LATEST NEWS  

At the end of May the Searchers flew out for a couple of very enjoyable days in Cyprus, a country none of them had ever visited before, for a one-nighter open-air show in Paphos Harbour, joining the Foundations for a show billed as “The Searched and Found Show”. As you'll see from this photo, the stage was set up against the floodlit walls of the historic fort, built by the Ottoman Turks in 1586 which must have been a spectacular sight for everyone there.

Within a few days of their return they headed off to Canada for four shows at the big casinos over there, crossing the whole width of the country from Ontario to Winnipeg, on to Edmonton and finishing in Vancouver. Here are snippets from some of the emails I received from fans over there:

(From Gary Muth) We went to see The Searchers last night at Casino Rama, an Indian casino about 100 miles north of Toronto. What can I say? It was a great evening, especially since the boys sold out the building, playing to an audience of over 4,000. The punters love them!

(From Steve Corbett) It was a really great show.  Well worth the journey up from New York.

(From William Brisland) Polished, sharp and slick in both appearance and in sound, they blasted out their numbers one after the other, interspersed with Frank's anecdotes and jokes that kept everyone in stitches. Thanks for a lovely evening, it was very much enjoyed.

(From Alex & Heather Fox) We had a blast at the concert at Casino Rama on Saturday night. The enthusiasm and performance of the band was great!  I've never seen so many people dancing in the aisles near the end of a performance.  It was a great tribute to the staying power of the Searchers. 

(From Steve Payne) What a show they put on at Casina Rama and it was fantastic to see nearly 5,000 people there. 

(From Richard Gardian) Please thank the boys for a great show - it has been 18 years since I last saw them at Ontario Place here in Toronto. The show was fantastic, a great mix of songs and Frank's banter along the way.

(From Fran McNamara) My wife and I just returned last night from the Casino Rama show. We live in Buffalo, New York, a four hour ride south of the casino. The boys were fantastic, and they had the fans dancing in the aisles in front of the stage.  Class all the way and music that will ever remain timeless when played by these masters! At the ripe old age of 58 I am the happiest British Invasion fan on the planet right now!

(From Lindsay & Nancy Wilcox). This was one of the highlights of my and my wife's life. We were singing along on every song as we have them all, on vinyl and/or CDs. They could have played every song they ever recorded and it wouldn't have been enough! Please pass on to Frank, John, Spencer, and Eddie our thanks for their fantastic show. We will continue to follow their careers and hope to see them in Canada again.

(From Kevin Bazkur) They are a great act to see live and in person. We were very happy to hear “ Four Strong Winds”, a Canadian song by Ian Tyson.  We drove over four hours from Westport to see the show, and were very glad we did.

(From Elaine Stetina) I am a very long time fan who had the complete thrill to take in, for the first time, a Searchers concert at the McPhillips Street Station Casino in Winnipeg. I just had to write to let the boys know how very much my brother and I enjoyed the show. The music of course was brilliant but we found the total package so awesome. The band was so personable, encouraging the crowd to sing along and really enjoy themselves. Come back real soon. You rock!

(From Loretta & Dave Churko) The show at the Red Robinson theatre in Vancouver was awesome. Our voices were almost gone by the time the show ended from singing along with the songs. It was one of those shows that you do not want to end. Please let the guys know that they always deliver.

After a very well-deserved two week break in late June/early July, there's a long run of the Searchers' special all-evening solo theatre shows coming up later in the summer and autumn – in fact all the dates for the rest of 2009 are on line and most of them are now on sale, so if you want good seats, it's not too early to start booking.

Frank's eagerly awaited book “The Searchers And Me” - subtitled “The History Of The Legendary Sixties Hitmakers” - was published on 23 April. It's a substantial and very detailed biography of the Searchers and, running alongside the first few chapters, Frank's own early life story including his time with Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers before he joined the Searchers. It runs to over 440 pages with more than 160 photographs, has forewords by Pete Townshend and Bruce Welch, and a very comprehensive discography. It's a superb piece of work, not just for dedicated Searchers fans but also for everyone interested in the music and social history of the 50s, 60s and the ensuing years.

There have been some excellent reviews in the music papers. In “The Word”, under the heading “A brilliant X-ray image of the British music business since 1959”, Paul Du Noyer wrote “Neither cynical nor starry-eyed, Frank tells the whole story with engaging modesty ... there's an abiding human interest in his archetypal tale of a musician's journey, from innocent teen exuberance to rip-offs and lawsuits ...”. In the major US magazine “Goldmine” photographer Ian Wright, who took many of the early promo photos of the Searchers, has written a full page article: unfortunately this publication is not generally available outside North America, but if you click here you can read their online version of the article.

“The Searchers And Me” is published and distributed by Aureus (the same company who published his first book, Travelling Man). Please note that is ONLY available to purchase direct from Aureus. It is NOT available via Amazon or other internet or high street retailers. Click here to read more about the book, and follow the link to the publisher's site to see the various payment options and place an order. And if you bring your copy along to your next Searchers show, Frank will be very pleased to autograph it for you.

Finally, if you haven't already done so, do check out the current issue of Frank's own Searchers News I hope you will enjoy reading it, together with some more Questions and Answers at the end

Wendy Burton Website Editor/Co-ordinator 20th June 2009 e-mail: wendy.burton@the-searchers.co.uk