The Searchers

The Searchers grew out of an earlier skiffle group called The Army Generations, formed by guitarist John McNally in 1955, with his friends Ron Woodbridge on vocals and guitar, Tony West on bass and Joe Kennedy on drums. As The Searchers, they were originally the backing group for singer Johnny Sandon but decided to branch out on their own. When Pye Records recording manager Tony Hatch heard a demo they had made he was so impressed that they were immediately placed under contract. They covered The Drifters' 1961 hit "Sweets For My Sweet" as their first song, and it reached No. 1.