This is the first and biggest US hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers, which peaked at No. 4. This was produced by Beatles producer George Martin, another example of his lush, melancholy string arrangements.

The songwriting on this song is credited to Gerry Marsden and the other band members, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire. It was first recorded by Louise Cordet, who had previously toured with the group, as well as with The Beatles and Roy Orbison. Gerry Marsden is said to have initially written the song for Louise, although they released their own version almost simultaneously in April 1964.

Marsden was born in the Dingle district of Liverpool, to Mary (nee McAlindin) and Frederick Marsden. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel school, and at the Florence Institute youth club learned both how to box and how to play the guitar. At 14, he joined a skiffle group, the Red Mountain Boys, with his brother Freddie (who was two years older) on drums, Les Chadwick on guitar, and Arthur Mack (real name McMahon) on piano. In 1961 Les Maguire replaced McMahon.

Gerry Marsden was a deliveryman for British Rail when he formed Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1959 with his older brother, Freddie, on drums. (Freddie then worked for British Telecom); pianist Les Maguire (in the navy); and bassist Les Chadwick (lives in Australia). They are a prime example of a genre known as the Merseybeat scene. The group’s original name was Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars, but they were forced to change this when the Mars Company, producers of the chocolate Mars Bar, complained.

In June 1960 they played for the first time with the Beatles (then the Silver Beetles) and in December that year they were contracted to play a four-month stint in Hamburg, prompting the group to give up their day jobs and become professional musicians. “We went over with the Beatles and had a good laugh,” Marsden later recalled. “All they had over there were oompah bands … we took over this music, and they loved it.”

They played on the same bill as the Beatles numerous times over the following year, and on 19 October 1961 the two groups joined together to play at Litherland town hall as the Beatmakers. In June 1962 they were signed for management by Epstein. In December that year the Beatles producer George Martin saw them play at the Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead, and signed them to the Columbia label (then part of EMI). Martin had recorded How Do You Do It? with the Beatles in 1962, but they did not like the song and Martin took it to Marsden and co. It became their first No 1 hit, in April 1962, selling half a million copies.

In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. A few other artists from that same scene were Billy J. Kramer (Bad To Me), The Mindbenders (Game Of Love), and The Searchers (Needles and Pins).

Merseybeat, aka Beat music and British Beat, was named after the areas beside the River Mersey which runs alongside Liverpool. It developed in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll (mainly Chuck Berry guitar style and the midtempo beat of artists like Buddy Holly), doo-wop, skiffle and R&B. The genre provided many of the bands responsible for the British Invasion of the American pop charts starting in 1964, and provided the model for many important developments in pop and rock music, including the format of the rock group around lead, rhythm and bass guitars with drums.

The band starred in its own feature film, “Ferry Cross the Mersey” (sometimes referred to as “Gerry and the Pacemakers’ version of A Hard Day’s Night”) of their song of the same name, in 1965.

After the hits petered out, Marsden disbanded the Pacemakers in 1969 and headed for London’s West End, where he played a handyman in a long-running romantic comedy, Charlie Girl. He also regularly appeared in comedy sketches on television variety shows. In 1973, he left acting and hit the road again with a new set of Pacemakers.

In 2003 Marsden was appointed MBE for services to charity, and in 2010 received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University. He underwent heart surgery in 2003 and 2016, and in 2018 he announced his retirement.

On January 3, 2021 Gerry Marsden died following a short illness stemming from a heart infection. He was 78 years old.

Visits: 44