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Gerry and the Pacemakers | |
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| Also known as | Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars (1956–1959); Gerry's Pacemakers (2021–present) |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
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| Members | Gerry's Pacemakers: Darren Tingey Jimmy Stanley Dean Hilborne John Meaney |
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Gerry and the Pacemakers were an Englishbeat group prominent in the 1960sMerseybeat scene. In common withthe Beatles, they came fromLiverpool, were managed byBrian Epstein and recorded byGeorge Martin.[1] Their early successes helped make popular the Merseybeat sound and launch the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s
They were the first act to reach number one in theUK Singles Chart with its first three single releases: "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" fromCarousel.[2] This record was not equalled for 20 years,[2] until the mid-1980s success of fellow Liverpool bandFrankie Goes to Hollywood. Another of their most famous songs, "Ferry Cross the Mersey", refers to theRiver Mersey, which flows past Liverpool and was the title song for thefilm of the same name. The group also enjoyed some success inNorth America as part of theBritish Invasion, with seven of their singles reaching the US top 40, the most popular being "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying".
Gerry Marsden led the group on and off through the years until his retirement in 2018. Since his death in 2021 his bandmates, from his final lineup of the band, have returned to touring asGerry's Pacemakers,[3] as Marsden requested before he retired.
Marsden formed the group in 1956 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon.[1] At the time, Gerry had been working forBritish Rail as a deliveryman.[4] They rivalledthe Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Liverpool.[1] McMahon (known as Arthur Mack) was replaced on piano byLes Maguire around 1961.[1] The group's original name wasGerry Marsden and the Mars Bars,[5] but they were forced to change this when theMars Company, producers of the chocolateMars bar, complained.[6]
Brian Epstein signed them toColumbia Records (a sister label to the Beatles' labelParlophone underEMI).[1] They began recording in January 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a song written byMitch Murray.[7] The song was produced byGeorge 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 atAbbey 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]
Gerry and the Pacemakers' next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" andRodgers 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 seeingCarousel when he was growing up. It quickly became the signature tune ofLiverpool 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 LiverpudliansThe 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, afterthe Beatles, to have hits on theUnited States Billboard pop charts.
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 UShit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which peaked at No. 4.[1]
The band also starred in the early 1965 film,Ferry Cross the Mersey for which Marsden wrote much of the soundtrack.[1] The film was co-written byCoronation Street creator and writerTony Warren and is considered to be their version of the Beatles'A Hard Day's Night.[17]
The title song was revived in 1989 as a charity single for an appeal in response to theHillsborough football crowd disaster, giving Marsden – in association with other Liverpool stars, includingPaul McCartney,Ringo Starr andFrankie Goes to Hollywood'sHolly Johnson – another British number one.[1][18]
In the US, their recordings were released by the small New York City record labelLaurie 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 landmarkconcert filmT.A.M.I. Show, released in December 1964, performing alongsideChuck Berry,The Beach Boys,James Brown andThe 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 inThe Sooty Show.[19][4] He also starred in theWest End musicalCharlie Girl alongsideDerek Nimmo andAnna 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 fellowLiverpool musicians Billy Kinsley (bass) and Pete Clarke (drums).[22] Kinsley had previously been a member ofThe Merseybeats, the Kinsleys, and Rockin' Horse. (Kinsley would later reunite Rockin' Horse after leaving the Pacemakers and rename his new groupLiverpool 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 theJohn Peel Show on BBC Radio. The tracks from that show have now been included on the albumGerry 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 ofRolling Stone) "doing lucrative cabaret gigs and nostalgia rock shows in Europe, North America, and Australia."[4]
Gerry Marsden returned to number one 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 theBradford Football Club stadium tragedy in which 56 were killed,[27] he formed a group calledthe 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 theHillsborough disaster in which 97 Liverpool F.C. fans died, he joined forces withPaul McCartney, theChristians,Holly Johnson, and the production trioStock, Aitken & Waterman on a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey".[17][28]
Drummer Freddie Marsden later opened the Pacemaker driving school inFormby[29] after having previously worked forBritish Telecom during the 1980s.[4] He died on 9 December 2006 inSouthport, age 66.[30]
On 15 March 2017, Gerry Marsden collapsed onstage due to a sore knee while performing at a concert inNewport, 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 againstTottenham in theChampions League, he surprisedTake That fans by singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at their show atAnfield.[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])
In 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, Gerry Marsden released a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" in tribute to theNational Health Service.[35]
Marsden died on 3 January 2021 atArrowe Park Hospital inMerseyside, after being diagnosed with ablood infection in his heart. He was 78 years old.[36][37]
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 theRoyal Navy, where he was still serving and employed during 1985).[4]
Gerry and the Pacemakers song "You'll Never Walk Alone" was adopted by theLiverpool F.C. as an anthem.[39]
The chart-topping song quickly gained popularity within the Liverpool community and became the Reds football anthem shortly thereafter.
Gerry Marsden gave Liverpool managerBill Shankly a copy of the single during a pre-season trip in 1963, the manager said to have been in awe of the song. Since then, the song has been played prior to every Liverpool home game atAnfield, with the club also eventually adding "You'll Never Walk Alone" to its coat of arms and using the phrase as an official motto. The sea of red scarves raised by Liverpool fans in The Kop as they sing their anthem pre-game has become one of the most iconic images in the sport of football.[39]
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This is a partial list of band members.[40][41][1][22][23]
Current members (Gerry's Pacemakers)
Former members (Gerry and the Pacemakers)
The original lineup of "Gerry and the Pacemakers" are inbold
Former members (Gerry's Pacemakers)
Members of Gerry's Pacemakers who were in Gerry and the Pacemakers are inbold
Studio albums
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