Booking Enquiries
Please send us your booking enquiries by filling out the form below. Fields marked * are mandatory.
Gerry and The Pacemakers Video
You will need the latest version of Adobe Flash Player
installed to use this video player.
Gerry and The Pacemakers Audio Player
You will need the latest version of Adobe Flash Player
installed to use this video player.
Gerry and The Pacemakers
As unfathomable as it seems from the distance of over 40 years, for a few months, Gerry & the Pacemakers were the Beatles' nearest competitors in Britain. Managed, like the Beatles, by Brian Epstein, Gerry Marsden and his band burst out of the gate with three consecutive number one UK hits in 1963, "How Do You Do It", "I Like It", and "You'll Never Walk Alone".
If the Beatles defined Merseybeat at its best in early 1963, Gerry & the Pacemakers defined the form at its most innocuous, performing bouncy, catchy, and utterly lightweight tunes driven by rhythm guitar and Marsden's chipper vocals. Compared to the Beatles and other British Invasion heavies, they sound quaint indeed. That's not to say the group were trivial; their hits were certainly likable and energetic, and are fondly remembered today, even if the musicians lacked the acumen or earthy image to develop their style from its relentlessly upbeat and poppy base.
Marsden formed the group in the late '50s, calling themselves, The Mars-Bars, featuring himself on guitar and lead vocals, his brother Fred on drums, Les Chadwick on bass, and Arthur Mack on piano (to be replaced in 1961 by Les McGuire). They worked the same Liverpool/Hamburg circuit as the Beatles, and ran neck and neck with their rivals in local popularity. They were signed by Epstein in mid-1962 (the first band to do so besides the Beatles), and began recording for the EMI/Columbia label in early 1963, under the direction of producer George Martin. Their first single was a Mitch Murray tune that Martin had wanted the Beatles to record for their debut, "How Do You Do It?" It suited Marsden's grinning, peppy style well, and went to Number One before it was displaced from the top spot by the Beatles' third 45, "From Me to You".
The Pacemakers would never vary much from the clattering guitar-dominated pop of their first singles, turning again to Mitch Murray for the follow-up, "I Like It," and remaking an old pop standard for their next effort, "You'll Never Walk Alone." It's not universally known that Gerry Marsden actually wrote much of the band's material, and he penned most of their subsequent hits, including "It's All Right" and "I'm the One". He also wrote "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", ballads that Martin embellished with light string arrangements.
Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer, sometimes performing with his former bandmates.
Gerry reformed The Pacemakers in 1974 after 8 years as a solo artist, touring the world. Another grand tour took place in 1993 to mark 30 years of Gerry & The Pacemakers. "I love being on stage performing for people all over the globe" said Gerry.
Gerry wrote his autobiography with Ray Coleman in 1993. The book became the basis of a Musical Theatre production "Ferry cross the Mersey" a musical story of Gerry's Merseybeat days, It enjoyed a sell out premiere in Liverpool and went on to a successful tour of the UK, Australia and Canada.
