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Original lead singer of The Searchers dies aged 84
Original lead singer of The Searchers dies aged 84
Ronnie "Shorty Rogers" Woodbridge was the original lead singer of The Searchers, who were one of the earliest success stories of Liverpool's booming music scene
The Searchers guitarist and singer Mike Pender and Ronnie Woodbridge
(Image: Mike Pender facebook )
A trailblazer of the Merseybeat era, Ronnie "Shorty Rogers" Woodbridge, who played a pivotal role in shaping Liverpool's thriving music scene in the 1960s and 70s, has sadly passed away.
Woodbridge was the original lead vocalist of the iconic band, The Searchers, one of the pioneering groups to achieve widespread success. The rock legend, 84, left an enduring legacy that spanned over six decades, from performances at The Olympia to Edinburgh's dance halls. Norman Stevens, an 87 year old veteran of Merseybeat and a member of the band Duke Duval, shared a memorable encounter with Ronnie: "One night we were playing at the Holyoake Hall on Smithdown Road, and this lanky tall guy came up and said 'can I do a couple of numbers lads?', and we said yeah.
"We called him on and he rocked the place. You couldn't hear what we were playing for him. He was throwing himself all over the place, he had all the actions going."
As one of the founding members of the band that would become The Searchers, Ronnie contributed to the group's early success, belting out hits such as "Sweets for My Sweet", "Love Potion No. 9", and "Hippy Hippy Shake" throughout the 1960s.
The news of his passing comes on the heels of The Searchers' farewell performance on Glastonbury's Acoustic Stage on Friday night. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
Although Ronnie left the band before its meteoric rise to international stardom (becoming the second Liverpool group, after The Beatles, to conquer America), he forged a remarkable music career in his own right.
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After rising to prominence as the lead vocalist with the Nat Allen Orchestra and charming crowds at the Locarno Ballroom in West Derby, which is today known as The Olympia, he uprooted to Edinburgh in 1960 and took a gig at the Palais de Danse in Fountainbridge, reports the Liverpool Echo.
He humorously donned the stage name "Shorty Rogers", a witty nod to his considerable stature, entertaining audiences six nights a week.
When the dance hall era waned, he pressed on with his solo ventures across rock and roll, country music, and comedy, gracing various stages throughout Scotland.
Norman reminisced: "He was at the start of The Searchers, in fact it was him who gave them the name The Searchers from the John Wayne film of the same name. He was a nice guy too, a real Liverpool bloke we should all be proud of.
"When Duke Duval finished we became the resident band at the Empress Jazz Club on Victoria Road in New Brighton and Ronnie used to come and sing with us from time to time.
"He was spotted by someone from a large orchestra from Edinburgh along with this lad called Johnny, who was what we called 'the Liverpool Elvis Presley'. Him and Ronnie Wood were invited to join the large orchestra in Edinburgh and off they went, and good luck to them.
"It was an absolutely marvellous time because it was all new, all raw, all against everything that our parents had stood for. They all still wore suits and ties, and we said 'bugger that we want to do what we want to do!' and off it went. We broke new ground and it echoed all over the country, bands springing up, it was all going on."
Ronnie was born in January 1941 and raised in Anfield by his father and stepmother, alongside three siblings.
In 1962, Ronnie and his wife Frances tied the knot, and their two sons followed in their father's musical footsteps.
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Mike Pender, the renowned guitarist and vocalist of The Searchers, paid homage to his late friend, remarking: "I was saddened to learn of the passing of Ron Woodbridge.
"Ron was with me the day we watched John Wayne give us the unforgettable name still famous today! Goodbye Ron. Gone but not forgotten."
