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The Searchers were arguably the greatest of the 'other' Liverpool groups. They produced a string of singles which compared in quality to the Beatles but possibly lacked the scale of originality and inventiveness peculiar to their famous rivals. They too had been a popular act in Hamburg and the Cavern and became famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Like many of the groups that were part of the 1960s 'beat boom', the group began by playing skiffle and are alleged to have taken their name from the same John Ford movie that had inspired Buddy Holly to write 'That'll Be The Day'. They spent much of their early life as a fivepiece and had Johnny Sandon as their vocalist. The original Searchers quartet was formed when Sandon left to join the Remo Four- another of Liverpool's burgeoning collection of groups. It was this line up, under the guidance of Tony Hatch, that produced the first hits. Most of their material came by reworking American songs, but 'Sugar and Spice' was an original written by Tony Hatch. |
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The sleeve shown on the right is from a record that is far and away the easiest of the Searchers' 45s to be found on the Extended Play format. Nevertheless, it's a great one to own because it contains four of the group's songs that are not heard as often as their hits. It includes their splendid interpretation of 'Love Potion Number 9' which is one the webmaster's personal favourites. |
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Vocalist Tony Jackson left the group in 1964 and was replaced by Frank Allan, previously with Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers. Jackson went on to form a new group- the Vibrations, which managed just one minor hit; "Bye Bye Baby". The Searcher's chart fortunes also began to wane during the late 1960s and the rate of personnel changes increased. By the end of the decade their star had faded and they found themselves among the founder members of the 'oldies' cabaret circuit. Sadly, Tony Jackson died on 18th August 2003. |
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