Gerry Marsden

born on 24/9/1942 in Liverpool, North West England, United Kingdom

died on 3/1/2021 in Birkenhead, Merseyside, United Kingdom

Gerry Marsden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gerry Marsden

Gerard "Gerry" Marsden MBE (born 24 September 1942) is an English musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the British band Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Biography

Marsden was born at 8 Menzies Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, Lancashire, and his interest in music began at an early age. He remembers standing on top of an air raid shelter singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and getting a great reception from onlookers. He said to himself then, "This is what I want to do".

Gerry and the Pacemakers was the second group signed by Brian Epstein and remained among his favourite artists. Their first single was "How Do You Do It," recommended by George Martin after it was initially given to the Beatles. This was the first number one hit for the Pacemakers. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and was released on EMI's Columbia label. Marsden said the recording took four or five takes. The group's second number one was "I Like It", followed by "You'll Never Walk Alone". Other singles included "It's Gonna Be Alright", "I'm the One," "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," and "Ferry Cross the Mersey."

After leaving the Pacemakers his brother Fred Marsden, Les Maguire and Les ChadwickGerry Marsden maintained a low-key career on television, and starred in the West End musical Charlie Girl alongside Derek Nimmo and Anna Neagle.

He is most remembered for the song "I Like It" and his rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone", which has been adopted as an anthem of several football clubs, the most notable being Liverpool, the club that Marsden supports. He sang the song at Wembley Stadium when Everton faced Liverpool at the 1989 F.A. Cup final shortly after the Hillsborough disaster. Marsden is a vocal Liverpool F.C. supporter but was an Everton F.C. fan until he was 13 years old.

The Pacemakers, albeit with different musicians, still tour today and are a popular oldies draw on the circuit.

Marsden returned to No. 1 in the charts twice during the 1980s with re-recordings of two of his old hits, with all profits going to charity. In 1985 after the Bradford Football Club stadium tragedy in which 56 were killed, 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." On 18 April, three days after the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool F.C. fans ultimately died as a result of their injuries, he joined forces with Paul McCartney, the Christians, Holly Johnson and his production trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman on a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" .[1]

Marsden's favourite recordings are "Ferry Cross the Mersey," "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

In 1993, Marsden published his autobiography, I'll Never Walk Alone, co-written with former Melody Maker editor Ray Coleman.

As of 2013, he still performs a few hundred shows a year to various audiences worldwide, mostly in the UK. During 2013, he will take part in a 50th Anniversary Farewell Tour in Australia, the US and Canada.

Quotation

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.

NME - August 1963[2]

Discography

  • Please Let Them Be/I'm Not Blue (CBS, March 1967)
  • Gilbert Green/What Makes Me Love You (CBS, August 1967)
  • Liverpool/Charlie Girl (released as Gerry Marsden & Derek Nimmo, CBS, April 1968)
  • In The Year of April/Every Day (NEMS, Nov. 1968)
  • Every Little Minute/In Days of Old (NEMS, May 1969)
  • I've Got My Ukelele/What a Day (Decca, May 1971)
  • Amo Credo / Come Break Bread (Phoenix, April 1972)
  • They Don't Make Days Like That Any More / Can't You Hear the Song? (DJM, August 1974)
  • Your Song / Days I Spent With You (DJM, April 1975)
  • My Home Town / Lovely Lady (DJM, September 1976)
  • The Rose b/w You Are My Everything (PACE 100, September 1988)
  • Ferry Cross the Mersey (with Paul McCartney, the Christians, Holly Johnson, & Stock Aitken Waterman, 1989)
  • He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (as part of the Justice Collective, 2012)

References

  1. [1]
  2. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years, 1st, London: Reed International Books Ltd. CN 5585.
  • Grant, Peter, Gerry Marsden, Liverpool Daily Post, 27 March 2001. URL accessed on 10 March 2009.

External links

  • Official website
This page was last modified 17.05.2014 04:30:09

This article uses material from the article Gerry Marsden from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.