"Sweets For My Swedes" The Searchers in Sweden 1964-1967
by Björn Eriksson and Peter McCormack
Part 3: Searchers' Swedish Radio Sessions
"Swedish Radio Sessions"
Part 3: The February 18, 1964 Session
The Searchers' first radio recording session in Sweden was made in the Karlaplan studio in Stockholm on February 18, 1964 with the original group members, Chris Curtis (frontman and drummer), Mike Pender (lead guitar), Tony Jackson (bass guitar) and John McNally (rhythm guitar).
Ten songs were recorded in front of a studio audience for broadcast on March 2, 1964 on the Swedish Radio channel 2 (P2), 4:30 PM. in a show entitled "Pop-guests in Stockholm: The Searchers, a group from Liverpool", hosted by Mr. Klaus Burling. This initial visit came on the heels of some stiff competition from the Beatles who had visited Sweden with a very successful tour in the fall of 1963. The Searchers arrived in Sweden shortly after their big chart success "Needles and Pins" and their reputation as being the group who also released the hit "Sweets For My Sweet" certainly preceded them.
Chris Curtis was the front-man for this performance and he did a very good job winning over the fans and made a point, albeit a small one, of thanking the audience for their applause in Swedish. The affable Curtis introduced the band members making reasonably successful humorous comments throughout the performance. By way of introduction, he also had a few interesting comments to make prior to each song that reminded fans of the groups' influences and the name of each group member. Outside of the hits, "Sweets For My Sweet" and "Needles and Pins" an additional eight songs were performed in quick succession. These lesser known songs were part of their stage performances and as such provide a snapshot of what was in vogue at the time.
The set list for the radio session aired on March 2, 1964 included: Farmer John; Money; Ain't That Just Like Me; Let The Four Winds Blow; Ain't Gonna Kiss You; Some Other Guy; Allright; Needles and Pins; and What'd I Say. The sound engineer's comments noted that "the recording is bassy with some hum and needed to be filtered when broadcasted with -12dB bass and +3dB treble to correct the tone curve. The total time of the show was 28 minutes and 10 seconds."
The Searchers' tightly-knit performance came from their use of material from their live performances which was well-rehearsed from their Iron Door and Cavern gigs during the early 1960s. The voice of the group at this time, not withstanding some performances by Pender, Curtis and McNally, was that of Tony Jackson. Jackson's high raspy voice was most distinctive and provided an energy to The Searchers that was easily picked up by the young Swedish crowd. Surprisingly, Jackson would leave the group a few months after this performance and would not return with the group for the radio session in December 1964.
The winter 1964 Stockholm session had all the signature pieces typical of The Searchers' sound. Against a background of trebly rhythm guitar masterfully performed by John McNally, the groups music is layered with the lead guitar work of Mike Pender and Tony Jackson's heavy walking bass lines. The songs chosen for this set lacked the harmony that was typical of the groups' recordings of the day. This was most noticeable in the limited harmony on "Needles and Pins." Chris Curtis does his best to add high harmonies but this is not an easy task whilst trying to maintain an interesting percussion. The fans were enthusiastic but on the basis of the applause and requests shouted out during the performance it would seem that they were most familiar with "Needles and Pins."
"February 1964 Protocol Sheet"
Part 3: The December 4, 1964 Session
The Searchers' second Swedish Radio recording took place on December 4, 1964. This session was broadcast on channel P2 on January 4, 1965 at 5:20 PM and later on channel P3 on January 29, 1965 at 8:00 PM. The title of the show, produced by Klaus Burling was "Pop-club - The Searchers" with a running time of 24:31. There was an interview at the end of the show.
Following Tony Jackson's departure the members now consisted of, Chris Curtis (frontman and drummer), Mike Pender (lead guitar), John McNally (rhythm guitar) and Frank Allen (bass guitar). Frank had left Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers to join the Searchers. The Searchers were reasonably well known in Sweden by this time for their big hits "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk In The Room."
Chris Curtis was again fronting The Searchers in this tour and he continued to be a crowd pleaser. He appear more confident in his introduction of songs and band-mates compared to the groups' previous tour. While The Searchers' set list on this occasion repeated three songs from the March 1964 Swedish Radio session, this group was quite different with regard to its vocal style and musicianship relative to their first appearance. The set list for the radio session in December 1964 included: Red Sails In The Sunset; Memphis Tennessee; Hi-Heel sneakers; What Have They Done To The Rain; Glad All Over; When You Walk In The Room; What'd I Say; Needles and Pins; and Let The Four Winds Blow. The last three songs on this list were performed in March 1964.
One of the more apparent and interesting changes in The Searchers' sound since their March 1964 appearance was that of the harmonies added by Frank Allen. A solid vocalist in his own write, Allen would introduce his unique harmonies which became the hallmark of the groups' sound. The sound of Allen's voice was much smoother and less harsh than the trademark vocalizations of Tony Jackson. The difference between March and December 1964 is quite striking with less solo efforts in the later performance. The Searchers had become more of a group sound as opposed to a collection of individual efforts the last time around. Frank Allen would use a Gibson EBO bass in a flashy cherry red finish. This bass had a more mellow sound compared to Jackson's booming Hofner violin bass. It is also worth noting that Allen's bass style was more melodic and seemed to be less intrusive that Jackson's running style that could be somewhat overdone at times. John McNally would switch to the sunburst Fender Telecaster for the second Swedish session, his Club 40 Hofner being in the shop for a re-fret. Mike Pender would again use his Gibson ES345 for most of the songs. He used a Burns Double-Six 12 string in green finish for the last two songs in the list, "When You Walk In The Room" and for convenience on "What'd I Say." This 12 string had a very different sound from the one that was used in the original recording of their hit "When You Walk In The Room."
A fortunate fan by the name of Gunnar Olofsson was in the audience that day. In providing information for this article, he relived a couple of vivid moments, that he had experience forty years earlier. He spoke enthusiastically of watching the Searchers record at the "karlaplansstudion", near karlapan in Stockholm, before the new studios were built in the radiohouse. He offered the following comments,
"The only thing I remember just now is when Mike Pender started to play on the green 12-String guitar. He played 'What Have They Done To The Rain.' I also remember Chris Curtis. He had lots of time for the fans in the studio. This group was only fans and people who new staff on the radio."
"Mike Pender with Burns' Greenburst 12 String Model Double-Six
"Reissue of Burns' Greenburst Double-Six"
"December 1964 Protocol Sheet"
Part 3: The May 31, 1967 Session
The Searchers' third Swedish Radio session took place on May 31, 1967. On this occasion, The Searchers appeared in the studio on the radio show "Tonårskväll" perhaps best translated from the Swedish as "Teenage Evening." The host for the show was a
well-known Swedish radio personality, Ulf Elving, who often was the host of various pop
shows on the radio.
The groups members now included: John Blunt (drums); Mike Pender (lead guitar); John McNally (rhythm guitar); and Frank Allen (bass guitar). Blunt had joined the group following the departure of the original drummer and frontman, Chris Curtis. At the time of this recording Frank Allen was fronting the group, a practice that he continues 37 years later!
The set list for this, session was comprised of: Have You Ever Loved Somebody; Take Me For What I'm Worth; Western Union; When You Walk In The Room; Needles And Pins; and See See Rider/Jenny Take A Ride.
The addition of John Blunt made for a number of changes to the classic Searchers' sound, to which avids had become accustomed from 1963 to 1966. The new drummer made for quite a different sound with the flambouyant drumming fashioned after Keith Moon, creating a more intense performance. The gentle drum fills of Chris Curtis were replaced by the rapid drum rolls and cymbal crashing Blunt. These changes became most evident with the first number, "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" with the all-night love affair accented by an intensity of drumming introduced by Johnny Blunt.
"Take Me For What I Am Worth" made excellent use of the Rickenbacker 12 string work of Mike Pender. In fact, listening closely to all of the tracks on this session reveals the presence of the 12-String Rickenbacker that several years earlier had become the "secret weapon" of The Beatles. The high energy performance continued with "Western Union", the most recent Searchers' single of the day. The engineer in the sound booth made good use of the reverb available in this studio performance.
A retrospective look at The Searchers' hits takes center stage toward the end of the session with "When You Walk In The Room" highlighting Pender's Rickenbacker Rose-Morris Model 1993 12 string guitar. Part Four of this article provides additional information regarding the popularity of the Rickenbacker 12 string in the United Kingdom and its role in the music of the British Invasion. The Rickenbacker 12-string provides stunning musical bookends, first setting the stage for "I can see a new expression on your face" and tidying after the final harmony line "Every time that you walk in the room."
"See See Rider/Jenny Take A Ride" is the perfect medley to send the audience off on a high note. Pender does not take the time to switch to his Gibson ES 335 that he more typically used to play this rocking medley. Nontheless, they pull off this number successfully performed on the heels of Frank Allen's warm closing comments.
In responding to questions regarding the Swedish Radio recordings, Frank Allen was able to add an additional comment about the final recording session. Chris Curtis did not return for the May 1967 session in Stockholm, having left the group in 1966 and replaced by John Blunt. Allen's colourful comment follows.
"The producer was a big friend of Chris Curtis and didn't think too highly of us after his chum had departed."
For those readers not interested in the the detailed recording session data page, your can continue with Part 4 of the article by using the following link.
August 6, 2004 - Revised August 15, 2004
