Ahh, memories - Love Potion Number 9.

(from 2013)

Ahh, memories – Love Potion Number 9.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had written numerous humorous rock’n’roll hits for the Coasters in the late fifties, but perhaps surprisingly used this song to get the old doh-wop group The Clovers back in the charts in 1959. (Years later when down on their luck, the Coasters did it too). The British 60s scene initially relied heavily on cover versions of American hits, and the Searchers did a nice version of this.

I saw the Searchers several times in the 60s. They were a very good group. Sometime in the eighties, their lead singer split, and there were two incarnations of the Searchers doing the rounds of revival shows full of middle-aged punters recalling their misspent youth and risking coronaries by bopping in the aisles.

And then, just a few years ago, one version (the one with the original lead singer) actually came to our village. Yes – our village! Once a year we have a “festival” at “the park”. And this was trumpeted as a real honor. Yes – our village (and no – I’m not giving the name away) was really on the map now! Less charitable souls muttered that this version of the Searchers must be so down on their luck that they were now reduced to appearing at....

Actually, they were very good. I still have the video footage I took, full of locals of various ages bopping away, and Occasional (fortunately being behind the camera) nowhere in sight.

Ahh – memories.