In Part 1 and Part 2 of this interview series with The Searchers’ Mike Pender, we covered a lot of material. Here, in Part 3, Pender addresses the age-old question of girls and rock stars, his favorite songs to play today and the basic recording techniques of the early ’60s.
Jim Clash: Back in the day, you didn’t have all the tracks to record with like today. You had to get it on the first few takes, right?
Mike Pender: It was a main track put down first. Everybody played. And that was on a 4-track. Then the producer, if he felt that anything needed double-tracking, like the vocals, we’d do it. If any of the guitars needed double-tracking, we’d do that, too. Most of it was very basic. In fact, when we did the first record, Sweets For My Sweet, we did it in three takes. I remember saying, “We can do better, we can do better,” and they said, “No, no that’s good.” Don’t forget that the record companies in those early days didn’t want to spend too much money because they thought they were taking a chance. The group thing was new then, you know? They were used to solo people. It was only when you had success of one or two or three No. 1 records that the record company had faith in you, and gave you plenty of time in the studio to do what you wanted to do. Once we’d become a household name, Pye Records and The Searchers had all the time we needed in the studio.
Clash: Do you like performing the oldies, and which are your favorites?
Pender: I love performing the old songs. I still enjoy singing them. Like most artists today, we get the audience to sing along. I get them to sing the, “Don’t throw your love away/For you might need it some day,” part. When You Walk In The Room is my favorite to perform because it’s got the riff in there. I play that on a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. The audience just loves that riff. There’s a great video on my website of me singing that song live. That riff is probably one of the best-known of the ‘60s. Needles And Pins is a good one as well, because it has that great middle hook. There’s a great story to it. You know who wrote that song? Sonny Bono wrote the lyrics. He probably wrote it when Cher was finished with him [laughs].
Clash: Love Potion No. 9 was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, right?
Pender: Yes, they were one of the late ‘50s rock-and-roll writers, just brilliant.
Clash: All of those screaming girls in the ‘60s. Were they really available?
Pender: Yea, something like that. It was all part of the set-up, although what usually happened was you were taken out the back door by management to a cab or taxi or waiting limousine, then to your hotel, after the gig. Any sort of in-betweens, if you ventured out anywhere, which you didn’t, yea, they were lining up and things like that. It was always there, if you wanted it. But it’s the same today. It will always be the same. Rock groups still go through what we went through 50 years ago. Music and fame and appeal to young ladies go hand-in-hand, don’t they?
Part 1: The Searchers’ Mike Pender On Why The ’60s Band Isn’t In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, More
Part 2: Mike Pender Of The Searchers Says No More Screaming Girls In His Audiences, Just Screaming Grandmas
