Gerard Marsden was born on September 24 1942 in Toxteth, Liverpool. His father was a railway clerk, and also played ukulele. Mr. Marsden's parents encouraged both young Gerry and his brother Freddie to take up musical instruments. While young Gerry took up guitar, his brother Freddie learned to play drums.
It was in 1959 that Gerry Marsden, his brother Freddie Marsden, and their friends Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon formed the skiffle group Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars. The Mars Company objected to the name, and so they became Gerry and The Pacemakers. Like The Beatles and other Merseyside skiffle groups, Gerry and The Pacemakers soon switched to play rock 'n' roll. Gerry and The Pacemakers often played the same Liverpool clubs as The Beatles, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, and other Merseyside bands. Also like other Liverpudlian bands, Gerry and The Pacemakers played in Hamburg, West Germany.
It was after meeting Brian Epstein at his NEMS record shop that Gerry and The Pacemakers became the second group, after The Beatles, signed by Mr. Epstein. Brian Epstein got Gerry and The Pacemakers a record deal with Columbia Records. Their debut single, "How Do You Do It," went to no. 1 on the UK singles chart, so that Gerry and The Pacemakers beat The Beatles to having a no. 1 record (The Beatles' first no. 1 record, "From Me to You," reached the top spot three weeks later). It was immediately followed by two more no. 1 records, "I Like It" and a cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone."
While Gerry and The Pacemakers topped the charts in the United Kingdom and were considered rivals to The Beatles, their first few singles failed to chart in the United States. "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" became their first American hit. Peaking at no. 6 in the UK, it went to no. 4 in the U.S. A reissue of "How Do You Do It" then peaked at no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band later had a hit with "Ferry Cross the Mersey," which peaked at no. 8 on the UK singles chart and no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Gerry and The Pacemakers also had hit albums. How Do You Like It went to no. 1 on the UK album chart. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying went to no. 29 on the Billboard album chart. While Gerry and the Pacemakers' Second Album failed to chart in Britain, Ferry Cross the Mersey went to no. 19 on the UK album chart and no. 13 on the Billboard album chart. Gerry and The Pacemakers also appeared in their own movie, Ferry Cross the Mersey. Released in January 1965, it was historic in that much of the movie was shot on location in Liverpool.
Unfortunately, success proved to be short-lived for Gerry and The Pacemakers. Following their single "I'll Be There," they would not chart with a single in the United Kingdom until "Walk Hand in Hand." After "Girl on a Swing," their singles failed to chart in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The album Girl on a Swing failed to chart in the United States. Gerry and The Pacemakers disbanded in October 1966.
Beginning in 1968 Gerry Marsden became a long running host of the British children's show The Sooty Show. He appeared on the West End in the play Charlie Girl. Beginning in 1967 he also launched a solo career, releasing several singles between 1967 and 1976. In 1972 Gerry Marsden formed a new Gerry and The Pacemakers with Jose McLaughlin, Billy Kinsley, and Pete Clarke.This new Gerry and The Pacemakers recorded for the BBC Radio show The John Peel Show.
In 1985, following the Bradford City stadium fire, Gerry Marsden formed the charity supergroup The Crowd. They recorded a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone," which had become a football anthem for Liverpool FC since its original release. In 1989 he joined Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Stock Aitken Waterman, and The Christians to re-record his song "Ferry Cross the Mersey" as a charity single for the Hillsborough disaster fund.
While the success of Gerry and The Pacemakers was brief, particularly when compared to such contemporaneous bands as The Rolling Stones, and The Who, it was significant. For a time they were considered The Beatles' chief rivals. And while many of Gerry and The Pacemakers' singles were written by others, Gerry Marsden achieved immortality as a songwriter with "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey." And while his stint as a rock star was brief, Gerry Marsden maintained a presence on television and he had a successful career performing in cabarets. His last appearance was in the Cilla Black television documentary Cilla: The Lost Tapes just last year. Gerry Marsden certainly achieved immortality in his native Britain and elsewhere.
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