He’ll never walk alone – Gerry Marsden dead at 78

Sad news: Gerry Marsden has died age 78 following a short illness (pictured in 2015).

Gerry Marsden has died age 78 following a short illness.

The Gerry And The Pacemakers front-man – who famously sang You’ll Never Walk Alone – suffered an infection in his heart, it was announced on Sunday.

The news was broken by Gerry’s friend, radio host Pete Price, who shared a photograph of the pair together online.

Pete, 74, tweeted: ‘It’s with a very heavy heart after speaking to the family that I have to tell you the Legendary Gerry Marsden MBE after a short illness which was an infection in his heart has sadly passed away.

‘Sending all the love in the world to Pauline and his family. You’ll Never Walk Alone.’

Gerry is survived by wife Pauline Marsden, whom he married in 1965.

The couple have two daughters, Yvette and Victoria.

Gerry underwent a triple bypass heart surgery in 2003, before having a second heart operation in 2016, and ultimately had a pacemaker of his own fitted, which he once joked wasn’t ‘funny’ given his band’s name.

Asked last year whether he found it ironic that his band was called The Pacemakers, Gerry replied: ‘No. I’m wearing one, for Christ’s sake!’

At of the time of writing, Gerry’s family have not commented publicly on his passing.

Gerry And The Pacemakers achieved fame for their chart-topping hit, You’ll Never Walk Alone, in 1963, which led to the band’s local football club, Liverpool FC, adopting it as one of their traditional chants.

It is still sung by masses of fans to this day and was used across 2020 across the UK and Europe as an anthem of support for medical staff, first responders, and those in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Swinging sixties: Gerry also had success with hits including I Like It, How Do You Do It, and Ferry Across The Mersey (pictured in 1960).

Gerry also had success with hits including I Like It, How Do You Do It, and Ferry Across The Mersey – the latter being a nod to Mersyside, where the band originated.

The band were the first ever act to reach number one in the UK charts with their first three single releases.

Gerry was part of the band with his brother Freddie Marsden, along with Les ‘Chad’ Chadwick and Arthur McMahon. They were tipped to rival the Beatles in their early days. The band were in fact signed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

He had left the band when they disbanded in 1967. The Pacemakers reformed again in 1973, without Freddie, who was running a driving school by then.

They also reformed in 1993 to mark 30 years of the band. 

Gerry was a fixture on TV and the West End stage. But he quit showbusiness in November 2018.

He received an MBE for Services to Liverpudlian charities at Buckingham Palace in 2003, joined alongside two of his bandmates.

When awarded the honour by Prince Philip, the royal commented that it was nice to see the three old singers back together. Gerry famously replied: ‘Not so much of the old sir!’ 

As the news broke, tributes flooded in for Gerry, including one from the ex-CEO of Liverpool FC, Peter Moore. +

‘Tragic news’: Tributes have flooded social media since the news was announced on January 3

‘Tragic news this morning. We have lost one of the most treasured members of the @LFC family. We were honoured to welcome Gerry to Anfield in 2018, and he rewarded us by singing YNWA just before kick off. #RIPGerry,’ was his tweet.

Liverpool FC echoed this on twitter, posting: ‘It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing. Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone.’

Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘RIP Gerry Marsden, 78. The man who with Gerry And The Pacemakers gave the people of Liverpool two of the city’s greatest anthems. Ferry Cross The Mersey and You’ll Never Walk Alone. Great singer, great character. Very sad news.’

Back in 2017, Gerry dramatically collapsed onstage during a gig with his band, falling flat on his back in front of shocked fans while singing Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles.

The concert was taking part in Newport, South Wales, as part of his UK tour at the time.

Said to have looked ‘visibly shaken and in pain’ by those in attendance, he apologised to the concerned audience before leaving the stage – as the rest of the band carried on with the Gerry Cross The Mersey show.

An audience member said at the time said: ‘As a song ended Gerry turned away from the audience, stumbled and appeared to lose his balance.

‘The stage hand came on to help him and he appeared to regain his balance as the stage hand removed his guitar. Gerry then lost his balance again and fell back in front of the percussion area, landing on his back.

‘As the stage hand and a band member helped him up Gerry looked visibly shaken and in pain. He apologised to the audience explaining that he was due to go for a knee operation next week and that he had hoped to make it through the show.

‘He apologised once again and was lead off by the stage hand as the audience gave him a round of applause. ‘The band wished him well before proclaiming the show must go on before launching into The Love Affair hit, Everlasting Love.’

It was the following year that Gerry decided to retire from the spotlight. 

This article first appeared in The Daily Mail UK.