‘‘This is by far the longest vacation I’ve ever had,” jokes 79-year-old ex-Searchers leader Mike Pender in his charming Liverpudlian accent, referring of course to the pandemic that has wreaked havoc on his livelihood and passion.
“If you’ve been performing for most of your life as I have for over 60 years now,” he admits, “you miss it. You can sometimes take a few months off once in a while, but when it goes this long, you really miss that buzz you get from being onstage in front of an appreciative audience.”
However, while Pender had been absent all year from the concert stage, 2020 was made quite memorable after being invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the very prestigious Member of the British Empire award.
“When I first got a letter from the cabinet office of Buckingham Palace saying, ‘Dear Michael, your name has been put forward to get the award,’ I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls in amazement. “I originally thought somebody must be winding up, but it was quite an honor when Prince Charles pinned the medal on me. Because of the coronavirus, we couldn’t shake hands, but we sort of gave each other a sign of peace. He was a great guy, and actually remembered ‘Needles and Pins’!”
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