Play for Today | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 1981 | |||
Recorded | August – October 1980 | |||
Studio | Rockfield Studios, Wales, UK | |||
Genre | Rock/pop | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Producer | Pat Moran, Ed Stasium | |||
The Searchers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Searchers | ||||
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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 ("Almost Saturday Night"), Big Star ("September Gurls") or Fats Domino ("Sick and Tired"). Session musicians on the album included Martin Hughes on drums and keyboard player Mick Weaver.
Despite previous album, Searchers , was a flop in the UK, it was a moderate commercial success in the US and that opened door for a follow-up on the Sire Records. The general feeling in the company was that, there was a need for an extra depth and edge to any new product, and the American producer Ed Stasium was brought in to add the missing elements. [1] Mike Pender sings lead on all tracks, drummer Billy Adamson was replaced for the sessions by Irish drummer Martin Hughes. [2] Keyboard player Mick Weaver, who worked as a session musician for Frankie Miller, David Gilmour or John Lodge, was also on the board. The title, Play for Today, was a play on words, having been lifted from the popular BBC drama series of the same name. It was a phrase that would serve to strike a chord of identification with listeners in Britain. [3]
The album was released in April 1981 in a simple black cover featured a radio tuner drawn in contrasting green lines (made by Sara Batho). One of the album's catchy rock tunes, band's self-penned "Another Night", was released as a lead single. Despite positive reviews and the fact that band's jangly-pop sound was tailor-made for the eighties new wave, both album and single missed the charts. Play for Today became the last album to be released by the Searchers in the UK (in fact, Hungry Hearts on the German Coconut Records was the last album recorded by the band).
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Another Night" | Mike Pender, John McNally, Frank Allen | 3:05 |
2. | "September Gurls" | Alex Chilton | 2:55 |
3. | "Murder in My Heart" | Ronnie Thomas | 2:54 |
4. | "She Made a Fool of You" | Moon Martin | 3:21 |
5. | "Silver" | Dave Paul | 3:20 |
6. | "Sick and Tired" | Chris Kenner | 3:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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7. | "Radio Romance" | Paul Shuttleworth, Vic Collins, Will Birch | 3:41 |
8. | "Infatuation" | Randy Bishop | 2:40 |
9. | "Almost Saturday Night" | John Fogerty | 2:46 |
10. | "Everything But a Heartbeat" | Richie Bull, Will Birch | 4:02 |
11. | "Little Bit of Heaven" | Mike Pender, John McNally, Frank Allen | 3:23 |
12. | "New Day" | John David | 2:39 |
Love's Melodies | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1981 | |||
Recorded | August – October 1980 | |||
Studio | Rockfield Studios, Wales, UK | |||
Genre | Rock/pop | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Producer | Pat Moran, Ed Stasium | |||
The Searchers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Searchers | ||||
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Nobody in America knew what the "Play for Today" meant to be, so Sire decided to rename the record for the US (and international) market. It was named Love's Melodies after the title song and the main US single ("Love's Melody" was not included on the UK version), although the Searchers' were not satisfied with the change. "It conversely gave a false impression of the content," says Frank Allen in his autobiography. "It was a hard driving rock album and not a collection of soppy love songs." [4] The album was released in a brand new packaging, designed by famous John Van Hamersveld (the man standing behind the artistic covers of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles, Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane or Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones). Unfortunately record missed the charts even in the US. "Sire Records and Seymour Stein had put their faith in the band," says Mike Pender. "But the lack of any kind of backup and fading compatibility within the band, all our hard work had come to nothing." [5] Love’s Melodies becoming the final Searchers‘ album to be released in the US.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Silver" | Dave Paul | 3:20 |
2. | "Infatuation" | Randy Bishop | 2:40 |
3. | "She Made a Fool of You" | Moon Martin | 3:21 |
4. | "Almost Saturday Night" | John Fogerty | 2:46 |
5. | "Little Bit of Heaven" | Mike Pender, John McNally, Frank Allen | 3:23 |
6. | "New Day (titled as "You Are The New Day")" | John David | 2:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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7. | "Love's Melody" | Andrew McMaster | 3:27 |
8. | "Everything But a Heartbeat" | Richie Bull, Will Birch | 4:02 |
9. | "Radio Romance" | Ronnie Thomas | 2:54 |
10. | "Murder in My Heart" | Richie Bull, Will Birch | 4:02 |
11. | "September Gurls" | Alex Chilton | 2:55 |
12. | "Another Night" | Mike Pender, John McNally, Frank Allen | 3:05 |
The Searchers
Additional musicians and production
Talking Heads: 77 is the debut studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads. It was recorded in April 1977 at New York's Sundragon Studios and released on September 16 of that year by Sire Records. The single "Psycho Killer" reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Searchers are 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.
Michael John Prendergast, known professionally as Mike Pender, is an English singer and guitarist. 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?".
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.
Ed Stasium is an American record producer and audio engineer, who has worked on albums by the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead, the Smithereens and Living Colour.
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.
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.
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, Carl Perkins, Don Gibson, The Drifters or Tommy Tucker. It was also the last Searchers album to feature singer Tony Jackson. The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK album chart.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Billy Adamson was a Scottish musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English pop rock band The Searchers. He joined them shortly after their most famous period in 1969 and remained with them until 1998. He also worked with Lulu, The Nashville Teens and Junior Campbell.