that the band did a tour of the U.S.A. which included an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their biggest American hit was 'Love Potion No.9 which was not released as a single in the U.K.
Jackson was now unhappy with the band’s move away from rock and roll to a softer, more melodic sound and felt that he was not getting appropriate attention. He left the group in July 1964 in some acrimony and Mike Pender officially replaced him as lead vocalist with Frank Allen joining them from Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers as bass guitarist. Frank Allen's first success with the group was the No.3 chart hit 'When You Walk In The Room' and in 1965 they had a No.4 hit with 'Goodbye My Love'. Chris Curtis decided to leave the band in 1966 after their extensive tour with The Rolling Stones of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Australia which Chris did not like at all resulting in him becoming very unreliable. This was a major blow to the group as he was now the main songwriter and was constantly seeking out obscure songs for them to cover, mainly 'B-sides' which he would find in Brian Epstein's NEMS store or the Record shop in Stanley Road near where he worked at Swift's Furniture store. He was also the band's PR man and a key part of their high harmonies.
Chris was replaced by drummer Johnny Blunt but despite some promising singles issued by Pye it seemed that their UK chart success had come to an end. Although they didn't disband as other groups did in the latter half of the 1960's and continued to record for Liberty Records, they were now to be found more as a cabaret act on the 'Chicken in a Basket' circuit.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2017/01/mersey-beat-billy-j-kramer.html
Jackson was now unhappy with the band’s move away from rock and roll to a softer, more melodic sound and felt that he was not getting appropriate attention. He left the group in July 1964 in some acrimony and Mike Pender officially replaced him as lead vocalist with Frank Allen joining them from Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers as bass guitarist. Frank Allen's first success with the group was the No.3 chart hit 'When You Walk In The Room' and in 1965 they had a No.4 hit with 'Goodbye My Love'. Chris Curtis decided to leave the band in 1966 after their extensive tour with The Rolling Stones of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Australia which Chris did not like at all resulting in him becoming very unreliable. This was a major blow to the group as he was now the main songwriter and was constantly seeking out obscure songs for them to cover, mainly 'B-sides' which he would find in Brian Epstein's NEMS store or the Record shop in Stanley Road near where he worked at Swift's Furniture store. He was also the band's PR man and a key part of their high harmonies.
Chris was replaced by drummer Johnny Blunt but despite some promising singles issued by Pye it seemed that their UK chart success had come to an end. Although they didn't disband as other groups did in the latter half of the 1960's and continued to record for Liberty Records, they were now to be found more as a cabaret act on the 'Chicken in a Basket' circuit.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2017/01/mersey-beat-billy-j-kramer.html
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