Its fab, its gear, its the Searchers

rob_mac · Post by **rob_mac** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:01 am

I have an original British LP of this with the above title. Most I have seen are just titled 'Its the Searchers" Anyone know the story behind this change in name? and is it rare?

From Rob

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:32 am

What Label is it on Rob this was originally going to be the title of It's The Searchers the third album thankfully PYE thought better of it looks like you may have a rarity.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:54 am

Have read the story about this title somewhere - do you have a picture of the cover, Rob?

rob_mac · Post by **rob_mac** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:31 am

Roy, Its on Pye NPL 18092 red label. In the top left hand corner it says "it's fab, it"s gear, it's the Searchers". I'm pretty certain it is a sixties original, as it is a heavy vinyl.

Sheena, I could take a picture of it, but I'm not sure how to post it.

From Rob

edcal · Post by **edcal** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:35 am

Happy Thanksgiving to The Searchers, Peter and his Fabulous Forum, to all the people that make the Forum such an enjoyable read (Roy, Sheena ...)and Searcher fans everywhere.

Ed

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:39 am

Thanks Ed have a good thanksgiving

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:40 am

Rob that number is the original matrix number.

Does the cover state It's Fab etc or just the label

rob_mac · Post by **rob_mac** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:09 am

Cover has it on, not sure about the label, will have a look when I get home from work.

From Rob

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:56 am

Have a good Thanksgiving, Ed, & everybody else, too... hope the turkey will taste better than ever!
Rob: posting can be done by "Upload attachment" button, but the file should be no bigger than 34 K if i'm not mistaken, so the picture might be quite small in the end... i don't know how people here post big ones...

rob_mac · Post by **rob_mac** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:39 am

LP sleeve has "it's fab, it"s gear, it's the Searchers"

Record label has "it's the Searchers"

From Rob

mygeneration · Post by **mygeneration** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:04 am

This is the one I have Rob, and I also have a S.African pressing of it which is on Parlophone. I was interested by this copy because it had the Parlophone "£" symbol on the front cover, and the record label is the old black/gold Parlophone design but printed in black and silver.

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:11 am

Both rare Gary Rob indicates is the Pye release which certainly makes it a rarity for those who collect this stuff. Not many I am sure would have been issued under this title, I bought my copy on day of release and it is It's the Searchers. Never knew of the Parlophone release S A pressing but I collected every different pressing.

rob_mac · Post by **rob_mac** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:19 am

So looks like the change of title was a real last minute affair.
Cannot be many around if you have not seen one before Roy.
It may make it rare but I doubt if it would increase its value, as Searchers stuff does not seem to sell for much.

From Rob

admin · Post by **admin** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:54 am

I have always been amazed that a group with a significant number of hits such as The Searchers has not been given the proper credit. Do you suppose if they have been from America that they would have had more global recognition?

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 3:22 am

A good question indeed, Peter! I used to think they WERE from America (Chicago, to be precise)... until the year 2001 or so, ridiculous isn't it?

To get serious for a moment... bearing in mind the huge popularity of the Beatles, i suggest the other bands from Liverpool, while having a chance to get popular for some time as "another Liverpool foursome", might not have had a chance to become popular for a long period of time. As a result, they might have passed kinda unnoticed in the light of the Fab Four.
The Searchers, in my view, were given credit, not "proper" but still, and most of their songs weren't written by them, as such, they were lucky enough. The strains between the members, which started too early in their career and resulted in lineup changes (not much more than a year after they first hit the charts!) might have worked against them, and their management didn't think of making use of the situation (show business is a cruel thing and sometimes scandals work better than good music).
What if they were from America? Well, there might have been no Byrds... nah, just kiddin'. Could be, albeit i kind of doubt it...