Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin.[1] Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
Gerry Marsden led the group on and off through the years, until his retirement in 2018. Since his death in 2021 (at his request before his retirement), his bandmates (from his final lineup of the band) returned to touring as Gerry's Pacemakers.[3]
History
Marsden formed the group in 1956 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon.[1] At the time, Gerry had been working for British Rail as a deliveryman.[4] They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Liverpool.[1] McMahon (known as Arthur Mack) was replaced on piano by Les Maguire around 1961.[1] The group's original name was Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars,[5] but they were forced to change this when the Mars Company, producers of the chocolate Mars bar, complained.[6]
The band was the second to sign with Brian Epstein (becoming one of his favourite artists.[citation needed] Epstein later signed them to Columbia Records (a sister label to the Beatles' label Parlophone under EMI).[1] They began recording in January 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a song written by Mitch Murray.[7] The song was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, the first by an Epstein-managed Liverpool group to achieve this on all charts.[8] "How Do You Do It?" was also reluctantly recorded by the Beatles (they eventually convinced Martin to let them release their song "Love Me Do"[9] as a single instead). Both the Pacemakers' and Beatles' versions of "How Do You Do It?" were recorded at Abbey Road Studios.[10]
Gerry Marsden was quoted as saying:
The Beatles and ourselves (The Pacemakers)—we let go, when we get on-stage. I'm not being detrimental, but in the south, I think the groups have let themselves get a bit too formal. On Merseyside, it's beat, beat, beat all the way. We go on and really have a ball.[11]
The 'Shankly Gates' entrance to Liverpool's home stadium Anfield. The anthem of Liverpool F.C., "You'll Never Walk Alone" is sung by its fans before the start of each home game, with the Gerry and the Pacemakers version played over the PA system.
Gerry and the Pacemakers' next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone", both also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart,[12] the latter recorded instead of the Beatles' "Hello Little Girl". "You'll Never Walk Alone" had been a favourite of Marsden's since seeing Carousel when he was growing up. It quickly became the signature tune of Liverpool Football Club and, later, other sports teams around the world.[13][14] The song remains a football anthem.[15] The group narrowly missed a fourth consecutive number one when "I'm the One" was kept off the top spot for two weeks in February 1964 by fellow Liverpudlians The Searchers' "Needles and Pins".
Gerry and the Pacemakers had the distinction of being the first act to have their first three recordings go to number 1 in the UK charts.[16] Although they never had a number 1 in the United States, they were the second-most successful group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have hits on the United States Billboard pop charts.
The group's New York arrival in 1964.
Despite this early success, Gerry and the Pacemakers never had another number one single in the UK. Marsden began writing most of their songs, including "I'm the One", "It's Gonna Be All Right" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest US hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" (Laurie 3251), which peaked at No. 4.[1]
In the US, their recordings were released by the small New York City record label Laurie in 1963, with which they issued four singles without success. When the Beatles broke through in January 1964, Laurie's next regular single release of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" (Laurie 3284) became a big hit and, during 1964, Laurie coupled "How Do You Do It?" with "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Laurie 3261), and "I Like It" with "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (Laurie 3271), with some success. They appeared in the landmark concert filmT.A.M.I. Show, released in December 1964, performing alongside Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, James Brown and The Rolling Stones.
By late 1965, their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic.[1] They disbanded either in October 1966 or sometime in early-to-mid-1967,[1] (or perhaps in 1969[4]) with much of their later recorded material never released in the UK. Gerry Marsden maintained a low-key (but popular) career on television,[10] including on TV variety shows and as a regular slot on children's television in The Sooty Show.[19][4] He also starred in the West End musical Charlie Girl alongside Derek Nimmo and Anna Neagle.[20][21][4]
While working as a solo artist, Gerry Marsden began working with pianist and musical director Jose McLaughlin in 1970. In 1972, Gerry Marsden and McLaughlin reformed the Pacemakers in 1972 with fellow Liverpool musicians Billy Kinsley (bass) and Pete Clarke (drums).[22] Kinsley had previously been a member of The Merseybeats, the Kinsleys, and Rockin' Horse. (Kinsley would later reunite Rockin' Horse after leaving the Pacemakers and rename his new group Liverpool Express).[23] Clarke had previously been a member of a band called The Escorts. In April 1973, this second version of the group became the only Merseybeat band to ever record for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio. The tracks from that show have now been included on the album Gerry and the Pacemakers Live at the BBC, released on Parlophone Records in October 2018.[24][25][26] Since then, Marsden often toured with various lineups of the band on the oldies circuit. By the mid-1980s, Gerry and the Pacemakers toured nine months every year (in the words of David Fricke of Rolling Stone) "doing lucrative cabaret gigs and nostalgia rock shows in Europe, North America, and Australia."[4]
Gerry Marsden returned to #1 in the UK charts twice during the 1980s with re-recordings of two of his hits with the Pacemakers, with all profits going to charity. In 1985 after the Bradford Football Club stadium tragedy in which 56 were killed,[27] he formed a group called the Crowd, which included other musicians, singers, and radio disc jockeys, to produce a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone".[17] On 18 April 1989, three days after the Hillsborough disaster in which 97 Liverpool F.C. fans died, he joined forces with Paul McCartney, the Christians, Holly Johnson, and the production trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman on a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey".[17][28]
Drummer Freddie Marsden later opened the Pacemaker driving school in Formby[29] after having previously worked for British Telecom during the 1980s.[4] He died on 9 December 2006 in Southport, age 66.[30]
On 15 March 2017, Gerry Marsden collapsed onstage due to a sore knee while performing at a concert in Newport, Wales. After being helped offstage, Marsden did not return but was quoted as saying the incident was "nothing serious".[31]
Gerry Marsden announced his retirement on 29 November 2018, in order to spend more time with family,[32] but, on 6 June 2019, to commemorate Liverpool's win against Tottenham in the Champions League, he surprised Take That fans by singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at their show at Anfield.[33][17]
Original bass player Les Chadwick died on 26 December 2019.[34] (After the original lineup broke up during the 1960s, Chadwick moved to Australia.[4])
Les Maguire, the last surviving member of the classic 1960s lineup, died on 25 November 2023.[38] (Some time after the original lineup split during the 1960s, Maguire joined the British Navy, where he was still serving and employed during 1985.[4])
How Do You Like It? (1963) (UK) / I'm the One (1964) (Canada)
Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (1964) (US)
Gerry and the Pacemakers' Second Album (1964) (US)
Gerry's Second Album (1965) (Canada)
Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965) (soundtrack album) (with various artists, including The Fourmost, The George Martin Orchestra, and Cilla Black (UK release), as well as The Black Knights, Earl Royce and the Olympics, and The Blackwells (US release); both UK and US releases feature 3 (different) select tracks from other musicians featured in the movie)
I'll Be There (1965)
Girl on a Swing (1966) (US)
Gerry and the Pacemakers...Today! (1967) (Canada)
A Portrait of Gerry and the Pacemakers (1981) (mix of new songs and re-recorded hits)
The Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.
The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.
William Ellis Kinsley is an English musician, who was lead vocalist and bassist with The Merseybeats until 1966. The group disbanded in January 1966 to resurface as a duo called The Merseys. They recorded The McCoys' song "Sorrow" with the band before embarking on a solo career, where he recorded "Bye Bye Baby", a typical Merseybeat tune, followed by the singles "Annabella", and "You Make My Day".
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, stabs himself with a knife whilst trying to run away after attempting a robbery with his mate Jigger and dies in her arms. The song is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate Louise and Julie to join in with the song.
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, traditional pop and music hall. It rose to mainstream popularity in the UK and Europe by 1963 before spreading to North America in 1964 with the British Invasion. The beat style had a significant impact on popular music and youth culture, from 1960s movements such as garage rock, folk rock and psychedelic music.
Gerard Marsden MBE was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow band member Freddie Marsden.
Rory Storm was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of The Beatles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962.
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its soundtrack album. In the mid-1990s, a musical theatre production, also titled Ferry Cross the Mersey, related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley, Phil Rogers, Don Andrew, and Roy Dyke (drums). Andrew and Manley were in the same class at school as Paul McCartney.
The Crowd was a charity supergroup formed specifically to produce a charity record for the Bradford City stadium fire, in which 56 people died on 11 May 1985. The group consisted of singers, actors, television personalities and others.
Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles. Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s.
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"How Do You Do It?" is a song, written by Mitch Murray. It was recorded by Liverpudlian band Gerry and the Pacemakers, and became their debut single. This reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 11 April 1963, where it stayed for three weeks.
Ferry Cross the Mersey is a 1964 British musical film featuring Gerry and the Pacemakers. It is frequently considered to be their version of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night.
Leslie Charles Maguire was an English musician who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is a song written by Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire, the members of British beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was first recorded and issued as a single by Louise Cordet in February 1964. Shortly after Cordet's version failed to chart, the song was recorded by Gerry and The Pacemakers themselves in April 1964. The Gerry and The Pacemakers recording became an international hit, and remains one of their best known singles.
Gary William Howard is a British musician, best known as a member of the a cappella group The Flying Pickets.
Anthony "Tony" Crane MBE is an English musician, who is best known as the co-founder of the Merseybeats. Tony has toured with the Merseybeats since its inception in 1961.
Faron's Flamingos were an English Merseybeat band. Despite their lack of commercial success, they remain an important part of Merseybeat history and have the distinction of being the first major example of the "Mersey Motown" sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".
This is the discography of British beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers.
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