The Searchers...

My favourite club in Liverpool was the Iron Door Club; whereas the Cavern was a smelly dank place, The Iron Door served drinks, had carpets and was altogether a better place to be. The Beatles were effectively the resident band at the Cavern, but it was at the Iron Door where you could see the Searchers most weekends.

Originally founded as a skiffle group in Liverpool in 1959 by John McNally  and Mike Pender ( Michael John Prendergast),  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, their first lead singer. The arguments still rage.

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  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 , 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 1961to 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 US 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. 

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.

Tony Jackson...

I liked Tony Jackson, and thought in the early days he was a key figure in the band. He had a great distinctive voice and was good to watch. I always thought Tony was The Searchers "Pete Best".

In 1964 the band toured the United States, including an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Jackson was 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 immediately moved to London and put together a new band, the Vibrations, which had an organ-based sound instead of the Searchers' twelve-string guitars.

The Vibrations toured the UK with the Hollies, Marianne Faithfull and other acts. They released four singles on the Pye Records label but only the first had any success. In 1965 they changed their name to The Tony Jackson Group but the fourth single also failed and Pye dropped them. The band then signed to CBS without improvement and they found that there were few bookings in the UK so they toured southern Europe. Disillusioned and out of options, Jackson left the music business in 1966.

Towards the end of his life he suffered from diabetes, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver from a lifetime of heavy alcohol consumption. Jackson died on 18 August 2003 in a Nottingham hospital.

Tony was replaced by Frank Allen from Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. 

Love Potion No.9

Chris Curtis...

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, 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. Curtis wrote most of the band’s songs that were not covers and was constantly seeking obscure songs for them to cover. Many of his finds were B-sides discovered in Brian Epstein’s NEMS record shop and upstairs in another record shop, near the furniture store where he worked. 

Curtis left the music industry and joined the Inland Revenue in 1969. He found the change difficult but he liked his new colleagues and he stayed there for nineteen years. He took early retirement in 1988 through illness.

In 1998 he gave his first interview in thirty years; to Spencer Leigh for BBC Radio Merseyside. Some years later he started appearing weekly with live musicians for the MerseyCats charity at the Marconi club in Huyton. His driver for these evenings was Mike Pender’s cousin, Michael Prendergast but he never revisited the old Searchers’ songs. On April 13, 2003 he gave another interview to Spencer Leigh for BBC Radio Merseyside to discuss the 'new' Searchers’ albums, The Searchers At The Iron Door, The Searchers At The Star-Club and the Swedish Radio Sessions.

Chris Curtis sadly passed away on February28 2005 aged 63, making  his final public appearance at MerseyCats, aptly in front of many of his musician friends and admirers from the 60s. Chris is shown here with an All Star MerseyBeat band comprising  Wally Shepard - Bass (Earl Preston's TTs) Terry Fisher - Lead Guitar (The Del Renas), Arty Davies - Drums, Mal Jefferson - Lead Guitar (The Mastersounds)

The Searchers Evolve...

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 variety club 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 (re-titled 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. It was, in fact, because so few people bought the second album, although the fans loved it.

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.  Former Searchers lead singer Mike Pender also tours, as Mike Pender's Searchers. 

The Searchers Today

Still touring (The Video above is from the 2007 tour)and packing houses wherever they go. The music will never die.

Visit the Searchers Official Site