A band for all seasons

4:24pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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SITTING on the living room floor of his parent's home in West London, the young Frank Allen excitedly began to strum notes on his first ever guitar - "a Palm Beach costing just six pounds and nine pence"- only to have a string snap almost straightaway. His parents dismissed his new-found hobby as "a five minute wonder" - but how could they know then that Frank would one day enjoy huge success as the bass player and lead vocalist for Merseybeat rock group The Searchers?

Now more than 40 years later, Frank still performs around the country with founding member John McNally, alongside more recent recruits Spencer James and Eddie Rothe.

The talented foursome will also be making a stop at this year's Cliveden Rocks!, a two-day outdoor festival at Cliveden Paddocks on Saturday, August 2, alongside their equally popular contemporaries, The Swinging Blue Jeans.

With record sales well in excess of 30 million and such classic hits as Sweets For My Sweet, Needles and Pins and Don't Throw Your Love Away, The Searchers have more than earned their place in British music history. So what exactly is the secret to their enduring success?

Frank explains: "Well, we do have a lot of fans who love coming to see us and relive their youth, but we've also attracted plenty of new fans from the past two decades as well. The band may have changed over the years, but people still know and love us."

The veteran rocker adds with a quip: "I always like to say that our concerts seem to attract all ages, from newborns to the fast approaching dead!"

He also attributes some of The Searchers' continuing popularity to The Beatles, who "changed music forever".

He tells me: "They just made the whole genre so popular and fractured the music world like no-one had done before. We were just very lucky to hang on to their coat-tails and find our own success.

"There were also some real classic pop songs that came out of that era. They had memorable tunes and easy words, which you can still remember 40 years later."

Talking about the early days, Frank tells me how he had always loved rock n' roll, but he never thought seriously about becoming a musician.

He jests: "During those years, if you wanted to know how to play the guitar, you just learnt from your friends. I remember starting off with some Lonnie Donegan songs and discovering you could play the whole thing with just three chords!"

But while still a teenager, he was given the chance to turn professional and join Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. He did so, and just four years later in 1964, aged 21, Frank moved on to The Searchers. That year, the group enjoyed a string of chart hits.

"Here I was, this kid from a council estate in Hayes, thrust into all these amazing situations," recalls Frank with fondness. "For example, I still remember our first trip to the States. We had this fantastic show in Brooklyn and everyone was there - Dusty Springfield, The Supremes, The Shirelles, The Miracles - that's really an unrepeatable billing."

Now approaching 65, Frank says he can "look back and feel very blessed", but thoughts of putting his feet up any time soon are very much out of the question.

He says: "I might be an old ham at this, but I still get a huge buzz when I'm up on stage. That's worth everything."

CLIVEDEN ROCKS
Saturday, August 2, 7pm: The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Searchers
Sunday, August 3, 7pm: Tribute acts The World Of The Bee Gees and Queen B.Tickets: 0871 527 1887 or www.nationaltrust.org.uk