The Searchers: Release
date October 1979 US: Sire
SRK 6082 NL: Sire
WBN 56762 RA: Produced and Engineered by Pat Moran. Recorded and Mixed at Rockfield
Studios, Mixing Engineer: Ted Sharp "It's Too Late" Remixed by Ed Stasium Keyboards on "Lost In Your Eyes"
and "Coming From The Heart": Bob Jackson Photography: Martin Poole Original Concept: Steve Mowell, Valerie Allam Innersleeve Photo: Chris Qabrin Album Design: Spencer Drate,
John Qillespie Thanks To: Paul McNally, Seymour Stein,
Rob Dickins, Dena, Rose, Charles Kingsley Ray Martinez, John David, Pete
Kelly, Buzz Music, Chris and all at Rockfield
above:
Scanned from the original THE SEARCHERS Let's recap for a moment. The Searchers
are of course the group responsible for that clutch of Merseybeat classics—
"Sweets for my Sweet", "Needles and Pins", "Love
Potion #9", "When you Walk in the Room" et al. Liverpool's
number two ranking group, second only to the Beatles, The Searchers were
the only really successful and stylistically innovative Mersey group
outside the Brian Epstein stable. The nucleus of The Searchers today is the
same as during their mid-sixties heyday: John McNally, lead guitarist and
singer, founded the group back in 1961 with Mike Pender, guitarist and lead
singer, while Frank Allan, bassist and occasional lead singer, joined the
fold in August 1964 after The Searchers were the First major beat group to
suffer a split in their ranks. Frank played on all Searchers records from
"When you Walk in the Room" onwards.
Only drummer Billy Adamson is a newcomer, though of ten years standing. The Searchers didn't quit, although the
hits stopped flowing as the sixties started waning. Without ever disgracing
their name, they carried on, playing the clubs, touring "The Searchers", the resulting
album, leaves no room for doubt. As contemporary as any album released this
year, it has already been universally acclaimed by the far from gullible
British rock press. Three tracks speak volumes for The Searchers'
undeniable place in today's rock world, the Will Birch/ John Wicks' song
"Hearts in Her Eyes", Tom Petty's
"Lost in Your Eyes", and a rare Bob Dylan effort. "Coming from the Heart". Will
and John's group. The Records, along with Tom Petty's
outfit, are both self-confessed admirers of the sound that The Searchers
made so compelling and original in the sixties. Both are committed to
bringing that genre back into contention. The Searchers anticipated the
jangling folk rock sound that inspired groups such as The Byrds and Beau Brummels as
well as Dylan himself. Ultimately, though, it's not The
Searchers' track record that enables them to compete with today's groups;
it's their playing and singing. Their instrumental work is as tight and
exhilarating as ever, still that same blend of rhythmic precision and
inventive melody. Those trademark harmonies, too, highlighted by Mike
Pender's emotion-charged lead vocals, have simply matured with the years. And the group proves the point as it works
out on these hand picked songs: Mod Brown's "No Dancing", which
has drawn comparisons with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe's mighty Rockpile: Lowe himself has had a bash at veteran pub rocker
Micky Jupp's
"Switchboard Susan", and, dare I suggest. The Searchers' version
has the edge. Add, among others, a radio classic from Airwaves man John
David, "It's Too Late", and a brace of group compositions, and
"The Searchers" is probably the first so-called 'comeback' album
to thoroughly justify the coming back. —
Mick Houghten Left: back cover of the German lp. Below: The tracks taken from the back of the
Canadian release. Mike Pender sings lead on all tracks
except Don’t Hang On which is sung by Frank Allen. But all of that extraordinary guitar work
is done by John McNally (with Mike playing 12 string
electric guitar).
left: taken from UK/German inner sleeve. picture taken from original
This lp
was a real big chance for the Searchers to win a new audience and to keep the
old
one. The
songs were new - no re recordings of their old hits like they did a few years
earlier
(and like their mates - Swinging Blues Jeans, Merseybeats
…did), very good
material
which had always been a strength of the
Searchers. The sound was perfect,
the guitar
work overwhelming, the vocals extraordinary. Every Searchers fan was
(probably) delighted. I
remember them playing Hearts In Her Eyes on German
television.
I was so surprised to hear them playing a new and very good song. This
was a great
moment back in 1979. That song was the first single from the lp (see below)
and (I think)
they hoped desperately for a chart success which didn’t come.
So - after a quick decision - the album was withdrawn,
at least in the
again
in January 1980 without Coming From The Heart (one of my favourites). Three new
tracks
were added - recordings from early 1980: Love’s Melody, Back To The War and
Silver - all sung by Mike Pender.
The pictures above show front and back cover of the
new release. The title was still
The Searchers, the record number now SRK 6086.
This lp
also came out in Japan RJ-7660.
The Singles (taken from the album)
Hearts In Her Eyes / Don’t
Hang On:
Sire in They choose It’s
Too Late b/w Don’t Hang On and released in on Sire 49175 in January 1980.
Radio stations already received a promo release late 1979 with It’s Too Late in mono and stereo. While
the Canadian promo had both tracks. The single came out only in a
factory sleeve. Unfortunately the single didn’t chart.
Meanwhile Sire in
the Release date was 02 / 1980.
below: In all those four countries (US,
In
The small picture on the right shows Mike Pender with
long time fan Joe Vromen.
Sire in the
their
lp - the second issue (SKR 6086). Love’s Melody has
been one of three added
tracks
when in January 1980 the reworked album was on the market.
(The song became the title track of the 1981 release
in the US and Germany)
In the
cover
was used only a factory sleeve.
In
102.331-100. Cover see above.
The b-side was rather a surprise - a new track from
the Sire sessions, written and sung
by Mike
Pender but credited to McNally/Pender/Allen.
Great songs, releases in every important country,
television appearances, darlings of the
music
press again - but the so much deserved success didn’t come. What went wrong?
According to the Searchers Sire didn’t care for enough
publicity. But were the Searchers
really
ready to give up the ground where they earned their money? One possibility
could
have
been to support a successful act -which could have meant no money only the
chance
to win a new audience.
But there was more to come: a second Sire album. (Will
be the theme for my next
page.)
