Mike Pender
| Mike Pender | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael John Prendergast |
| Born |
3 March 1941 Kirkdale, Liverpool, England, UK |
| Years active | 1950s – present |
| Labels | Pye Records (among others) |
| Associated acts |
Mike Pender's Searchers The Searchers |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| 12-string Rickenbacker | |
Mike Pender (born Michael John Prendergast; 3 March 1941) is an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit singles by the Searchers, including the song "Needles and Pins" and "What Have They Done To The Rain?".
Liverpool-native Pender pursued a solo career after leaving the Searchers and released one solo single before forming his current band, Mike Pender's Searchers who perform songs from his many years with the Searchers in addition to all-new material and a blend of popular rock standards by classic artists such as Buddy Holly, the Drifters and Roy Orbison.
In his early years, Pender worked at a guitar shop as a day job in between playing nightly gigs with the Searchers. According to Pender, he is responsible for choosing the band name for the Searchers. "The band was founded by myself and John McNally. In 1957 John and I went to see the film The Searchers starring John Wayne. I was an ardent Western fan and so I dragged John along with me to see it. I take the credit for choosing the name 'the Searchers' and for co-founding the band in its original form". Some years ago, Mike Pender claimed to be a member of two fictitious groups he played in before his years with the Searchers.
Over the years, some of Pender's personal guitars have included his Gibson ES-345 with sunburst finish, the Burns Tri-Sonic in the colour of red with three pickups and the twelve-string Rickenbacker Rose Morris model 1993 coloured in a fireglo finish with deluxe features including the f-hole rather than the slash sound hole. Other guitars he has played include the Aria twelve-string guitar, his Danelectro Bellzouki twelve-string made from wood and hardboard, and the solid Rickenbacker 450/12 in an elegant mapleglo finish, which had a converter comb, which allowed it to be converted into either a 6-string or 12-string guitar. Pender's Rose Morris model 1993 was stolen several years ago; it had been used on many of the Searchers' studio recordings in addition to numerous live performances.
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Wikipedia