The Searchers, one of the pioneering bands of the British Invasion, have announced a final UK tour, culminating in an appearance at Glastonbury. The performance, on Glastonbury’s recently announced Acoustic Stage, is set to be their first appearance at the music festival, and their last live performance as they cap off a 68-year career.
“World’s Longest-Running Pop Group” The Searchers To Leave Stage After 68 Years, With Glastonbury Debut Gig https://t.co/lnlWUJt1zm
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 23, 2025
John McNally, the only remaining member of the four founders, reflected on the landmark achievement, telling BBC News, “A Glastonbury debut at 83, can anyone top that? I don’t think life gets any better, does it? There will be a few nerves, but in a good way, and we’ll be nicely warmed up from our shows in June. We can’t wait to see our fans again for this incredible final farewell.”
Bassist and backing singer, Frank Allen, who joined the group at the height of their success in 1964, added: “I have played shows across the world with The Searchers for over 60 years; Glastonbury has always been an ambition that has eluded us – until now. The Searchers are finally performing at the greatest music festival of them all. What a way to round off a tour and a career. I can’t wait to get up on stage and give our fans one final blast.”
Described as “so good, they sounded American – the ultimate accolade back then” by fellow Liverpudlian John Lennon, The Searchers would have a lasting effect on artists across the Atlantic, with their influence rippling across the decades. According to Brian Miller of Vivascene, their sound would shape the jangly 12-string of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, influencing both Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.
The band’s long-awaited Glastonbury debut will see them sharing the same stage as acts like Dhani Harrison, Hugh Cornwell (of the Stranglers), Nick Lowe, and a tribute to their contemporaries, the Bootleg Beatles.
Nick Lowe and Oisin Leech as good as anything on the weekend imo
— David Cowan (@7ericgod) March 22, 2025
This “final” farewell tour follows a series of previous retirements. They first announced a farewell tour running from January 2018, playing 162 shows before bowing out in March 2019. They came out of that retirement in 2023, performing 43 shows, before embarking on yet another final 28-stop tour in 2024. During the promotion of the 2024 shows, Frank Allen said they would “accept an important one-off show if such an occasion was offered,” and it seems like a chance to play at the Somerset farm is enough to tempt them out of their retirement.
Their setlist will likely be focusing on the band’s greatest hits given that their last studio release came in 1988. Nothing is confirmed though it is likely that festival goers will hear tracks such as ‘Needles and Pins’, ‘Sweets For My Sweet’, and potentially a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, based on data available from their previous setlists.
After nearly seven decades of performing, and over 3800 shows, Glastonbury is a fitting curtain call for a band who have influenced so much. Whether it truly is their last show or not, they deserve their debut at the world’s most iconic music festival.
