RIP Gerry Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers

[DuncanS]

Gerry Marsden singer/guitarist/songwriter has died aged 78. Gerry & The Pacemakers were One of the Liverpool scene bands from the early 60s famous for You'll Never Walk Alone Again used by Liverpool FC, and Ferry Across The Mersey
Liverpool FC anthem singer Gerry Marsden dies aged 78 - BBC News

 

[hirez]

I have always enjoyed multiple songs from Gerry and the Pacemakers. May Gerry RIP!
Perhaps my favorite song by them is "Ferry Cross The Mercy"

 

[jefe1]

I believe they opened the way for Liverpool groups to play in Hamburg before the Beatles got there.
Without the two Hamburg gigs unlikely the Beatles would have survived.
But yes I love that song Ferry Cross the Mercy

 

[JonUrban]

"Ferry" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" are staples in any British Invasion comp tape/set of the '60s. Two very classic tunes. Many maj7ths. A very distinctive and recognizable voice as well.

Sad to hear he's gone

 

[ar surround]

I remember first seeing Gerry and the Pacemakers on The Ed Sullivan show. They played back-to-back weeks. All the girls, including my mom I might add, loved them.

There is a well-mastered version of Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying on this disc:

https://www.ericrecords.com/htf_jb_60-65.html
R.I.P Gerry.

 

[Doug G.]

They had some of the most beautiful music of the British Invasion era.

RIP.

Doug

 

[DuncanS]

I haven't been able to get the earworm of "Ferry Across The Mersey" out of my head, I first heard it on the radio in '64/'65 when I was 7, its amazing how some tunes stick with you!

 

[esimms86]

I haven't been able to get the earworm of "Ferry Across The Mersey" out of my head, I first heard it on the radio in '64/'65 when I was 7, its amazing how some tunes stick with you!

Pat Metheny does a nice solo instrumental of it, played on his Manzer baritone guitar. He’s not as old as most of us here but the song has obviously been in his ears for a long time as well.

 

[jefe1]

Was there some kind of movie or promo film of Gerry and the Pacemakers that came out as the same time as A Hard Days Night? And that might have been shown in theaters with that movie?

 

[HomerJAU]

RIP
YNWA

 

[DuncanS]

Was there some kind of movie or promo film of Gerry and the Pacemakers that came out as the same time as A Hard Days Night? And that might have been shown in theaters with that movie?

Yes in 1965, it was called (appropriately!) Ferry Across The Mersey

 

[HomerJAU]

Fun Fact: Gerry’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ features in surround on Pink Floyd’s Fearless (Meddle album) albeit sung by Liverpool FC supporters.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

Gerry and the Pacemakers is one of the featured acts on the TAMI Show which also had The Stones, Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Supremes, James Brown, and others. It's a great DVD if you're into that era of music. It also includes future actress Terri Garr as one of the dancers as well as Wrecking Crew members in the house band. Fun DVD.
RIP Gerry.

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Yes in 1965, it was called (appropriately!) Ferry Across The Mersey

I missed out on Hard Day's Night first time around, as a clueless little kid in '64, so this was the first rock movie I saw in early '65, followed by Dave Clark Five Having A Wild Weekend and Help! that summer.

Interesting that they were both managed by Brian Epstein and recorded with George Martin, and had a #1 record before the Beatles.

Paul McCartney said, “Gerry was a mate from our early days in Liverpool. He and his group were our biggest rivals on the local scene.” Before their 21st birthdays in 1963, both musicians reached the No. 1 spot in England. The Pacemakers and The Beatles were both managed by Brian Epstein and worked with George Martin at Parlophone records.

George Martin selected a lively song called “How Do You Do It?,” written by Mitch Murray for The Beatles, but they weren’t interested in releasing it. He then offered it to Gerry and The Pacemakers and this became their first single and it went all the way to No. 1 in England. Shortly after, The Beatles achieved their first No. 1 UK single with their composition “From Me to You.”

Gerry Marsden has joked that it's not "funny" that his famous band were called Gerry and the Pacemakers, as he now has one himself.

The 'Ferry Cross The Mersey' singer, aged 77, has had two heart operations in the past, including a triple bypass.

When asked by the Telegraph about if it's 'funny' to have a band called the Pacemakers at 77, Gerry replied: "No. I’m wearing one, for Christ’s sake."