1960s stars The Searchers – famous for hits such as Sweets for my Sweet (which reached number one), Sugar and Spice and Don’t Throw Your Love Away – are set to play Consett and South Shields this September.
After starting off as a skiffle band in their home city of Liverpool, The Searchers soon adopted their trademark jangly guitar sound.
During a decades-long career, they have played with The Beatles at the legendary Star Club in Hamburg, toured Australia with The Rolling Stones and appeared on the same bill as Motown stars Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and The Temptations.
Fans of The Searchers include Bruce Springsteen, 1960s band The Byrds and even punk rocker Marky Ramone, who once sat in with The Searchers on drums.
Bassist and vocalist Frank Allen said, “The Beatles created a new wave of pop and teenage American musicians leapt onto it and, of course, we played our part.”
“Our sound, with the jangly twelve-string guitar, set us apart from other bands and people like (Tom) Petty, Springsteen and The Byrds loved it. You can hear our influence on many of their records.”
The Searchers have played to 150,000 people at Wembley Stadium supporting Cliff Richard and have shifted a whopping 50 million records during their career.
The band, despite having gone through multiple line-up changes, are still playing today, doing between 150 and 200 concerts annually.
Frank said, “My enthusiasm for travelling up and down motorways is rapidly diminishing, but my love of going on stage and entertaining gives me the same buzz as it always did.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJpMEFg1soU]
The Searchers will play the Customs House in South Shields on Friday 15th September and the Consett Empire Theatre on Saturday, September 16th.
Please go to https://www.customshouse.co.uk/music/the-searchers/ for more information about the Consett gig and http://www.leisureworks.net/event/5227/the-searchers for more details of the South Shields gig.
To read a full interview with Frank Allen of The Searchers, please click here.
