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Photo by Gunter Zint / K & K Ulf Kruger OHG / Redferns via Getty Images
Gerry Marsden, the British singer who helped transform a song from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems of the football world, has passed away. He was 78 years old. His friend Pete Price said on Instagram after talking to Marsden’s family that the leader of Gerry and the Pacemakers has died after a short illness linked to a heart infection.
“I send all the love in the world to (his wife) Pauline and her family,” he said. “You will never walk alone.”
Marsden was the lead singer of the group that rose to prominence in the Merseybeat scene in the 1960s. Although another group from Liverpool – the Beatles – have achieved superstar, Gerry and the Pacemakers will always have a place in their consciousness. of the city thanks to “You will never walk alone”.
“I thought it was a great song. I’m going to tell my band we’re going to play this song,” Marsden told The Associated Press in 2018, recalling the first time he heard the song in theaters. . “So I went back and told my buddies that we were doing a ballad called ‘You will never walk alone.'”
Marsden is best known for his band’s performance of the song “Carousel,” which was a 1945 musical that became a feature film in 1956. The cover version of The Pacemakers was released in October 1963 and became the The group’s third No. 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart. It was adopted by fans of Liverpool football club and is sung with back-stinging passion before every home game of the 19-time England champion – before coronavirus restrictions only meant many games were played in empty stadiums.
His words, showcasing unity and perseverance in the face of adversity – including “When you weather a storm, hold your head up high and do not be afraid of the dark” – were a rallying cry for the faithful of Liverpool and the song title is on the Liverpool club crest.
The song was also adopted by supporters of Celtic in Scotland and Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Liverpool tweeted alongside a full-blown fan video that Marsden’s voice “accompanied our Greatest Nights” and that his “anthem has linked players, staff and fans around the world, helping to create something truly special.”
The song was adopted at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic last spring, when a cover of the song, which starred World War II veteran Tom Moore, hit number one. Moore had captivated British audiences as he walked 100 tours of his garden in England as his 100th birthday approached in April to raise some 33 million pounds ($ 40 million) for the National Health Service.
The Cavern Club of Liverpool, the concert hall which hosted many of the Beatles’ early concerts, described Marsden as a “legend” and a “very good friend”.
In 1962, Beatles manager Brian Epstein signed the group on and their first three outings reached No. 1 in 1963 – “How are you doing?” and “I like” as well as “You will never walk alone.” Subsequent hits included “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying”. The group broke up in 1967 and Marsden pursued a solo career before reforming the bank a few years later.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson from Liverpool who covered “Ferry Across The Mersey” tweeted that Marsden was a “Liverpool legend”.
Marsden is survived by his wife Pauline, whom he married in 1965. The couple had two daughters.
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