Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

, best known for being leader of the

Merseybeat 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 American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

band

Gerry and the Pacemakers 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. Their early successes alongsid ...

. He was the younger brother of fellow band member Freddie Marsden. 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. Although they never had a number 1 in the United States, they were the second-most successful group from Liverpool, after

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, to have hits on the United States pop charts. Their 1965 musical film '' Ferry Cross the Mersey'' was co-written by Tony Warren.

Early life

Marsden was born at 8 Menzies Street,

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, to Frederick Marsden and Mary McAlindin. His interest in music began at an early age. He remembered standing on top of an air-raid shelter singing " Ragtime Cowboy Joe", and getting a great reception from onlookers.

Career

Gerry and the Pacemakers formed in 1959. They were the second group signed by

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, the first being the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, and remained among his favourite artists. Their first single was 1963's "

How Do You Do It? "How Do You Do It?" is the debut single by Liverpudlian band Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was written by Mitch Murray. The song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 11 April 1963, where it stayed for three weeks. History The song was wr ...

", recommended by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

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 Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio 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 ...

and was released on EMI's Columbia label. The group's second number one was " I Like It", followed by "

You'll Never Walk Alone "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 enco ...

", both released later in 1963. The group's 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", all released in 1964. A musical film '' Ferry Cross the Mersey'', considered to be their version of the Beatles' '' A Hard Day's Night'', was co-written by ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' creator and writer Tony Warren, and was released in 1965. The Pacemakers disbanded in October 1966. After leaving the group, Marsden maintained a low-key career on television, including a regular slot on children's television in ''

The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...

''. He also starred in the West End musical '' Charlie Girl'' alongside

Derek Nimmo Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 193024 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He is best remembered for his comedic upper class "silly ass" and clerical roles including Revd Mervyn Noote in the BBC1 sitcom ''All ...

and

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

, replacing another pop singer, Joe Brown. A new song, "Liverpool", was added to the score to tie in with Marsden's Liverpool accent. Marsden returned to #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 1989, three days after the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in ...

in which 97 Liverpool F.C. fans died, he joined forces with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, the

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

, Holly Johnson, and his production trio

Stock, Aitken & Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

on a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey". In 1993 Marsden published his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''I'll Never Walk Alone'', co-written with former ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' editor Ray Coleman. In 1990, he recorded the song "Red White and Blue", with ''The England Supporters Club'', that also appears on the

Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

album ''England's Glory''. Gerry Marsden-bw

In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, he released a version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" in tribute to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Personal life and death

Marsden had an older brother, Freddie, who co-founded and played drums in Gerry and the Pacemakers and who died in 2006. In 1965, Marsden married Pauline Behan, and they had two daughters, Yvette and Victoria. In September 2003, Marsden had triple bypass heart surgery at Broad Green Hospital in Liverpool. He had a second heart operation in 2016, and announced his retirement in November 2018, although he appeared with

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

at their concert at Anfield in June 2019. Marsden died on 3 January 2021 at

Arrowe Park Hospital Arrowe Park Hospital is a large, acute hospital, located on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) section of Arrowe Park, close to the village of Upton, Wirral, Merseyside. It is one of three hospitals managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

, after being diagnosed with a

blood infection Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microb ...

in his heart. He was 78 years old.

Awards and honours

In 2003, for his services supporting the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, Marsden was made

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE). In 2009, he was awarded the

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

. In 2010, Marsden was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This lat ...

Solo discography

Albums

* ''A Tribute to Lennon & McCartney'' (Dominion, 1995) * ''One 2 One'' (Pulse Records, 1999) * ''Much Missed Man: Tribute to John Lennon'' (Ozit, 2001) * ''My Home Town'' (Angel Air, 2021)

Singles

* 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 &

, CBS, April 1968) * In the Year of April / Every Day ( NEMS, November 1968) * Every Little Minute / In Days of Old (NEMS, May 1969) * I've Got My Ukulele / What a Day (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

, May 1971) * Amo Credo / Come Break Bread (Phoenix UK, April 1972) * They Don't Make Days Like That Any More / Can't You Hear the Song? (

DJM DJM is a range of DJ mixers made by Pioneer Electronics. Mixers in the DJM series include the DJM-300, DJM-350, DJM-400, DJM-450, DJM-500, DJM-600, DJM-700, DJM-750, DJM-707, DJM-800, DJM-850, DJM-900 Nexus, DJM-900 Nexus 2, DJM-909, DJM-1000 ...

, August 1974) *

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...

/ Days I Spent with You (DJM, April 1975) * My Home Town / Lovely Lady (DJM, September 1976) *

/ Messages (with the Crowd, (Spartan Records, 1985) * Ferry Cross the Mersey /

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung ...

(with

, the Christians, Holly Johnson and

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...

, PWE, 1989) * Red, White and Blue / Red, White and Blue (Backing Track) (Gerry Marsden and the England Supporters Club, Westmoor Music, 1990) * As Time Stood Still ('' The Sun'': Gulf Aid, GULF, 1991) *

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for the Hollies later that year and also a hit for Neil Diamond in 1970. It h ...

(as part of

the Justice Collective The Justice Collective was a collective of musicians and celebrities. The project is spearheaded by Peter Hooton of the Farm. It was originally established in 2012 as a fund-raising record raising money for the various charities associated with t ...

, Metropolis, 2012)

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsden, Gerry 1942 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers Beat musicians Deaths from blood disease English autobiographers English male guitarists English male stage actors English male television actors English pop singers English rock guitarists English rock singers English male singer-songwriters English television personalities Infectious disease deaths in England Lead guitarists Members of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from Liverpool People from Toxteth 20th-century British male singers 21st-century British male singers