Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

There is a very nice interview of Frank Allen online that is well worth seeing.

Frank gives us a great interview here. He comments on a number of events in his life with The Searchers that he mentions in his book. Also, he comments on a seond book but does not indicate whether it will also be a humorous account or not. The December 31, 1962 meeting with John Lennon that he describes is classic Lennon.

If you are reading this Frank, for your second book how about including some detailed information with regard to gear and recording studio lore.

With reference to The Searchers : Hits, listed at the front of "Travelling Man" by Frank Allen can anyone explain what claim Sweet Nuthins has to being listed as a hit.I can't remember that one at all.By the same token Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya which I do recall was at least a British top twenty hit as the title of an EP did not make the list as well as Bumble Bee which I thought was a bona fide American hit .I am half way through the book and it is a great read.

David: Interesing questons. I also found Frank's book to be a good read. So when is a hit a hit. I guess there is no easy answer to the question of who decides when a song is a hit. Billboard, Record Collector, Local Radio Stations, Sales? It would seem that in the case of marginal songs that there may be shades of gray. For a song like Needles and Pins, however, there was little doubt. Let's hope that someone chimes in with the definitive standard.

"Sweet Nothin's" made the lower reaches of the UK Top 40 back in September 1963. It was released on PHILIPS and was taken from the "Live At The Star-Club" album. PYE took out a legal injunction to prevent PHILIPS from releasing any further tracks, from this source, in the U.K.

Live at the Star Club- I remember I used to own a copy of it. But doubt if it's still in my collection. It contained tracks from various artists. There were three songs by the Searchers: Sweet nothin's (LV Tony Jackson), Beautiful dreamer (LV Mike Pender), Shakin' all over (LV Tony Jackson). Sound quality was quite good, and the performances also. I have fond memories of them!

Einar.

Einar: Why not go through your attic some rainy day. It sounds a like Searchers' Heaven on earth to me. Call me a beautiful dreamer, but I'm shakin all over when it comes to the prospect of finding sweet nothin's.

Einar

The album that Tim refers to is actually The Searchers - Live at the Star Club,although clearly you probably own a copy of a compilation of various artists.
The tracks on the CD release, for those you may be interested were:
Sweets For etc/I Can Tell/Sick and Tired/ Ain't that just like me/Listen to Me/*Mashed Potatoes/*Beautiful Dreamer/Sweet Nothin's/Shakin' All Over/*It's All Been A Dream/*Don't You Know/Maybelline/Sweet Little Sixteen/*Sure Know about Love/*Rosalie/Led In The Game(Learning The Game - proper title)*Hey, Joe (not the hendrix song)*Alway's It's You/Hully Gully/What'd I Say

A Vinyl release called Attention - The Searchers
released some years earlier featured same tracks except those marked *

Thanks for chiming in on my question on "Sweet Nuthins" but would someone have a go at parts two and three.Frank Allen,the author himself,omits the "hits" Bumble Bee and "Aint Gonna Kiss Ya" from the list of hits in the preface to "Travelling Man".Maybe this was a publisher's error or the author wasn't given the oppurtunity
to proof read this particular page.This topic will never be mentioned by me again and if an answer is readily available that's o.k.!

David: I would expect you to keep asking until you get a response that answers your question. I don't think that either Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya or Bumble Bee charted. Let's face it, The Searchers can't afford to overlook any hits and so if these songs you mention charted at all you can be sure that Frank would know and they would be listed. Here is a listing of the hits.

SEARCHERS' UK CHARTED SINGLES
DateLabel#Side ASide B 6/63 Pye 1 Sweets For My Sweet It's All Been a Dream 9/63 Phillips 48 Sweet Nothin's What'd I Say? 10/63 Pye 2 Sugar And Spice Saints And Searchers 1/64 Pye 1 Needles And Pins Saturday Night Out 4/64 Pye 1 Don't Throw Your Love Away I Pretend I'm With You 7/64 Pye 11 Someday We're Gonna Love Again No One Else Could Love Me 9/64 Pye 3 When You Walk In the Room I'll Be Missing You 11/64 Pye 13 What Have They Done to the Rain This Feeling Inside 2/65 Pye 4 Goodbye My Love Til I Met You 7/65 Pye 12 He's Got No Love So Far Away 10/65 Pye 34When I Get Home Never Coming Back 11/65 Pye 20 Take Me For What I'm Worth Too Many Miles 4/66 Pye 31 Take It Or Leave It Don't Hide It Away 10/66 Pye 49 Have You Ever Loved Somebody It's Just the Way

I take it David, you are american. The chart placings listed above by Peter are based on the British Charts.

Bumble Bee made I believe the top 30 in the states (21) but never released as a single in England. Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya was released on A E.P. in England as well as being on the first album and made no. 1 in the E.P. charts that some publications published.

To the best of my knowledge it was not released as a single in the states.

Love Potion No Nine was the band's biggest hit in the states (3) never released as a single in England

Excellent points Roy. It would seem that David has now had his questions answered. This above chart does indeed represent the British charts and I neglected to point this out when it was first posted here. It would seem that Frank has limited himself to using the UK standard in his book. This takes me back to my earlier question who decides when a hit is a hit. While charts are important, you can't have a hit if you don't have your material released. I guess in some cases, a recording is a hit whenever the label says so.

Roy: I am wondering what chart, was more predictive of a British groups' global success in the 1960s - the UK or the US?

Global success for British groups would be better indicated by success in the U.S. charts (assuming, of course, that they were succesful at home). Making it in the U.S. charts was the ambition of all British groups.