Look no further: The Searchers
Liz Crosthwaite • Published 27 Jul 2012 09:30
0 Comments
An evening of Merseybeat favourites awaits at Sonning Mill on Sunday, August 5, when genre-defining 60s band The Searchers take over the venue to share their hits with new fans and old. Frontman and bassist Frank Allen shared the secret to the band's 50-year tenure in the charts - and music fans' hearts - with
The Guide.
"We are part of a musical era that was incredibly important, that was started by The Beatles. It's never going to be forgotten.
Not only that but we have a whole string of incredibly popular and huge hits.
"We had a difference factor - we were the smart, clean-cut guys with lots of melody and harmony and lots of six-string guitar!"
And such hits - the sweetness of Needles And Pins, the jangly guitars of Sweet For My Sweet, the lilting harmonies of What Have They Done To The Rain... it must be tricky choosing what to play after so many records?
"That's probably the hardest thing, choosing a set-list," explained Frank. "We constantly get requests for tracks we are never going to play - all the album tracks are loved by someone.
"The show is the history of the band, not just the songs, it's the band's stories and anecdotes; we include the hits and more of the album tracks and B-sides, because that's important to people who are really devotees.
"A lot of the fans have played everything we have ever recorded, they know more about our music that I do! People seem to love that era and be obsessed with it - quite rightly! It's astonishing how many fans we have gathered over the years."
So, while the hairstyles and musical landscape might have changed, the music remains. Frank told us about some of his favourite memories of the band's 50 years: "My earliest memory is playing with the Motown people in America in 1964; with Dusty Springfield, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Smokey and The Miracles.The Temptations... there are more but you'd never remember them all! It was a fantastic line-up, incredible."
Tickets to the show cost £42, including dinner and car parking. Book at www.millatsonning.com or call 0118 969 8000.
This article appeared in Slough Observer 27 Jul 12
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our archives.
