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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2012 11:23:31 GMT
Tony Jackson did some great records after he left The Searchers. According to Merseybeat expert Spencer Leigh who interviewed all the members over the years, Jackson was forced out... Chris Curtis said that Jackson was threatening to go to the press with some "information" about Curtis and when they got wind of what he was up to, they acted quickly to get rid of him. Apparently, Jackson was threatening to spill the beans about Curtis' sexuality...
The Searchers did get depressed and felt they were stuck in a rut after Pye dumped them. They weren't happy with what Liberty had them recording and rightly so - "Umbrella Man" is the most credible track they did there. The RCA era wasn't much better since RCA insisted upon them re-recording the old hits. After that they spent most of the 70's in clubs and cabaret wanting to escape the rut... the money was fine, but artistically they felt frustrated, so when Sire came along, they really did raise a lot of eyebrows with those 2 albums since they were excellent, proving that they still had what it took and were a credible enough band for the 1980's.
McNally's fury wasn't so much at losing "the voice" of The Searchers but at the way Pender lied about wanting to go solo only to then try and steal all Searchers gigs with his own version of the band... that caused a lot of confusion since if you booked "The Searchers" you didn't know which version you were gonna get hence the legalities coming in whereby Mike Pender has to advertise as "Mike Pender's Searchers" - similar thing happened with Herman's Hermits. Legally, drummer Barry Whitwam "owns" and tours with the name. Peter Noone is legally forbidden from touring Britain as "Herman's Hermits" and has to use his own name in the billing to comply. Whitwam has made it VERY clear that if Noone dared perform in Britain as "Herman's Hermits" he would sue instantly and Noone wouldn't have a leg to stand on... hence why Noone never performs in Britain any more.
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Post by john wilson on Apr 11, 2012 12:30:46 GMT
A few points re The Searchers splits in the sixties (Please correct anything you know is wrong - thanks !!) only an observation based on what I've read over the years, & heard from others...
As I understand it
Tony Jackson was a bit older than the others & he joined them last - he was a figure in his own right with his own fans (Like Pete Best with The Beatles), but I believe it was always a bit of a 'him & them' situation in the band (Like say Bassist/vocalist Michael Steele found in The girl group The Bangles years later - she too later leaving that band...) - Tony was an outspoken guy too !
John McNally founded the band but did not appear to act like their Leader onstage just strumming rhythm guitar & grinning alot !
Tony Jackson sang Lead alternating with guitarist Mike Pender while Drummer/vocalist & High harmony voice Chris Curtis was the audience 'frontman' doing most onstage liason & song intro work...
Chris Curtis effectively became the leader re Producer Tony Hatch as he picked the songs and wrote most original 'B'sides, EP & LP tracks - note TV Presenters like Pete Murray & Alan Freeman etc talked with Chris the most - while Keith Fordyce speaks to Chris on the surviving RSG footage too.
IF John McNally actually was the band leader he certainly never put himself up on TV performances as such...nor in their Radio work
Mike Pender was gradually 'phased in' from 'Needles & Pins' as the main singles Lead singer, then came Chris Curtis ('This Empty Place', 'Glad All Over', Magic Potion, Stand By Me' etc ) as the more featured second lead vocalist on albums & EP's, plus 'B' sides.
despite being the main Lead singer on the first album & the first two hit singles Tony Jackson strangely then just had just the one co-lead vocal with Mike ('Sho Know Alot About Love') on the band's third PYE Album 'It's the Searchers'
Interestingly note how both NME Poll Winners concert & Ed Sullivan Show Live versions of 'Don't Throw Your Love Away' and 'Needles & Pins' are sung in duet by Pender AND Jackson (with Curtis on high harmony) - yet only Pender & Curtis sang Lead on the recorded singles themselves.
Talk of Tony Jackson NOT handling 'Needles & Pins' well on early takes later emerged...tho' possibly that's just heresay & disputable (?)
whatever a rift between Jackson & the others opened up - Jackson & Curtis apparently always had something of a personality clash too with Jackson supposedly strongly objecting to Curtis himself deciding he was the band 'Leader'
Musically Tony Jackson wanted to keep a tougher R & R upbeat sound too....as they duly moved towards a gentler sound like 'Sea of Heartbreak' etc
'What Haave they Done To The Rain ?' was a move towards folk/rock - which Jackson rather 'slagged off' in the music press after he'd left the group as being: 'their poorest single yet...'
With Mike Pender becoming more of the featured Lead singer on singles...and Jackson departed for a 'solo' career (signed to PYE who put him on their sub label Piccadilly later) The Searchers sound did lighten somewhat - tho' not exclusively.
New boy Southerner Frank Allen was a fine replacement - but some of Tony Jackson's fans were disgrunteled over the sudden (and for them shock) personnel switch & the band probably lost a number of loyal fans (bear in mind this was later on in their career than say was Pete Best exiting for Ringo in The Beatles pre-hits, thus was more like say when Jet Harris left The Shadows and was a far harder thing for the band to cope with)
The circumstances of Tony Jackson's exit were never properly explained to theior fans either...
Chris Curtis later then apparently lost some standing with the others in 1965 when his choice of Bobby Darin's song 'When I Get Home' was a realative flop as a single (it would have made a fine album track of course)
Jacke de Shannon's song 'Each Time' would probably have been a far better choice as single instead (I think Frank Allen thought that too !)
they toured with The Rolling Stones (then at the height of their sixties fan mania) which I think made Chris Curtis lose confidence - He was quoted years later in a rare interview saying: 'we couldn't compete with The Stones...'
a rather surprising admission from a band member whose group had 'cut their teeth' in Hamburg with other bands like The Beatles etc, in FAR tougher drunken clubs than The Stones London R & B and Jazz club background !
whatever during a 1966 tour of Australia Chris Curtis apparently suffered some kind of health problem (either nervous exhasution or a mini breakdown as earlier Brian Wilson & Don Everly both had done while on tours)
whatever Chris swiftly left the band - they got in John Blunt a younger Drummer and Frank Allen largely became group spokesman with Mike Pender still chief Lead singer - again John McNally didn't noticeably step forward even then (was he Leader or just band Founder ?)
A major surprise then came when Chris Curtis issued a solo single 'Aggravation' (which flopped)
Tony Hicks gave John McNally a demo of the Hollies song 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' (written by Clarke-Hicks-Nash as 'Ransford' in 1966 but not issued by The Hollies themselves until their 'Evolution' album in 1967)
Having been unlucky with a great cover of the Stones 'Take it or Leave it' (maybe given to them inAustralia on that 1966 tour ?)
They duly covered The Hollies song with John Blunt on drums (whose drumming Chris Curtis 'slagged off' in the music press) not helping them...
BUT Chris Curtis also then produced a rival cover version by Paul & Barry Ryan - both were minor chart hits but as a result NEITHER scored a decent hit with the song as sales were divided...this possibly was a 'final nail' for The Searchers in PYE Record's eyes
- after a few more singles ending with Mike Pender & Frank Allen's 'Second Hand Dealer' (a Ray Davies type 'observational' song) PYE sadly did not renew The Searchers contract...
Events didn't help, as the R & B sound, then Soul plus the emergence of Underground music made the excellent Searchers seem rather dated by 1967 (they were capable of being more up to date but it just wasn't done) image wise they looked back in 1965, while a few 'quirky' singles on Liberty sank...
I'm guessing but if 'Each Time' had been the single instead of 'When I Get Home' - then maybe more material like 'Don't You Know Why', 'He's Got No Love' etc - a harder sound plus a more contemporary styled band look (compare the look of the 1967 Searchers to Moody Blues, Hollies, Tremeloes,...let alone Beatle, Stones, Who etc) plus if PYE had faith to let them do a SIXTH album in 1966 and bothered to properly promote it....I feel sure they could have kept their wider public profile & momentum as a known recording band doing albums going in the later half of the sixties...
Personality clashes within the band, plus maybe 'power struggles' re WHO was band leader, musical director, etc no doubt caused them to lose public profile during the key period over 1964 to 1967....
Mike Pender had THE Voice & 'jangling' guitar sound
Chris Curtis was THE Band spokesman, chief songwriter, & initially had the 'midas touch' re picking the singles songs...
Tony Jackson had the 'moody' image, initial 'voice', strong looks, and stance of a star....
John McNally was a figurehead...but as they said 'makes a are but great vocal appearance on 'Hi Heel Sneakers'...so his profile in the band early on was never much beyond a happy grinning backup guitarist !
Frank Allen did register with fans as a strong bassist and singer on his arrival and became spokesman after Curtis left.
none of the five main band members held all the reigns....the band suffered alot from them not 'all pulling together' it seems !
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Post by Stephen Doran on Apr 11, 2012 12:40:03 GMT
Wonder why This Feeling Inside was left off the RSG VHS/Beta copies that were released in the 80s?
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Post by Dale Rumbold on Apr 11, 2012 19:35:06 GMT
Have seen all 3 versions of latter-day Searchers in recent-ish years (1990s onwards) - The Searchers ; Mike Pender & co ; and Tony Jackson. By far the most spectacular performance was by the late Mr Jackson as part of a 60s show at The Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe. He was backed by The Four Pennies (as were many acts on that particular bill) and he bounded on stage, his hands crippled by arthritis but also clearly drunk, and started with "When you walk in the room". Towards the end of the song, he caught his foot in a mic lead on-stage and fell onto his back : he finished the song from the supine position. He then stood up, and the band started the intro for the next number (I forget what it was). Jackson, however, was having none of it - he shouted "No, Needles and Pins" and The Four Pennies stopped what they were doing ; shot knowing glances at each other and the audience; then started Needles & Pins. Jackson, not learning from the prior number, danced at high speed around the stage while singing, culminating in his running backwards from back to front of stage ; tripping again on some wires ; falling backwards (again) ; cracking his head on a monitor speaker ; and knocking himself unconscious. He was clearly badly injured, but elicited a surprising response from the audience, who began booing and shouting. "Get him off he's p***ed" being a typical shout. Clem Cattini (appearing with The Tornados and acting as promoter) came on stage and said "This is not a joke : is there a doctor in the house?" He then went on to explain that Jackson was not, in fact, drunk (!!!) but was an "asthmatic who has forgotten his puffer". This cut no ice with the audience. Eventually, Jackson was taken away by ambulance to Ipswich Hospital (where he soon recovered) and the show continued without him. For me, it was far and away the most exciting part of that particular gig! (even more exciting than Love Affair appearing and proudly declaring that none of the line-up had played on any of their records!). Happy days.
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Post by petercheck on Oct 25, 2020 11:47:50 GMT
Here's The Searchers performing both 'Needles and Pins' and a clip of 'Saturday Night Out', enjoy!
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