A hit from Broadway to Kyiv
Gerry Marsden walked into Liverpool’s Odeon cinema for a Laurel and Hardy film. It was raining when he started to leave, so he decided to stay for the second part of the double feature and watch the comedy duo one more time.
And with that, a part of soccer history was born. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel was the other movie, and Marsden perked up during the second half.
“I thought what a beautiful song. I’m going to tell my band we’re going to play that song,” the 75-year-old Marsden recalls.
“So I went back and told my buddies we’re doing a ballad called You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin — the management team of both The Beatles and of Marsden’s Gerry and the Pacemakers — were skeptical. But when the cover version was released in October 1963, it became the band’s third No. 1 hit on the British singles chart. And then it was adopted by the Kop — the one-deck stand behind one of the goals at Anfield containing Liverpool’s most fervid supporters.
The famous tune will be sung Saturday by 16,000-plus Liverpool fans at Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, before the Champions League final against Real Madrid, most holding banners with the song ’s title. And it will be sung that afternoon and evening at Broadway ’s Imperial Theatre by soprano Renée Fleming, nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in this season’s revival.
“It’s about resilience, and it’s about hope, ultimately,” Fleming said. “Despite whatever travails we have, we have to keep going.”
Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Judy Garland, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Olivia Newton-John and Barbra Streisand have all recorded covers.
“It’s a global phenomenon wherever we play, whether it’s Australia or England,” said John Henry, principal owner of Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox. “My mother was a big fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein, used to play their works on a piano when I was a boy. I remember being moved by the lyrics. It’s a powerful combination of lyrics and music.”
Marsden’s version most likely played at Anfield for the first time on Oct. 19, 1963, before a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. “I thought, oh, that’s lovely there,” said Marsden, who attended every Liverpool home match back then. “The next time I went to the match two weeks later, they did it again. And by then the Kop, the whole 22,000 of them, is singing You’ll Never Walk Alone. And I thought, wow! And that became the song for Liverpool.”