Gerry Marsden

Gerry Marsden, of British invasion rockers Gerry and the Pacemakers, has passed away at the age of 78. Apart from a scattering of ecstatic early Brit pop classics, and the breathtakingly lovely “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying“, the group gave us the definitive interpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

A while back I wrote about the history of the song, the incredible power of the Pacemakers version, and the different uses its message of frail solidarity had been put to over the years:

“You’ll Never Walk Alone” was written in 1945, for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel; it was a solid, second-tier standard covered by Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Judy Garland and others by the time Merseyside group Gerry and the Pacemakers put out their version in October 1963.

The Pacemakers substituted the operatics of previous versions of the song for thin Merseybeat guitars, stately piano and Gerry Marsden’s reedy, accented voice; and in that frailty, the song gained a new power. It is the very point where bitter meets sweet — mournful but optimistic, a statement of implicit solidarity.

At the time, the people of Liverpool had probably the greatest concentration of pop stars anywhere in Britain, and fans of Liverpool football club* would show this off, singing the hits of the day before each game, played by the ground’s (novel for the time) DJ. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” hit number one in early November, and they started singing it before each game. To this day, they still do. Liverpool sing it when things go well, and in the depths of unimaginable despair they sing it louder.

Vale.

*In the comments on my original piece, it was pointed out I had clumsily implied that there was only one Merseyside club. For what it’s worth, I’m well aware of the great exploits of Everton (and Tranmere Rovers, Bootle and Lower Breck before anyone starts … )