Monocled Alchemist

“Goodbye My Love” / “‘Till I Met You” (Pye 7N. 157940 February 1965

The Searchers | Goodbye My Love | (Pye) 1965 | this is first Searchers record for ages that has stood out as a definite smash. I was getting a bit worried at the folksy bug that had hit them. This is a perfectly splendid record. They are SO competent and I love the shuddering guitar.

Undoubtedly the best thing though is that long crunchy goodbyeeeeeee endless bit. Oh yes! Flip “‘Till I Met You.”

Searchers nearly miss tour

THE Searchers nearly a didn’t make the opening of their tour in Iceland last Friday. Mike Pender and John McNally were flying from Liverpool to join Chris Curtis and Frank Allen at London Airport to catch the Iceland Air flight. But their plane was delayed in Liverpool with technical trouble.

Agent Tito Burns phoned Icelandic Air who held their plane for 40 minutes until Mike and John arrived. “They said they were only too pleased to do it for the Searchers,” Tito told the MM.

The group arrives back to tape a “Saturday Swings” show for the BBC tomorrow (Friday) and makes one of its rare ballroom appearances, at the California Ballroom, Dunstable, on Saturday. On Sunday they guest on ITV’s “Eamonn Andrews Show”. They open their tour with Dusty Springfield at Stockton on March 25. (Melody Maker, 20/03/65)

Searchers success story

THE organ and the saxophone are the accepted instrumentation in the ’65 Sound. But this week we find, among many others the Searchers—number 4 in the Pop Fifty—without either of them. Why?

Chris Curtis, drummer-leader of the Searchers, says: “We have used neither sax nor organ on our records because I feel it might spoil our individual sound. Moreover, we are very conscientious about reproducing our disc sound on stage.

“We do use piano on several LP tracks, but this is to vary and widen our scope for the albums. Generally the Searchers would rather keep it the same way.”

Next single? Says Chris; “We have ideas and we have several songs in the camp, but we haven’t decided what it will he. But whatever our follow-up is, it will be within the capabilities of the Searchers.”

Different

Chris admits that a certain amount of folk is creeping into their numbers—due to lead-guitarist Mike Pender, “who’s digging country and western like mad!”

Chris analyses a number as seventy per cent sound and 30 per cent lyrics and tune, and adds that Burt Bacharach has the ideal formula: “Saying the same things, which are compulsive listening, but presenting them differently in each of his songs.

“I’m doing a bit of writing now, but purely for my own enjoyment, you know. If somebody wants to buy my songs, well, that’s O.K.”

The Searchers are veterans of American tours and TV shows. So what are Curtis’ views on the Nashville Teens’ suggestion that we should ban American artists, because the States have refused work permits to some of ours?

“Because a certain person isn’t that high in the American charts, they should not be prevented from appearing. I think that if an artist has particular appeal and people want him to appear, what the damn do charts matter!” replied Chris.

“As to signing a petition that we should ban nothing is achieved by petitions — all concerned should sit down and think the problem out!” (Melody Maker, 27/03/65)

A Day With The Searchers

THE SEARCHERS were on ‘Lucky Stars’ recently promoting their latest record ‘Goodbye My Love.’ They were seen on the screen for about five minutes, but many hours work had been put into that brief appearance.

The show is filmed at Alpha TV studios in Birmingham at about 6.30 on Sunday night, for transmission the following Saturday. Rehearsals go on all day and THE SEARCHERS were scheduled to arrive about lunch time.

The first of the group to get there was FRANK ALLEN, who had driven up from London in his car, and he arrived about midday. After he’d carried his suitcase up to his dressing room, Frank had a quick wash, then up to the canteen he went for “a cake and a cuppa” from Mollie.

CHRIS, MIKE and JOHN arrived together at about this time and the first thing that Mike did was get on the telephone to Liverpool to phone his wife to tell her “I’ll be home as soon as the show finishes, love; probably be there about half nine.”

Records

Chris, meanwhile, was unpacking a gramophone from his suitcase, and when Mike came back from the phone, the boys sat around the gram and listened to some demonstration records they’d just received from their recording company. Like all groups — and more particularly those at the top like The Searchers—they’re constantly looking for first rate material for their next disc, and they listened attentively to each record.

Comments like, “Very brassy,” “Catchy theme,” “That’d make a good B side” and “Horrible” were heard from the boys as they were absorbed in sorting through the discs. John’s turn to pop out for a cup of tea then, where he was grabbed by a couple of photographers in the canteen (“It’s all part of the job, you know”), whilst Chris and Mike stayed in the room unpacking their stage suits and listening to the record player.

Rehearsal

At a quarter to four, a voice boomed through the loudspeakers, calling The Searchers on set for a rehearsal. “I’ll shave later before the show,” muttered Chris, as the lads dashed to the studio. They were doing both sides of their record. The B side first, a very slow number called “Till I Met You”.

“We wrote it ourselves,” Chris had told me earlier, “and there’s no drums on it, and a Spanish guitar. We think it’s a nice pleasant tune.”

The number was duly performed (and it was good, too) — a quick change of guitar (electric for acoustic) for Mike (just out of the camera range, of course) and straight into the A side. After the run through there were a few minutes’ silence whilst director KEITH BECKETT sorted a few things out, corrected a few “out of vision” shots, and then they did the whole thing again. All fine this time, so the lads can relax again for a while as they’ve got nearly an hour to the dress run through.

Make-up

Frank went into the make-up room (“I might as well get it done now”) and the other three went back to the dressing room to take it easy and listen again to the demo discs. Chris had a shave and, at five to five he and Mike went into the make-up room. This caused the make-up girl, ANNE, a little bit of concern, as Chris was clowning around with her (making up to the make-up girl, you might say!), and then that metallic voice again — “Artistes on set for the dress run.” Down they went for the last run through before the actual show. This one again was done twice, just to be absolutely certain, and at 5.45 they came out of the studios.

Meal

“Let’s have some nosh,” suggested Mike. So off to the canteen they went for a quick meal, bumping into THE NASHVILLE TEENS on the way. After some good natured leg pulling on both sides (“Where’s your beard gone, Chris?”), Chris congratulated them on their latest record, saying: “It’s great fellas, all the best with it.”

At a quarter past six, they were standing by, and a few minutes later they were in the studios again. The audience were in and seated by this time, and all the artistes were introduced to them — as is the custom — before the show started, then “Stand-by everyone, this is it” — and they were on the air, about six hours after they’d first arrived there. I should think they were quite relieved to be as well, because for that six hours Graham Spencer and I had been trailing their every move, Graham with his camera at the ready — and that’s enough to unsettle anyone! (Music Echo, 20/03/65)