The Secret Searchers

[string_along]

"D'oh!!"

[12stringbassist]

Watch your emails!

Yes it was THAT cabaret band...

[sowhat]

"The Actual Searchers" - another tribute band?
Seriously, that sounds strange - as much as i like the Searchers, i just cannot understand: why them?.. I mean, "Secret Rolling Stones" could've had more success perhaps... just a suggestion...

[12stringbassist]

It wasn't my decision in any way. I was in a cabaret band called Oh Boy. General 60's stuff - functions, WMC's, masonics - very busy.

[royclough]

Looks like they were not that Secret

[mygeneration]

People are stupid enough not to know tribute bands are different.

We occasionally get emails on the official site from people who have booked to go and see a band with "Searchers" in the name and found that it's not The Searchers. The Searchers still occasionally get people complaining to them that Mike Pender isn't now with them, over twenty years after he left, and I've heard people walking into the foyer at the interval of a Solid Silver Sixties show, saying how much they enjoyed so-and-so when he wasn't even on the tour!

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public <g>.

[royclough]

"The Searchers still occasionally get people complaining to them that Mike Pender isn't now with them, over twenty years after he left"

Yeh I'm one of'em also part of the generaL public.D'oh

[sowhat]

I'd rather put it like this: it's not really stupid, it's just very human...

[royclough]

Whilst I am sure the band members are probably fine musicians in their own right in relation to Fourmost, for me personally for a sixties band to have credibility they have to have at least one original member with a connection to their glory days so to speak. This incarnation of the Fourmost does not. Some will say so what as long as they sound the same who cares, well in my view and I am expressing a purely individual opinion once there is no connection to the band who achieved fame to some degree then in my view they are not that band.

[royclough]

I notice also in Biography whilst the passing of Mike Millward is stated there is no mention that Brian O Hara regretfully took his own life. This may be out of respect I don't know, but the biography is somewhat brief.

[sowhat]

On a side note: i wonder how many bands are there which go under the name of a famous 60s act without any original member?..

[john_j]

You'll probably find most of the bands that do the 60's & 70's circuits have only 1 or usually no original members left. What you have to think about is, if most of these bands had there original line ups, they'd be men well in to there 60's and possibly 70's...As i recall, the merseybeats still have Tony Crane and Billy Kingsley with them.

[royclough]

They do have members into their sixties, just to take UK acts we have

Searchers - 2 originals unless we wish to be real pedantic, as Frank Allen joined in 64, good enough for me

Swinging Blue Jeans - Only one original left but the vocalist.

Merseybeats - 2 as you identified.

Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky etc - 3 originals

Gerry & The Pacemakers - 1 original but main one.

Shadows - 3 originals unless again we want to be pedantic

Tremeloes - 2 originals

Marmalade - 1 original

Fortunes - I original

Troggs - 2 originals

Hermans Hermits - I original - this excludes Peter Noone's version though he was Herman.


In fact off top of my head only Fourmost do not have any original members.

[sowhat]

Wayne Fontana & "the Mindbenders" - 1 original IIRC (Wayne himself, of course)

[string_along]

Gee, I know "time must march on", but it's sort of sad to see the original number of band members dwindle down!