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The Searchers' original lead singer dies aged 84
An original Merseybeat icon who helped pioneer the cultural phenomenon of Liverpudlian music in the 1960s and 70s has died. Ronnie 'Shorty Rogers' Woodbridge was the original lead singer of The Searchers, one of the earliest success stories of the city's booming music scene.
The 84-year-old rock star died earlier this month, leaving behind a six-decade legacy which took him from The Olympia to the dance halls of Edinburgh. Norman Stevens, 87, who played in Merseybeat band Duke Duval, said: "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."
Ronnie was an original member of the band which became known as The Searchers, who flourished throughout the 1960s with hits including Sweets for My Sweet and Sugar and Spice.
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News of his death comes after the band's triumphant final performance on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury on Friday night.
Despite leaving the group before it soared to international fame (becoming the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to make it big in America), Ronnie went onto forge a successful musical career in his own right.
After becoming a lead vocalist with the Nat Allen Orchestra and performing at Locarno Ballroom in West Derby - now known as The Olympia - he moved to Edinburgh in 1960 and started working at the Palais de Danse in Fountainbridge.
He adopted the stage name "Shorty Rogers", an amusing reference to his looming height, and performed six nights a week.
As the dance hall craze died down, he continued his solo career of rock and roll, country music and comedy on stages all over Scotland.
Norman said: "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 amid the constant bombardment of German bombs in what became known as the Liverpool Blitz. He grew up with his dad, stepmum and three brothers in Anfield.
Ronnie married his wife Frances in 1962 and the couple had two sons, who inherited their father's passion for music and went on to perform in bands of their own.
His funeral will be held at Warriston Crematorium in Edinburgh at 1pm on Friday, July 4. Mourners are asked to wear red in memory of Ronnie.
The Searchers guitarist and singer Mike Pender, in a tribute to his old friend, said: "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."
