Photo of Gunter Zint / K & K Ulf Kruger OHG / Redferns via Getty Images
Gerry Marsden died, the British singer who helped turn a song from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems of the world of football. He was 78 years old. His friend Pete Price said on Instagram after talking to the Marsden family that the leader of Gerry and Pacemakers died after a short illness related to a heart infection.
“I send all the love in the world to (his wife) Pauline and her family,” he said. “You’ll never Walk Alone.”
Marsden was the lead singer of the band that found fame on the Merseybeat scene in the 1960s. Although another Liverpool band, the Beatles, hit the superstar, Gerry and the Pacemakers will always have a place in the city consciousness because of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
“I thought what a beautiful song. I’m going to tell my band that we’re going to play this song,” Marsden told The Associated Press in 2018 when he recalled the first time he heard the song in the movies. “So I went back and told my friends we were going to do a ballad called ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.'”
Marsden is best known for his band’s rendition of the song “Carousel,” which was a 1945 musical that became a feature film in 1956. The Pacemakers’ version was released in October 1963. and became the band’s third No. 1 hit on the British Singles Chart. He was adopted by Liverpool football club fans and is sung with tingling passion before every match at the home of the 19-time English champion at home, before coronavirus restrictions have meant playing many matches in empty stadiums.
His lyrics, which show unity and perseverance through adversity, including “When you walk through a storm, keep your head held high and do not be afraid of the dark,” have been a cry to the faithful of Liverpool and the song title is on the crest of the Liverpool club.
The song has also been adopted by supporters of Celtic Scotland and Borussia Dortmund Germany.
Liverpool tweeted along with a video from fans out loud that Marsden’s voice “accompanied our biggest nights” and that his “anthem brought together players, staff and fans from around the world, helping to create something truly special.”
The song was adopted during the early 20th century Coronavirus pandemic last spring, when a cover of the song, which featured World War II veteran Tom Moore, reached number one. Moore had captivated the British public by walking 100 laps from his garden in England before his centenary in April to raise about £ 33 million ($ 40 million) for the National Health Service.
Liverpool’s Cavern Club, the venue for many of the Beatles’ first concerts, described Marsden as a “legend” and a “very good friend”.
In 1962, Beatles director Brian Epstein entered the band and their first three releases reached No. 1 in 1963: “How Do You Do It?” and “I Like It,” as well as “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Subsequent hits included “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.” The group split in 1967 and Marsden pursued a solo career before reforming the bank a few years later.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood singer Holly Johnson, who is from Liverpool and who published “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.
