Searchers head to a venue near you on epic tour of UK (From Basildon Recorder)

Searchers head to a venue near you on epic tour of UK

9:00pm Wednesday 1st July 2009

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IF you’re wanting to see the Searchers, you won’t have to look very far.

In Essex alone over the next few months they will be playing the Civic Theatre, in Chelmsford, the Towngate, in Basildon, and Princes Theatre, in Clacton.

That’s just three dates on a tour which runs across the country, from Wales to Scotland and the West Country to the Isle of Wight.

They’re so busy, it’s amazing we can even get hold of Frank Allen, and, in fact, we only just manage to before they set off once again, this time for a tour of Canada.

So, the first question has to be: why still do it? “For the past 45 years that’s been our schedule,” Frank replied.

“Last year, we did 200 shows. It’s always been like that for us and that’s because we like working.

“We like being on stage and performing those songs.

“We could retire. Of course we could, but it’s just our work ethic.”

With classic hits such as Sweets For My Sweet, Needles and Pins, and When You Walk in the Room, the Searchers have made a massive contribution to British music.

Their jangling 12-string guitar and rich harmonies helped sell more than 40 million albums worldwide and it was this distinctive sound which so influenced US country rockers the Byrds, as well as Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

The group started in the late Fifties as a skiffle group originally formed by John McNally, along with Chris Curtis, Mike Pender and Tony Jackson, but it was their Sixties heyday which saw them score a string of hits.

Frank joined the band when Tony Jackson left in 1964, but he first met them two years earlier when he was playing with Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.

He said: “We used to play the same bills and so when Tony left and they asked me to join, I naturally agreed. It’s probably the best decision I ever made.

“I had grown up listening to the likes of Buddy Holly, Fats Domino and Elvis.”

It’s funny it was acts from the US that first influenced Frank as a young rock and roller, since the Searchers have had such a big influence on the American rock acts of later years.

Marky Ramone, the drummer with the Ramones, made a special plea to be allowed to sit in with them during a recent New York engagement. The US market itself has also opened up to them again in a major way, as has Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They’re not doing too badly over here either, with a return to the UK charts last year with the release of the Very Best of the Searchers album, a compilation of 25 of their famous hits and best-known original recordings.

Frank said: “Currently there is a huge sense of nostalgia. People want to look back at those days and especially the music that came out of the time.

“That’s why I wrote the book, the Searchers and Me, which has just been published. It’s mainly anecdotal, but I did a lot of research, going to the BBC Library and other archives to find material.”

The current line-up consists of John, Frank, Spencer James and Eddie Rothe.

The Searchers will be performing at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford, on July 15, and Princes Theatre, Clacton, on October 3.

Tickets for the Civic Theatre are £17 and £15 for concessions, available by calling 01245 606505. Tickets for Princes Theatre are £17 and £16 for concessions, available from the box office on 01255 686633.

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