Gerry Marsden and You'll Never Walk Alone

Gerry and the Pacemakers singer Gerry Marsden (right), whose version of You'll Never Walk Alone became a football terrace anthem for his hometown club, i.e. Liverpool FC, has died at the age of 78. 

His family said he died on Sunday after a short illness not linked to Covid-19. 

Marsden's band was one of the biggest success stories of the Merseybeat era – and twelve of their songs made it to Billboard’s The Hot 100 Chart! Their biggest Top 3 hits were Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying (peaked at #4 on July 04, 1964; How Do You Do it? (peaked at #9 on September 05, 1964; and Ferry Cross The Mersey (peaked at #6 on March 20, 1965).

You’ll Never Walk Alone did well too, having peaked at #48 on July 03, 1965.

In fact, the YNWA song is a total genre-buster – with cover versions by Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Placido Domingo, Barbra Streisand & Tammy Wynette amongst others. 

In case you didn’t know, the anthem of triumph over adversity was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for their 1945 Broadway musical, Carousel. 

The track regained popularity with the release of the 1956 film of the same name which was an adaptation of the said play. 

Marsden who was a fan, persuaded his band The Pacemakers to include it in their 1963 live set, after catching a rerun of the movie one afternoon. 

Meanwhile, over at Anfield, the Top Ten was played over the PA before the start of every LFC game. 

For four weeks, this poignant anthem was the last song playing out as the team headed onto the pitch, and being a hit song from a Liverpool group secured its popularity. 

Many Liverpool fans cite their defeat in the FA Cup semi-final against Leicester in April 1963 as the first time they recall singing it. 

During the club’s 100th year in the 1992-93 season, You’ll Never Walk Alone was added to the club’s crest along with The Shankly Gates. 

And did you know that in 2017, Jurgen Klopp appeared in a subtitled documentary, You’ll Never Walk Alone, which traced the origins of the song to a play written in Budapest, Hungary in 1909, which Rodgers and Hammerstein used as the basis for the plot of Carousel, before successfully adapting it for Broadway success. 

One thing’s for sure, as far as Liverpool’s concerned, the song is forever engrained in the history of the city, and the future of Liverpool Football Club. 

So goodbye, Gerry Marsden, rest in peace!