It's the Searchers | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 22, 1964 | |||
Recorded | November 1963–April 1964 | |||
Studio | Pye Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock/Pop | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Pye | |||
Producer | Tony Hatch | |||
The Searchers chronology | ||||
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Singles from It's the Searchers | ||||
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Alternate UK cover art (1968) | ||||
It's the Searchers is the third studio album by English rock band The Searchers. It features the band's famous hit singles "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks originally recorded by Betty Everett ("It's In Her Kiss"),Carl Perkins ("Glad All Over"),Don Gibson ("Sea of Heartbreak"),The Drifters ("I Count the Tears") or Tommy Tucker ("Hi-Heel Sneakers"). It was also the last Searchers album to feature singer Tony Jackson. The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK album chart.
The tension in the Searchers began before the recording sessions. Things got worse between Chris Curtis and Tony Jackson. Curtis became the leader of the band and in fact,he did not like Jackson's style or himself at all. “I didn’t like Tony Jackson much,even from the start,and if I’d had the nous to audition for the Searchers,I would have had someone else in the first place,”said Curtis to Spencer Leigh in 1997. [1] So,Tony lost the position of the band’s lead singer. Chris Curtis would tell him his vocals were not needed and he was to play bass his (i.e. Chris's) way. [2] Their egos grew bigger and as the new lead singer Mike Pender wrote in his autobiography:“Internal tensions within the band worsened when certain people neglected to tell Tony about recording sessions and policy discussions.” [2] Finally,Jackson sang lead vocal on one song only,"Sho' Know A Lot About Love " (and even there he shared his vocal with Mike Pender).
Although it was probably not the intention of the authors,a later re-issue of the album (1968) featured an updated band photo on the cover with new bass player Frank Allen (even though he didn’t perform on any song on the album).
During the album sessions,the band also recorded two unreleased tracks. The first was "I (Who Have Nothing)",an English language cover of the Italian song performed by Ben E. King in the US. The second was "Shame Shame Shame" written by American blues musician Jimmy Reed. Both songs were finally released in 1992 on The Searchers' 3CD box 30th Anniversary Collection 1962–1992. Journalist Alan Walsh (Disc) claimed that he "goes to a Pye LP session and joins the boys" and sang backing vocals with them on the song "Sho' Know A Lot About Love". [3]
It's the Searchers was the third Searchers' album released within 12 months (fourth,if we count the live German LP Sweets for My Sweet). It came as a monaural (mono) LP album on the Pye label in the UK in April 1964,Pye NPL 18092. It entered the LP charts on May 30 went to No. 4 and stayed for 17 weeks. [4] Early pressings of the album (and some international releases) had been made with title "It's Fab! It's Gear! It's the Searchers",the originally intended album title,but it was shortened later. [5]
The low-budget Marble Arch Records reissued the album in 1968 with the new cover art. This LP was released in mono (MAL 798) and for the first time also in stereo version (MALS 798). But the track list was shortened and four songs were omitted ("It's In Her Kiss","Glad All Over","This Empty Place" and "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia"). [6]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "It's In Her Kiss" | Rudy Clark | Mike Pender | 2:15 |
2. | "Glad All Over" | Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett | Chris Curtis | 1:53 |
3. | "Sea of Heartbreak" | Paul Hampton, Hal David | Mike Pender | 2:25 |
4. | "Livin' Lovin' Wreck" | Otis Blackwell | Mike Pender | 1:45 |
5. | "Where Have You Been" | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | Chris Curtis | 2:38 |
6. | "Shimmy Shimmy" | Albert Shubert, Bill Massey | Mike Pender | 2:33 |
7. | "Needles and Pins" | Sonny Bono, Jack Nitzsche | Mike Pender | 2:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "This Empty Place" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | Chris Curtis | 2:07 |
2. | "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia" | Johnnie Mae Matthews, Timmy Shaw | Chris Curtis | 2:18 |
3. | "I Count the Tears" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | Mike Pender | 2:03 |
4. | "Hi-Heel Sneakers" | Robert Higginbotham | John McNally | 2:32 |
5. | "Can't Help Forgiving You" | Jackie DeShannon, Sharon Sheeley | Mike Pender | 2:05 |
6. | "Sho' Know A Lot About Love" | Gary S. Paxton, Buddy Mize | Tony Jackson, Mike Pender | 2:23 |
7. | "Don't Throw Your Love Away" | Billy Jackson, Jimmy Wisner | Mike Pender | 2:21 |
This Is Us | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1964 | |||
Studio | Pye Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock/Pop | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Kapp | |||
Producer | Tony Hatch | |||
The Searchers US chronology | ||||
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Singles from This Is Us | ||||
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The US version of It's The Searchers was retitled This Is Us (i. e. the headline on the back side of the UK LP cover) and given a different cover art (the photo of the Searchers was taken by photographer Alex Greco). It was released with a different track listing (included some older UK album tracks and B–sides, while deleting six songs: "Glad All Over", "Livin' Lovin' Wreck", "Shimmy Shimmy", "Needles And Pins", "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia" and "Sho' Know A Lot About Love"). It entered the LP charts on 29 August 1964 and peaked at No. 97 on Billboard Top 200. [7]
The song "Love Potion No. 9" (written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) was chosen as an additional single from the album (with "Hi-Heel Sneakers" on the B-side). It became massively popular and reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Cash Box during the winter of 1965. [8] Lead singer Tony Jackson left the band at the time of the album's release and formed his own band, Tony Jackson And The Vibrations. He immediately recorded his own new version of the hit song, but it missed the charts.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original UK release | Length |
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1. | "Don't Throw Your Love Away" | Billy Jackson, Jimmy Wisner | It's the Searchers | 2:21 |
2. | "Unhappy Girls" | Fred Burch, Marijohn Wilkin | Sugar And Spice | 2:38 |
3. | "Where Have You Been" | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | It's the Searchers | 2:38 |
4. | "Hungry for Love" | Gordon Mills | Sugar And Spice | 2:24 |
5. | "This Empty Place" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | It's the Searchers | 2:07 |
6. | "Hi-Heel Sneakers" | Robert Higginbotham | It's the Searchers | 2:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original UK release | Length |
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1. | "It's In Her Kiss" | Rudy Clark | It's the Searchers | 2:15 |
2. | "I Count the Tears" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | It's the Searchers | 2:03 |
3. | "Can't Help Forgiving You" | Jackie DeShannon, Sharon Sheeley | It's the Searchers | 2:05 |
4. | "Love Potion No. 9" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | Meet the Searchers | 2:05 |
5. | "Sea of Heartbreak" | Paul Hampton, Hal David | It's the Searchers | 2:25 |
6. | "I Pretend I'm With You" | Chris Curtis | non-album single, B-side Don't Throw Your Love Away | 2:00 |
The Searchers
Additional musicians and production
Chris Curtis was an English drummer and singer. He was best known for being with the 1960s beat band The Searchers. He originated the concept behind Deep Purple and formed the band in its original incarnation of 'Roundabout'.
The Searchers were an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" ; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.
Anthony Paul Jackson was a British musician. He was known for being a member of the Merseybeat band The Searchers.
John McNally is an English guitarist. He was a member of The Searchers, a band he formed in 1959, who were a big part of the Mersey sound in the early 1960s. He was the longest serving member of the group, touring in the band from 1957, until their retirement in 2019, as well as their 2023 farewell tour.
Meet The Searchers is the 1963 debut and most successful album by British rock band The Searchers. The album featured their first single released in June 1963, a version of the Drifters' "Sweets for My Sweet", which was a UK No.1 for the band, as well as their version of the Clovers "Love Potion No.9", which was released as a single in the U.S. the following year. "Love Potion No.9" peaked on the US charts at No. 3 on 19 December 1964. The album was also released in Canada, Germany and South Africa, often with track listing changes.
Sugar and Spice is the second studio album by the British rock band The Searchers released in 1963. This album features the band's second big hit single "Sugar and Spice". With two successful Top 5 albums in three months, and two other Top 3 hit singles at the time, the group proved to be the strongest to emerge from Liverpool next to the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. They solidified their position further with another album track, "Ain't That Just Like Me", which was later released in the US and hit #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Sounds Like Searchers is the fourth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers and the group's first LP featuring singer and bass player Frank Allen. Album features title track of the band's UK No.1 EP "Bumble Bee" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks written or co-written by Burt Bacharach, John Barry or Jackie DeShannon. The album has reached the Top 10 in the UK album chart.
Take Me for What I'm Worth is the fifth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers and the group's first LP which missed the official Record Retailer Top 20 album chart in the United Kingdom. Released in the end of 1965 it was the last album by the Searchers before the leader of the band Chris Curtis left. Album included some songs written by members of the band as well as cover versions of some well known tracks originally recorded by The Ronettes, Fats Domino, Marvin Gaye or Ian and Sylvia. The title track, written by P. F. Sloan, was the last Top 20 hit for the band in the UK.
Second Take is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Searchers and the first with drummer Billy Adamson. Album consists of re-recordings of their earlier hits as well as their last US hit single "Desdemona" from the previous year. Guitarist and vocalist Mike Pender takes the lead as singer on all of the tracks. Second Take is also the band's first self-produced album.
Sweets for My Sweet – The Searchers at the Star-Club Hamburg is the first live album by English rock band the Searchers, recorded in spring 1963 at the German Star-Club during their Hamburg residency. It was recorded before the group's success in the United Kingdom. Soon after, they signed with Pye Records and went on to score many hits. Later, the Searchers re-recorded some of these tracks in studio and issued on their albums or singles. Nevertheless, the LP has never been officially released in the UK, although a live recording of the song "Sweet Nothin's" made the UK Top 50.
The Searchers Meet The Rattles is the second US live album by English rock band The Searchers and the first US LP by German rock band The Rattles. The Searchers recorded their set in March 1963 at the German Star-Club during their Hamburg residency. The album contains songs that Mercury Records had withheld from its predecessor Hear! Hear!. Songs by The Rattles are taken from their album Twist Im Star-Club Hamburg released in Germany on Philips Records in 1963. The only other country that released The Searchers Meet The Rattles was Canada.
Searchers is the seventh studio album by the English rock band The Searchers, sometimes referred to as a comeback album. It is the Searchers' first album of original songs since their 1965 Take Me for What I'm Worth and the first which entered Billboard Top 200 since The Searchers No. 4. Album contained songs originally written by Tom Petty, Bob Dylan or The Records and featured guest appearances by Bob Jackson, ex-Badfinger, on keyboards.
Play for Today is the eighth studio album by English rock band The Searchers and the last band's album to feature lead singer Mike Pender. LP was released both in the UK and the US with completely different cover art and slightly divergent track listing. Album contained songs originally performed by John Fogerty, Big Star or Fats Domino. Session musicians on the album included Martin Hughes on drums and keyboard player Mick Weaver.
The Iron Door Sessions is a compilation live album by English rock band The Searchers. It contains acetate recordings of them performing at Iron Door Club in 1963, few months before their breakthrough in the UK. The Searchers re-recorded some of these tracks in the studio later and issued on their albums or singles. Traditional Maggie May is the same song made famous by The Beatles.
BBC Sessions is a 2004 compilation double album featuring performances by English band The Searchers. All songs were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1964 to 1967. The two-CD set consists of many of the band's hits or album tracks, 30 songs, including six songs which had never been recorded by them in the studio and 12 tracks of dialogue, mainly handled by drummer and band's spokesman Chris Curtis. The songs are essentially "live in studio" performances.
German, French + Rare Recordings is the German compilation album by English rock band The Searchers. The collection includes their hits as "Needles and Pins", "Don't Throw Your Love Away" or "When You Walk In The Room" sung in German and French and is a complete catalogue of their singles and rarities issued on Liberty Records in the sixties. This was the band's second rarities album, the former being The Searchers Play The System – Rarities, Oddities & Flipsides, which was released in 1987.
The Searchers Play the System – Rarities, Oddities & Flipsides, commonly abbreviated to Play the System, is the compilation album featuring a selection of songs by English band the Searchers. The album was originally released as part of the Searchers collection on PRT Records, a set containing all original Searchers recordings released between 1963-1967 in the UK on Pye Records. It is also the only album gathering together mostly self-penned tunes by the Searchers.
The Searchers 30th Anniversary Collection 1962–1992 is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band The Searchers released by Sequel Records. This collection including all of their A-sides released on Pye Records, nearly all B-sides and many of their album tracks. The third disc featured rarities, plus previously unreleased material intended for unfinished LP from 1983.
"He’s Got No Love" is a song written by Chris Curtis and Mike Pender and released by British pop rock group The Searchers. The song was released as a single in July 1965 by Pye Records in the United Kingdom and later on Kapp Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1965 in both countries.
I Like It Like That is the seventh American album by the British band the Dave Clark Five. It was released on 15 November 1965 and was the follow-up to the successful top-ten single of the same name. The LP reached the Billboard and Cashbox charts.