Gerard "Gerry" Marsden (born 24 September 1942) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and
television personalityA celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, best known for being leader of the British band
Gerry & the PacemakersGerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
.
Gerard "Gerry" Marsden (born 24 September 1942) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and
television personalityA celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, best known for being leader of the British band
Gerry & the PacemakersGerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...
.
Biography
Marsden was born at 8 Menzies Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, interest in music began at an early age. He remembers standing on top of an air raid shelter singing "
Ragtime Cowboy Joe"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular song lyrics by Grant Clarke, music by Lewis F. Muir and Maurice Abrahams. © 1912, F.A. Mills, 122 W. 36th St, New York....
" and getting a great reception from onlookers. He said to himself then, "This is what I want to do."
Gerry and the Pacemakers were the second group signed by
Brian EpsteinBrian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
and remained among his favourite artists. Their first single was "How Do You Do It," recommended by
George MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
after it was initially given to
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. This was the first number one hit for the Pacemakers. It was recorded at
Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
and was released on EMI's Columbia label. Marsden said the recording took four or five takes. The band's second number one was "I Like It", followed by "
You'll Never Walk AloneYou'll Never Walk Alone is a song from the musical Carousel, a pop standard and football club anthem, for example that of Liverpool F.C.You'll Never Walk Alone may also refer to:* You'll Never Walk Alone , studio album...
". Other singles included "It's Gonna Be Alright" (their "heaviest" song), "I'm the One," "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," and "
Ferry Cross the Mersey"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...
."
After leaving the Pacemakers — his brother Fred Marsden, Les Maguire and Les Chadwick—Gerry Marsden maintained a low-key career on television, and starred in the
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musical
Charlie GirlCharlie Girl is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and played for 2,202 performances, closing on March 27, 1971...
alongside
Derek NimmoDerek Robert Nimmo was an English character actor. He was particularly associated with upper-class "silly-ass" roles, and clerical roles.-Career:...
and
Anna NeagleForming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
.
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
LiverpoolLiverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, the club that Marsden supports. He sang the song at Wembley Stadium when
EvertonEverton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
faced
LiverpoolLiverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
at the 1989 F.A. Cup final shortly after the
Hillsborough disasterThe Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
. Marsden is a very vocal Liverpool F.C. supporter but was an Everton FC 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 DisasterThe Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in which 96
Liverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
fans ultimately died as a result of their injuries, he joined forces with
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
,
The ChristiansThe Christians are a musical ensemble from Liverpool, England, who had several UK and international chart hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Band biography:...
,
Holly JohnsonHolly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
, and his production trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman on a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" - recorded under the name
Ferry AidFerry Aid were a British-American ensemble group, brought together to record the song "Let It Be" in 1987. The single was released following the Zeebrugge Disaster, which had occurred on 6 March 1987 involving the capsizing of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise ferry, which killed 193 passengers and...
.
Marsden's favourite recordings are "
Ferry Cross the Mersey"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...
," "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and "
You'll Never Walk Alone"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
."
In 1993, Marsden published his autobiography,
I'll Never Walk Alone, co-written with former
Melody MakerMelody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
editor
Ray ColemanRay Coleman was a British author and former Editor-in-chief of Melody Maker known for biographies of The Beatles. Besides Melody Maker, Coleman was a participant with music magazines including Disc, Black Music, and Musicians Only, and a contributor to magazines such as Billboard...
.
Quotation
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
- August 1963
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
Derek Robert Nimmo was an English character actor. He was particularly associated with upper-class "silly-ass" roles, and clerical roles.-Career:...
, CBS, April 1968)
- In The Year Of April/Every Day (NEMS
NEMS may refer to;* Nanoelectromechanical systems* National Energy Modeling System* Nems * NEMS Enterprises , based in Argentina...
, 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
DJM Records was the record label set up in the 1970s by British music publisher, Dick James, distributed by Pye Records in the UK and various other companies around the world, including the USA...
, 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)
External links