BBC Sessions (The Searchers album) explained

BBC Sessions
Type:live
Artist:The Searchers
Cover:BBC Sessions (The Searchers album).jpg
Border:yes
Released:2004
Recorded:1964–1967
Studio:BBC (the Playhouse Theatre, the Paris Theatre, Maida Vale)
Genre:Rock/pop
Language:English
Label:Castle

BBC Sessions is a 2004 compilation double album featuring performances by English band The Searchers.[1] [2] All songs were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1964 to 1967. The two-CD set consists of many of the band's hits or album tracks, 30 songs, including six songs which had never been recorded by them in the studio (including Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind") and 12 tracks of dialogue, mainly handled by drummer and band's spokesman Chris Curtis.[3] The songs are essentially "live in studio" performances.[4]

Overview and recording

Assembled here is every BBC recording by the Searchers that has survived to date.[5] It was not the BBC's practice to archive either the session tapes or the shows' master tapes and many of them were lost.[6] No releasable tapes of the Tony Jackson era exist, the first included here is from 1964 with Frank Allen on bass guitar and vocals. All sessions are taken from the well-known shows hosted by Brian Matthew: Saturday Club, Top Gear or Saturday Swings. "Brian Matthew always tried to make us feel at home and at ease, as did his producer, Benie Andrews," wrote about recordings Mike Pender in his autobiography.[7]

The Searchers recorded them at one of the BBC's usual locations the Playhouse Theatre, the Paris Theatre or the studio out at Maida Vale. "What usually happened was that we'd have done a gig late the previous night, and then we’d have to go in at 9.30 the next morning to tape the radio session," said guitarist John McNally. Normally there was no soundcheck and no overdubs. "We’d be a bit embarrassed by some of the stuff they broadcast," added McNally.[5] Pender agreed: "Some of our performances were not as good as we would have liked, given more time and more technical support."[7]

Personnel

The Searchers

Notes and References

  1. Book: Colin Larkin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 2011. Omnibus Press . 9780857125958. 1998.
  2. Web site: The Searchers Discography by M. Denger (fan web). BBC Recordings (January 1965 - March 1967).
  3. Book: Pete Frame. The Beatles and Some Other Guys. 2011. Omnibus Press . 9780711936652. 13.
  4. Web site: The Searchers – BBC Sessions/ . AllMusic, Richie Unterberger . 12 March 2021.
  5. Peter Doggett, BBC Sessions (CD liner notes), Castle Music, 2004.
  6. News: Buskin . Richard . Raiders of the Lost Archive: The Beatles Live At The Beeb . . March 1995 . 12 July 2009.
  7. Book: Mike Pender. The Search for Myself. 2014. Genuine Article Books. 9780993121302. 96.