Mike Pender

Michael John Prendergast MBE (born 3 March 1941), known professionally by the stage name Mike Pender, is an English musician. He was 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?".

In his early years, Pender worked at a printing company (Charles Birchall & Sons (Liverpool) Ltd.) 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.

After the Searchers recorded the singles "Sweets for My Sweet" and "Sugar and Spice", Pender took over lead vocal duties from Tony Jackson. During the late 1970s, the Searchers were signed by Seymour Stein's Sire Records and recorded two modernised albums, including The Searchers and Play For Today, which was retitled Love's Melodies outside the United Kingdom. The Searchers recorded what would become the final single with Pender, "I Don't Want to Be the One".

Pender left the Searchers in 1985 to pursue a solo career and in 1988 joined an all-star rock band known as the Corporation a.k.a. the "Travelling Wrinklies", whose name was a parody of the popular rock group Traveling Wilburys.

That band included Pender, Brian Poole (Brian Poole & The Tremeloes), Clem Curtis (The Tornados), Tony Crane (The Merseybeats) and Reg Presley (The Troggs). With the Searchers continuing to perform, Pender was replaced by a new vocalist, Spencer James.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.