# Turn It Up! - Gerry and the Pacemakers



## Guest (Aug 25, 2018)

_"Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher, radio
Turn it up, that's enough, so you know it's got soul
Radio, radio turn it up..."
_- Van Morrison

The average length of the 45 rpm single is 3 minutes and 30 seconds...

If you can't say what needs to be said in 3 minutes and 30 seconds then it probably isn't worth saying...

"Turn It Up!" is a series about those classic tunes played on radio stations the world over that still live on over the airwaves of our memories and the artists who created them...

View attachment 107064


*Gerry and the Pacemakers
*
Gerry and the Pacemakers is an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin.

They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases: "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". This record was not equaled for 20 years, until the mid-1980s success of fellow Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Consequently, they stand as the second most successful pop group originating in Liverpool.

Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool.

The band was the second to sign with Brian Epstein, who later signed them to Columbia Records (a sister label to the Beatles' label Parlophone under EMI). They began recording in early 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a song written by Mitch Murray. The song was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, the first by an Epstein-managed Liverpool group to achieve this on all charts.

Gerry and the Pacemakers' next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone", both also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, the latter recorded instead of the Beatles' "Hello Little Girl". "You'll Never Walk Alone" had been a favourite of Marsden's since seeing Carousel growing up. It quickly became the signature tune of Liverpool Football Club and, later, other sports teams around the world. The song remains a football anthem. The group narrowly missed a fourth consecutive number one when "I'm the One" was kept off the top spot for two weeks in February 1964 by fellow Liverpudlians' The Searchers "Needles and Pins".

Despite this early success, Gerry and the Pacemakers never had another number one single in the UK. Marsden began writing most of their songs, including "I'm the One", "It's Gonna Be All Right" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest US hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which peaked at No.4.

By late 1965, their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic. They disbanded in October 1966, with much of their latter recorded material never released in the UK. Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer. He reformed the Pacemakers in 1974 and occasionally tours with the band on the oldies circuit.

In 1963, Gerry Marsden was quoted as saying -

"_The Beatles and ourselves (The Pacemakers) - we let go, when we get on-stage. I'm not being detrimental, but in the south, I think the groups have let themselves get a bit too formal. On Merseyside, it's beat, beat, beat all the way. We go on and really have a ball._ "

NME - August 1963

Peak UK chart position in in parenthesis -

"*How Do You Do It*" - 1963 - (# 1) -






"*I Like It*" - 1963 - (# 1) -






"*You'll Never Walk Alone*" - 1963 - (# 1) -






"*I'm the One*" - 1964 - (# 2) -






"*Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying*" - 1964 - (# 6 in the UK - # 4 in the US) -






"*Ferry Cross the Mersey*" - 1964 - (# 8 in the UK - # 6 in the US) -






"*I'll Be There*" - 1965 - (# 15 in the UK - # 14 in the US) -


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

_I Like It_ was no.1 in the UK singles chart when I was born. Could have been worse, I suppose - the next no.1 was by Frank Ifield...


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Some of the best songs of that time, especially "Ferry Cross the Mersey".


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