Joan has been a big fan of The Searchers for longer than she can remember and ensures she sees them each time they tour Down Under.

She even bought a Rickenbacker guitar - the source of the band's distinctive sound - from The Searchers' Australian tour manager John Ryan.

That link between Joan and Mr Ryan came in handy in Nowra on Sunday night, the band's last show of the Australian tour.

Mr Ryan said guitarist John McNally's 12-string Rickenbacker was damaged a few days earlier during a flight from Melbourne.

The band had hoped the guitar - which had a partially broken tailpiece that attaches the strings to the body - would last until the end of the tour.

But it didn't - the rest of the tailpiece broke before the last show at Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre.

"It is the sound of the band," Mr Ryan said.

"The Searchers are known for their 12-string guitar. It's all about the 12-string guitar."

But he remembered Ms Ingram and her Rickenbacker in Dapto, so he gave her a call.

"I got the call and said, 'I'll just have a shower and I'll be there'," Ms Ingram said.

"One muso just helps another muso out, you don't think anything of it. It was just good to think I could help him out."

Ms Ingram drove the Rickenbacker down to Nowra, ensuring the show went on.

"Four hundred and fifty people were there and they weren't disappointed - all because of Joan," Mr Ryan said.