Take It Or Leave It:
A Personal View

by Roy Clough

Part Two: 1968 - 1989

~ The Searchers - At LIBERTY to Record Again ~

Late 68 saw a new recording deal come along with the LIBERTY label. “Umbrella Man” the first single for their new label was not a bad number but failed to get the necessary airplay, like the latter end PYE releases, basically, if you could not get on the Radio 1 playlist in England, your chances of a hit were minimal to zero.

I suspect that the second LIBERTY release, “Kinky Kathy Abernathy” was more the choice of the band’s producer, Kenny Young and that by now they were unsure as to what they should or should nor record. It has recently been claimed that the band did not play on any of the LIBERTY recordings.

There was one further release on the LIBERTY label in England, “Somebody Shot The Lollipop Man” released under the name “PASHA” and according to various sources, the band would not put their name to it, but without wishing to appear cynical, why record it. I was totally unaware of this release, until Mike Pender told me about in 1981. A search of second hand record shops ensued but to no avail. A friend of mine, another “Avid” found the single and paid 10p for it, just my luck!

I have heard of “Avids” who have paid up to Ł100 for an original copy of the single. The saying “More Money Than Sense” springs to mind, but each to their own, as they say.

There was one other single released, but only in Europe, “Shoot ‘Em Up Baby” and again rumour has it, that the band insisted that LIBERTY should release the “extended “version of the song and because LIBERTY would not, a parting of the ways came about. Both versions of the song later appeared on an excellent CD compilation on the REPERTOIRE label, a German release. Considering the only difference between the versions was no more than a couple of lines, I can’t see the band, making such a issue out of it, as to end up without a recording contract.

One thing that has puzzled me, is that I recall the band introducing “Don’t Shut Me Out”, a song originally done by “Bread” as their new single, at a gig in Leeds, back in 69, which puts it into the LIBERTY period, but the track appears on the Tarragon unreleased RCA recordings CD released in 2000.

"Billy Adamson Joins Suit"
McNally, James, Allen and Adamson

~ Drumming Up Adamson and RCA Contract ~

After their spell at LIBERTY it was two years before RCA came along with a new recording deal and by now ensconced on Drums, was Billy Adamson, a Glaswegian, who joined in mid to late 69.

I remember when I first saw this lineup, I found it hard to take in, Billy seemed to wear what he felt like, whilst the front three carried on the clean cut, matching suits image. BA was later converted I have to add.

The first release on RCA was a great track, but once again, I do not ever recall haring it played in England on the radio, the song actually made the Billboard Top 100, just, peaking at 94.

The second single, “Love Is Everywhere” also released in the states, had the band sounding like “Hot Chocolate”, not really surprising as it was a Errol Brown, Tony Wilson song, who wrote most of their hits.

The next RCA single saw the band releasing a John McNally song. I believe, although credited to them all, except BA. “Sing Singer Sing” actually sounded like an attempt to get into the Eurovision Song Contest. Supposedly this single made number one in BANGKOK.

RCA then released an album, which simply mystified me. Under the title “Second Take” the band had been persuaded to re-record all their hits. To these were added “Desdemona and “Come On Back To Me” (The “B” Side of “Sing Singer Sing”). Why RCA thought this album would sell is beyond me, there were already numerous cheap compilation albums, of the ORIGINAL recordings, out on PYE and it’s budget labels like” Marble Arch. a fourth RCA single featuring the rerecorded “Needles, Walk In The Room and the new “Come on Back to Me” previously mentioned, was issued, one assumes to promote the album.

A fifth RCA single “Vahevala” was brilliant in my view and the last single on RCA “Solitaire” should have been the one to get the band back into the big time, but without airplay it was impossible. The track went on to become a massive hit for “Andy Williams” and also “ The Carpenters”. The Searchers version was as good if not better in my biased opinion, although one has to wonder if any of the band, other than Mike Pender are actually on the recording.

All of the RCA recordings plus unreleased tracks would years later be released on the TARRAGON and a version was released on the BGO labels, full credit to those companies for making them available.

In 87 I actually wrote to some respected journalist in the music world and suggested that the RCA recordings would make an excellent CD if any unreleased tracks were to be found to fill it out. I gave a suggested title for the CD “ Searchers - The Missing Years”. Never got a response but perhaps somebody saw the letter? Still think my title was better than “Second Take.” – The Missing Album, perhaps they picked up on the missing theme eh!

I mentioned that Billy Adamson was later converted to the suit image, but at a lot of gigs, I saw in the seventies perhaps he had persuaded the rest of them, to ditch the suits, because they did a lot of shows dressed casually, (To the point of being scruffy circa Frank Allen)!

There must have been times in the mid to late seventies when they thought about giving it all up. They were actually fulltime on the cabaret scene, playing in some instances low-key venues and even two clubs in one night.

I think they took a somewhat pragmatic approach and as Frank Allen stated in an interview in 1980, “Better to do something you dislike doing some of the time then to do something you’d dislike ALL of the time”.

"Love's Melodies"
From The Sire Contract

~ Your Wish Is Our Command SIRE ~

The Searchers once again found themselves in the recording wilderness until in 1979, quite unexpectedly; SIRE came up with a golden opportunity for the band.

Much has been made of the two albums “The Searchers” made at SIRE and the “rave” review they attracted from the music press.

“Rave” reviews did not materialise into sales though and whilst they began to pick up the odd TV slot, on the strength of such reviews, the much hoped for breakthrough did not happen. However these albums did lead to a lot of the group’s old fans rediscovering the band, I know some old fans, believed they had ceased to exist.

I personally feel that there were a number of factors that contributed to the commercial failure of these albums and whilst not everyone will agree, as I said at the beginning this is only my opinion.

Firstly, Sire got the initial marketing wrong for the debut album. Trendy though the album cover was, it would not have struck the person browsing through the record rack’s that this was “The Searchers” of the sixties, Sire recalled the album, revamped the cover, added new tracks and re-issued it 5 months after the initial release, but some of the impact had been lost.

Secondly, the comeback single “Hearts in Her Eyes” was not, in my view, the best track on the album, I always felt “No Dancing” had received the best reaction at gigs I had seen them perform at the end of 79, early 80.

The second single “It’s Too Late” which had been slightly remixed from the version on the album, nearly did get them the breakthrough, a Commercial Radio DJ I knew at the time, told me that based on airplay listed in the trade papers there was a good chance the single might well appear in the lower reaches of the charts, Sadly it did not. Two further singles were released on SIRE, “Another Night”, which prompted one reviewer in the music press, to state that the song would be a number one, if every DJ in the land were doing their job. The last SIRE single a remixed version of “Loves Melody” brought to a close the SIRE period, years later the RAVEN label issued what it claimed was all the SIRE recordings, two were actually missing, but a minor gripe, the CD was very welcome and as with TARRAGON, plaudits all round to RAVEN for the release.

Thirdly and perhaps importantly, the band were caught in a dilemma, did they pack in the cabaret clubs that had been their “Bread and Butter” and take a chance on trying to play more “IN” venues or did they continue playing the club’s and start to put in a lot of the new tracks in the act.

They did play the odd “IN” venue of the day, like “Dingwalls” in London and I believe they played support to “The B-52’s” at one gig, a unlikely pairing, but let’s face it “The Searchers” are still around.

In the main they still continued to do the clubs and put in a lot of the new stuff. For me this was fantastic, but regretfully the circuit they were on meant most of the audience were on a nostalgia trip or at worst couldn’t care less who was on stage.

I’ve come close to getting thumped a few times when – after listening to some so called authority on the band, at a nearby table, start telling those around him/her that they have all the group’s records, meaning (“Needles” and “Sweets”) and telling those around them, (“Only him is one of the original’s, you know!) I have felt the need to enlighten them.

After SIRE, PRT (successor’s to PYE) re-signed the band on what I suspect was a ‘one single plus album option deal’. The single was “I Don’t Want to be the One” released in November 82 and was a fine single and also it started to receive airplay plus the band got a couple of primetime TV slots, but alas the elusive hit did not come to fruition. Some tracks were recorded for the proposed album, which never happened, some of these tracks were later to appear on “The Searchers” 30th Anniversary Collection CD.

"What Might Have Been"
Pender, Curtis, Allen and McNally

~ The Worst That Could Happen ~

The most significant thing to happen to the group, in almost 20 years, came at the end of ’85. I can recall being in the Barbers (Gentleman’s Hairdresser) to those unfamiliar with the term and starting to read the paper, whilst waiting my turn. In the showbiz section, I noted a small photo of a guy and the heading “Spencer ends the search for a new sound” didn’t mean much until I started to read and my heart skipped a beat. There, in black and white, was the news that Mike Pender was leaving The Searchers.

I remember just walking out and on arriving home, all I could say was “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it”. When I told her the ‘It’ her reaction of “So What” cut me to the bone, didn’t she realise that for the last twenty two years, when I was alone, I had stood in the room, stereo blaring out, playing a mean Air Guitar and pretending to be this guy. (My Wife has since read this and says I’ve lied about the alone bit!)

Very soon after The Searchers played two gigs, on separate nights, near where I live and these were the last two shows prior to Mike’s very last appearance with the band, which was at a venue in London.

All four of them, to their credit, performed as if there was nothing wrong, but understandably relations between them offstage were strained. Whilst there has been a number of versions given as to why MP left, I believe the actual reasons why Mike decided to leave will probably never be made public as I believe they are personal to the band and that’s the way it should be.

It was only a matter of days after MP’s last appearance that I had chance to see the band with what I believe was Spencer James’s first official gig.

"Solid Silver Sixties Tour"
The Searchers and Friends

~ The Searchers - A Solid Silver Sixties Group ~

Clearly after listening to MP sing lead vocals for so many years it seemed totally different when hearing the hits, but as soon as they launched into songs like “It’s Only Make Believe” and “The Rose” I felt that the change of lead vocalist had given them a new lease of life. I always go to shows hoping they will do new songs, in addition to the ones that I have heard hundreds of times before and whilst they can obviously not ignore the songs that basically give them the living they have today, I always look forward to hearing a new song.

In the ensuing months that followed in ’86, one was never certain when the band were advertised, if it was Mike’s lot or John’s lot, so to speak. Of course thing became acrimonious but 15 years on, time has proved that there is a demand for both bands.

In ’87 a entrepreneur, Derek Nichols of The Flying Music Company decided to put together a major tour, calling it “The Solid Silver Sixties Tour” which featured The Searchers, Gerry and The Pacemakers and Peter Saddest, a risky venture when you consider that none of these act’s had had any success record wise in over 22 years. The tour was a resounding success and paved the way for a lot of similar type tours over the years, people who probably didn’t fancy the idea of sitting in some smoky, filled cabaret venue, were more inclined to come out to concert type venues.

1989 saw The Searchers secure a new record deal with the German COCONUT label and a album initially only available in Europe was released called “Hungry Hearts”

Three singles were released “Forever in Love” “No Other Love” and “Needles 89” and for the first time we were into “Club Mix” versions of Searcher’s Songs, i.e. “Needles 89”. Both the album and certainly the singles took some getting hold of here in England, but it was still good to have them back recording, albeit a totally different sound. The band did not perform too many numbers off the album in the act though, at the original time of writing this article in 91, they were only doing “Somebody Told Me” and “No Other Love” although “Baby I do” was to be added later.

I also wish they had stuck to the original arrangement of the song “Somebody Told Me” that I first heard them do back in 86, the recorded version and indeed the version they now still perform, is in my view not as powerful as the first version of the number they did.

So what of the future? Who knows, Whilst they can still get decent money and audiences/venues, I’m sure they will carry on for as long as they can, I for one would like to see an album of new stuff released before they are no more, however like all of us who read these pages I suspect, they are not getting any younger. Should John decide to call it a day, I think the band would fold. I also believe that the only person who could replace Spencer, should he decide to go, would be?

Yes you’ve guessed it, MIKE PENDER – never happen I hear you say, as Sean Connery proved NEVER SAY NEVER.

Part One: 1963 - 1967

Visit the Official Searchers' Website

Rickenbacker Resource

Take It Or Leave It:A Personal View

by Roy Clough

Part Two: 1968 - 1989

"Billy Adamson Joins Suit" McNally, James, Allen and Adamson

"Love's Melodies" From The Sire Contract