The band grew out of an earlier skiffle group formed by McNally, with his friends Brian Dolan (guitar) and Tony West (bass). When the other two members lost interst McNally was joined by his guitarist neighbour Mike Prendergast. They soon recruited Tony Jackson with his home-made bass guitar and amplifier and styled themselves Tony and the Searchers with Joe Kelly on drums. Kelly soon left to be replaced by Norman McGarry and it is this line-up—McNally, Pender (as he soon became known), Jackson and McGarry—that is usually cited as the original foursome.
McGarry did not stay long, however, and in 1960 his place was taken by Chris Crummey (who later changed his name to Curtis). Later that year Big Ron had a successful audition with Mecca and became a ballroom singer. He was replaced by Billy Beck, who changed his name to Johnny Sandon. The band had regular bookings at Liverpool's Iron Door Club as Johnny Sandon and the Searchers.
Sandon left the band in late 1961 to join The Remo Four in February 1962. The group settled into a quartet sharing the vocal lead and billed simply as The Searchers. They continued to play at the Iron Door, The Cavern, and other Liverpool clubs. Like many similar acts they would do as many as three shows at different venues in one night. They negotiated a contract with the Star-Club in the St. Pauli district Hamburg for 128 days, with three one-hour performances a night, starting in July 1962.
The band returned to a residence, at the Iron Door Club and it was there that they tape recorded the sessions that led to a recording contract with Pye Records with Tony Hatch as producer.
Hatch played piano on some recordings and wrote "Sugar and Spice"—the band’s second number one record—under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale; a secret he kept from the band at the time.
After scoring their monumental hit "Needles and Pins", bassist Tony Jackson went solo and was replaced by Hamburg pal Frank Allen of Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.
Chris Curtis left the band in 1966 and was replaced by the Needles and Pins-influenced John Blunt, who in turn was replaced by Billy Adamson in 1970.
As musical styles evolved, the Searchers could not keep up and as a result, the hits ran out and while they continued to record for Liberty Records and RCA Records, ended up on the British "Chicken in a Basket" circuit although they did score a minor US hit in 1971 with "Desdemona".
The group continued to tour through the 1970s and were rewarded in 1979 when Sire Records signed the band to a multi-record deal. Two albums were released by them, The Searchers and Play for Today (retitled Love's Melodies outside the UK). Both records garnered great critical acclaim but did not break into the charts. They did however revitalize the group's career. According to John McNally, the band were ready to head into the studio to record a third album for Sire when they were informed that due to label reorganization, their contract had been dropped.
In 1981, the band signed to PRT Records (formerly Pye, their original label) and began recording an album but only one single, "I Don't Want To Be The One" backed with "Hollywood", saw the light of day at that time. The rest of the tracks would be released as part of 2004's 40th Anniversary collection.
Soon after the PRT release, Mike Pender left the group amidst great acrimony and now tours as Hollywood. McNally and Allan recruited former First Class vocalist Spencer James to fill Pender's shoes.
In 1988, Coconut Records signed The Searchers and the album Hungry Hearts was the result. A very contemporary sounding release, it featured modern sounding remakes of "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets For My Sweets". While the album was not a major hit, it did keep the group in the public eye.
The band continues to tour with Eddie Rothe replacing Adamson on drums and is considered to be one of the most popular 1960s bands on the UK concert circuit.
for more info see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers_%28band%29
Listen to Me
The Searchers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you will se our love so right
Hold me darling, listen closely to me
Your eyes will se what love can do
Reveal to me your love so true
Listen to me, liten closely to me
I want to love you tenderly
Those same bright stars in heaven above
Know now how sweethearts can be
Listen to me, hear what I say
Our hearts can be nearer each day
Hold me darling, listen closely to me
Listen to me
Listen to me, listen to me
I've told the stars your my only love
I want to love you tenderly
Those same bright stars in heaven above
Know now how sweethearts can be
Listen to me, hear what I say
Our hearts can be nearer each day
Hold me darling, listen closely to me
The Searchers' song "Listen to Me" is a romantic ballad about a person urging their lover to listen to them and hold them tight to see how right their love is. The lyrics are straightforward and simple, yet convey a sense of devotion and passion. The person singing the song asks their lover to listen closely to them and open their eyes to what love can do. They reveal their love is true and declare that they have told the stars that their lover is their only love. They express a desire to love their partner tenderly and believe that their love can bring them closer each day.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to me and hold me tight
Pay attention to me and embrace me firmly
And you will see our love so right
Then you will realize how perfect our love is
Hold me darling, listen closely to me
Keep holding me, dear, and pay close attention to my words
Your eyes will see what love can do
You'll witness firsthand what the power of love can accomplish
Reveal to me your love so true
Openly confess your genuine love for me
Listen to me, listen closely to me
Hear me out attentively and don't miss any of my messages
I've told the stars you're my only love
I've shared with the universe that you're the only one I love
I want to love you tenderly
I desire to love you with great gentleness and care
Those same bright stars in heaven above
Those exact sparkling stars way up in the sky
Know now how sweethearts can be
Are now aware of how romantic couples can be
Listen to me, hear what I say
Listen attentively to my words and comprehend their meaning
Our hearts can be nearer each day
Our hearts can come closer to each other every passing day
Hold me darling, listen closely to me
Embrace me tightly, my dear, and pay close attention to my words
Contributed by Gabriella S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@beckydalr-fn5qs
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