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
Solitaire
The Searchers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who lost his love through his indifference
A heart that cared, that went unchecked
Until it died in his silence
And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by himself, it's easy to pretend
And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
Another day, a lonely day
So much to say that goes unspoken
And through the night, his sleepless nights
His eyes are closed, his heart is broken
And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by himself it's easy to pretend
She's coming back again
And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
A little hope, goes up in smoke
Just how it goes, goes without saying
Solitaire
And by himself it's easy to pretend
He'll never love again
Ohhh
And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
He's playing solitaire
Solitaire, solitaire
The Searchers' song "Solitaire" is a melancholic tale of a man who has lost his love through his own indifference, and now finds himself playing solitaire as a means of escapism from his pain. The song begins by highlighting how the man's heart was caring but went unchecked, resulting in the love dying in his silent indifference. The chorus repeatedly sings, "Solitaire's the only game in town," emphasizing how the man is playing solitaire alone as he is by himself and has no one to share his life with.
The second verse continues the theme of loneliness and missed opportunities to communicate his love. The lines "so much to say that goes unspoken" and "his eyes are closed, his heart is broken" convey the man's deep pain and longing for his lost love. The song's final verse recognizes that hope is short-lived, and the cycle of playing solitaire alone and pretending that his love will return continues. The song ends with repeated calls of "solitaire" and the last line, "solitaire, solitaire," as if to solidify the man's isolation and the hopelessness of his situation.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a man, a lonely man
This man was alone, with nobody to share his love with.
Who lost his love through his indifference
He lost the love of his life because he did not show enough care or interest in her.
A heart that cared, that went unchecked
His heart was full of love, but he did not express it to the woman he loved.
Until it died in his silence
His love for her faded away because he never spoke up about it or acted on it.
And solitaire's the only game in town
Playing solitaire is the only thing he can do to distract himself from his loneliness.
And every road that takes him, takes him down
Every path he takes in life leads him to a place of sadness and loneliness.
And by himself, it's easy to pretend
He can easily deceive himself and imagine that his love will return if he is alone.
He'll never love again
He feels like he will never be able to love anyone else after losing the love of his life.
And keeping to himself he plays the game
He isolates himself and spends his time playing solitaire.
Without her love it always ends the same
No matter how many times he plays solitaire, it always ends the same way: with him feeling lonely and empty inside.
While life goes on around him everywhere
Everyone else around him is living their lives and moving on, but he feels stuck in his loneliness.
Another day, a lonely day
Every day feels like a challenge for him, as he has nobody to share his life with.
So much to say that goes unspoken
He has so much to express and share, but he keeps it all bottled up inside because he is alone.
And through the night, his sleepless nights
He cannot sleep because he is plagued by his loneliness and the memories of his lost love.
His eyes are closed, his heart is broken
He tries to shut out the pain and sadness, but it is always with him, even when he sleeps.
A little hope, goes up in smoke
Even when he thinks he is making progress, his hope is quickly crushed and disappears.
Just how it goes, goes without saying
This is how life works for him, and it is something he has accepted.
Solitaire
Playing solitaire is a symbol of his isolation and loneliness.
And by himself it's easy to pretend
He can easily deceive himself and imagine that his lost love will return if he is alone.
He'll never love again
He feels like he will never be able to love anyone else after losing the love of his life.
Solitaire, solitaire
The repetition of 'solitaire' emphasizes the theme of isolation and loneliness.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind