You’ll never walk alone
The recent passing of Gerry Marsden ends the era of a lifestyle now long gone, but not forgotten. Back in the Sixties Gerry and the Pacemakers were the second most popular Liverpudlian group after The Beatles and the legacy of their music lives on today.
Remembering Gerry and the Pacemakers
On January 3, 2021, Gerry Marsden, the lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, passed away at Arrow Park Hospital on The Wirral. His death marked the end of a long musical career, which will still be remembered in many walks of life in the shape of his music.
THE GROUP
Gerry and the Pacemakers were formed in 1959; they were the second group to be signed by Brian Epstein (the first being The Beatles). Their first single How Do You Do It? was recommended them by George Martin after being initially offered to The Beatles. The group's second number one was I Like It, followed by You'll Never Walk Alone. The group's other singles included It's Gonna Be Alright, I'm the One, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying and Ferry Cross the Mersey.
The group's career was short-lived – they disbanded in October 1966. Gerry himself maintained a low-key career, appearing on TV and in West End musicals. He returned to the charts in the 1980s with recordings of two of the group's hit records. On April 18, 1989, three days after the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool FC fans died, Gerry joined forces with Paul McCartney, The Christians, Holly Johnson and his production trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman on a new version of Ferry Cross the Mersey. In 1993 Gerry published his autobiography, I'll Never Walk Alone, co-written with former Melody Maker editor Ray Coleman. In 1990, he recorded the song Red White and Blue with The England Supporters' Club.
Gerry's brother and fellow Pacemakers member, drummer Freddie Marsden, died in December 2006. On March 2017, Gerry collapsed on stage while performing at a concert in Newport, Wales. After being helped offstage he didn't return, but was quoted as saying the incident was “nothing serious”.
Gerry announced his retirement on November 29, 2018, in order to spend more time with family, but, on June 6, 2019, to commemorate Liverpool FC's win against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League he surprised Take That fans by singing You'll Never Walk Alone at their show at Anfield. Then, in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he released a version of You'll Never Walk Alone as a tribute to the National Health Service.
THE FILM
Gerry and the Pacemakers are arguably remembered best for their appearance in the 1965 film Ferry Cross The Mersey (which was considered to be their version of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night.
The film shows the story of art students Gerry and Fred Marsden, Les Maguire and Les ‘Chad' Chadwick as they humorously try to navigate the Liverpool beat scene. After Gerry's girlfriend Dodie (Julie Samuel) helps the group enter a music competition, their instruments are misplaced but are ultimately found in time for them to take the stage and win the contest. Many of the film's scenes were filmed near Gerry's home; other locations included the Mountwood Ferry on the River Mersey, Albert Dock, The Cavern Club, Frank Hessy's Music Store and the Locarno Ballroom. The film's soundtrack was released the same year; Gerry wrote nine new songs for the film; Cilla Black is also featured with her song Is it Love?, along with The Fourmost with their track I Love You Too. The album rounds off with an instrumental by the George Martin Orchestra. Since its original theatrical release, the film has never been shown on TV, or released on video. However scenes of the Lambretta scooters used for the film can be found on YouTube at the following link: www.youtube. com/watch?v=q5C2xV8nhJs – there is also a trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=OV5_LQArLa0
THE SCOOTERS
The UK Lambretta Concessionaires were quick to pick up on the film's importance. Silver and Golden Special Lambrettas were limited editions of the Li150 Special. As a consequence the Concessionaires were quick to sign up Gerry and the Pacemakers to promote the model – hence the ‘Pacemaker' badge appearing on the scooters. A series of press photographs were released to the media to help promote both the film and the scooter.
After the filming was finished, the Concessionaries, in conjunction with The New Musical Express, gave away the scooter Gerry used in a competition.
Stepping into the frame at this point is avid scooterist Jim Trewin, who came into possession of some of these original PR photos from the late Mike Karslake. And as if by coincidence, Jim's father and uncle both worked at Freddie Hawken's motorcycle shop in Newton Abbot where the autographed picture accompanying this article was taken.
If we step back a little in time, this wasn't Jim's only personal connection to Gerry Marsden. Prior to Mike Karslake's passing, Jim had produced a poster at Mike's request, which he, in turn, passed on to Gerry (who was a regular visitor to Mike's museum) – apparently he loved it.
ARE THE SCOOTERS STILL AROUND?
The number plates on some of the scooters used in the film are clearly visible within the film frames and on some of the PR photos. A quick check on the DVLA website reveals that the scooter ridden by Gerry in the film (507 CBY) is still on their register (although untaxed or on the road). The existence of the other scooters is not so clear (512 CBY for instance) and nothing shows on the DVLA website, but according to them, someone, somewhere out there still owns 507 CBY – is it you? And if that is the case, do you realise that you are sitting on a legendary piece of Lambretta scooter history? If it is you, please let us know. [Thanks again to Jim Trewin for allowing to share his photos and memories of his personal connection to Gerry and the Pacemakers]