Gerry Marsden MBE
by Graham Sclater
Gerry Marsden was born in Toxteth, Liverpool in 1942 and sadly passed away last month. His group, formed in 1959 were originally known as “Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars” but for the obvious reason of them using a trade name they soon changed it to Gerry and the Pacemakers. Gerry was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the group and they played the same circuit as the Beatles in and around Liverpool.
The group also followed in the path of the Beatles and played several stints in the German music capital of Hamburg at the Star Club and Top Ten where like so many other British groups they honed their musical skills.
They were only the second band to be signed by Brian Epstein following his earlier success with the Beatles and with Gerry’s very distinctive voice they were the first UK group to achieve three consecutive number one hits.
Their first single, “How Do You Do It?” released by EMI’s Columbia label, was written by Mitch Murray, recorded at Abbey Road in 1963 and produced by George Martin. It went on to become their first hit, reaching number one in the charts. Also released in 1963, the group's second number one, “I Like It” was another song from Mitch Murray and was followed by their third number one hit with, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. The lyrics of this iconic song was written by Oscar Hammerstein II with the music by Richard Rodgers, from their hit musical Carousel. Which was released in the US in 1945 and the film of the same name many years later. It was also recorded by so many artists but without doubt Gerry’s version was by far the most successful outside of the film soundtrack.
In January 1964 they recorded, “I’m the One” another of Mitch Murray’s songs and that reached number two. This was followed in April by the song “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” with writing credits attributed to all members of the band and reached number six in the charts. Gerry continued writing songs and the band’s follow-up was, “It’s Gonna Be Alright” but it only reached number twenty-four in the charts.
Undeterred, they soon followed that up with “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” another song written by Gerry and over Christmas 1964 they were at number 8 in the charts. It was also one of many songs written by him that featured in the film of the same name. In 1965 they released two mores singles, “I’ll Be There” and “Walk Hand in Hand” but this time top ten success evaded them and the group disbanded the following year.
After that group disbanded, Gerry was seldom seen on television, instead he concentrated on stage work in the West End, his first show being Charlie Girl. He did return to the charts in the 1980’s with a rerecorded version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and in 1993 he published his autobiography, “I’ll Never Walk Alone” co-written with Ray Coleman.
In 2003, for his services supporting the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, Gerry Marsden was made Member of the British Empire and later that year In September 2003, he had triple heart bypass heart followed a second heart operation in 2016. He announced his retirement in November 2018.
Ironically, last year during the COVID-19 pandemic he released another version of, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as a tribute to the NHS.
Ironically, last year during the COVID-19 pandemic he released another version of, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as a tribute to the NHS.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” will continue to be heard on the Liverpool football terraces and every time the crowd sing it the memory of Gerry Marsden will live on.
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