John McNally Talks Rickenbacker

N&P: What model Rickenbackers have you owned?
John: I've only ever owned two - a 360 and a 620.

N&P: What Rickenbackers do you currently own?
John: The same ones - the 360 and the 620. I would never part with them.

N&P: What is it that you like most about these instruments?
John: Their quite distinctive sound. It's as simple as that.

N&P: Do you recall which songs you recorded with Rickenbackers, and if not all, at least some?
N&P: "When You Walk in the Room". Some of the mid 60s album tracks after Frank joined in mid 1964. And all the "Sire" stuff at the end of the 70s.

N&P: Have you purchased these instruments in the UK or from the US?
John: I got the 620 from Morley Music in Croydon, Surrey (UK). The 360 used to belong to the guy in Jefferson Airplane (can't remember his name). Paul McNally (no relation), our producer at Sire Records, bought it for me.

N&P: Did you sometimes play Mike Pender's old Rickenbacker Rose Morris Model 1993/12 (in Fireglo) on any of the Searchers' recordings?
John: Yes, it was Mike's. He later had it stolen from the dressing room at the La Fayette Club in Wolverhampton (UK) in about 1973. It was never recovered.

Needles and Pins is indebted to the efforts of Ms. Wendy Burton,Coordinator of the Official Searchers' Website, who put these questions to John McNally before one of his performances at Butlins and even snapped a quick photo backstage. Thanks also goes out to John McNally who once again has graciously given of his time during a hectic season of touring.