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Mike Pender's Searchers | |
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Also known as | Mike Pender of The Searchers |
Origin | Liverpool, England |
Genres |
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Years active | 1985 | –present
Members | Mike Pender Barrie Cowell Keith Roberts Mike Pender Jnr. |
Past members | Chris Black Steve Carlisle Paul Jackson Kevin Healey [1] |
Website | mikependersearchers |
Mike Pender's Searchers contains lead singer and guitarist Mike Pender, formerly of The Searchers. Pender left The Searchers in December 1985 hoping to explore new musical directions while preserving the classic 12-string guitar style that he helped to popularise. Mike Pender's Searchers showcase the classic hits from Pender's many years with The Searchers in addition to his all-new material and a blend of popular rock standards by classic artists such as Buddy Holly, The Drifters and Roy Orbison.
Mike Pender founded The Searchers as a skiffle group in Liverpool in 1959 with John McNally. The band took their name from the classic 1956 John Ford western The Searchers . Pender claims that the name was his idea, [2] but McNally ascribes it to 'Big Ron' Woodbridge (born Ronald Woodbridge, 1938, in Liverpool, Lancashire), their first lead singer. The genesis remains unresolved.
The Searchers rose to fame during the 1960s British Invasion movement, developing a large following around the world. Although The Searchers continued to tour and record new material, the group was never able to achieve the same level of success they found during the 1960s. Mike Pender left The Searchers in December 1985 to pursue a career of his own, marking a new beginning. During the 1980s, Mike Pender also joined an all-star rock band known as The Corporation AKA The Traveling Wrinklies, whose name was a parody of the popular rock group Traveling Wilburys with Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and George Harrison. The Traveling Wrinklies contained Mike Pender of The Searchers, Brian Poole of Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, Clem Curtis of The Foundations, Tony Crane of The Merseybeats/ The Merseys and Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs. They released a 45 on the Corporation label: KORP 1, an updated version of The Showstoppers "Ain't Nothing But A House Party".
With The Searchers continuing to perform under the name, John McNally and Frank Allen replaced Mike Pender with a new vocalist named Spencer James, former lead singer of the group The First Class, who are best known for their hit single "Beach Baby".
Selecting a group of talented musicians, Mike Pender sought to re–create the unique sound that popularised The Searchers. Forming the band Mike Pender's Searchers, they began touring in the late 1980s. Between 1992 and 1995, Tony Jackson performed four times with Mike Pender's Searchers.
Mike Pender's Searchers re-recorded some of The Searchers hits and added five new tracks and released one CD, these tracks have however been re-licensed and released time and time again under different titles in various countries around the world. Mike Pender's Searchers continue to book new shows and tour, though infrequently, Mike Pender tends to perform as a solo artist these days. In 1994, Mike Pender's Searchers were the first 1960s band to be invited to play on board the QE2 as part of the ocean liner's 25th anniversary celebrations. During live performances, Mike Pender's Searchers use their own custom built lighting and sound equipment, and Mike Pender uses several different guitars including his famous 12-string Rickenbacker. Mike Pender and his 12-string guitar are referenced in the book Electric Guitars, The Illustrated Encyclopedia, by the author and guitar enthusiast Tony Bacon. [3]
(with Mike Pender, Brian Poole, Clem Curtis, Tony Crane and Reg Presley of The Troggs)
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make popular the Merseybeat sound and launch the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.
The Searchers are an English Merseybeat group who flourished 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.
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its soundtrack album. In the mid-1990s, a musical theatre production, also titled Ferry Cross the Mersey, related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Brian Poole is a singer and performer who was the lead singer of 1960s beat band Brian Poole And The Tremeloes.
Michael John Prendergast, known professionally by the stage name Mike Pender, is an English musician. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit singles by the Searchers, including the song "Needles and Pins" and "What Have They Done to the Rain?".
Reginald Maurice Ball, known professionally as Reg Presley, was an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band the Troggs, whose hits included "Wild Thing" and "With a Girl Like You". He wrote the song "Love Is All Around", which was featured in the films Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually.
The Corporation was an English pop group that was active in the 1980s and formed by musicians previously in popular, hit making, English bands of the 1960s.
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.
Leslie Charles Maguire was an English musician who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.
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.
Anthony "Tony" Crane MBE is an English musician, who is best known as the co-founder of the Merseybeats. Tony has toured with the Merseybeats since its inception in 1961.
Faron's Flamingos were an English Merseybeat band. Despite their lack of commercial success, they remain an important part of Merseybeat history and have the distinction of being the first major example of the "Mersey Motown" sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".
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.
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.
Hungry Hearts is the ninth studio album by the British group The Searchers and the group's first LP featuring new lead vocalist and guitarist Spencer James. The album was released only in West Germany and Benelux. It contained mainly new original material and it turned out to be the last studio effort by The Searchers.
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.