Gerry & The Pacemakers - Ferry Cross the Mersey (2nd Album UK Beat 1965)

Size: 117 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Gerry & The Pacemakers were a British rock and roll group during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool and were managed by Brian Epstein. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases. It was a record that was not equalled for 20 years, until the mid-80s success of fellow Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

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, England. McMahon (known as Arthur Mack) was replaced on piano by Les Maguire around 1961. They are known to have rehearsed at Cammell Laird shipping yard at Birkenhead.

The band was the second to sign with Brian Epstein, who later signed them with 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 that Adam Faith had turned down and one that The Beatles chose not to release (they did record the song but insisted on releasing their own song "Please Please Me").The song was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, until being replaced at the top by "From Me to You", The Beatles' third single.

Gerry & 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. "You'll Never Walk Alone" had been a favourite of Gerry Marsden's since seeing Carousel growing up (he turned down the Beatles' "Hello Little Girl" for this slot, which then became the first hit for The Fourmost). It soon became the signature tune of Liverpool Football Club. To this day, the song remains a football anthem, there and elsewhere, a phenomenon due to Gerry Marsden, rather than its Broadway composers.

Despite this early success, Gerry & The Pacemakers never had another number one single in the UK. Gerry Marsden began writing most of their own songs, including "It's Gonna Be All Right", "I'm the One", and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest U.S. hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which peaked at #4, and which Gerry Marsden initially gave to Decca recording artist Louise Cordet in 1963. She recorded the song (Decca F11824), but without commercial success. They also starred in an early 1965 film called Ferry Cross the Mersey (sometimes referred to as "Gerry & The Pacemakers' version of A Hard Day's Night"), for which Marsden wrote much of the soundtrack. The title song was revived in 1989 as a charity single for an appeal in response to the Hillsborough football crowd disaster, giving Marsden - in association with other Liverpool stars, including Paul McCartney and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Holly Johnson - another British number one.

In the U.S., they were signed by the small New York independent record label, Laurie in 1963, and Laurie issued four singles during 1963 without success (as listed below). When The Beatles broke through in January, 1964, Laurie's next regular single release of "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" became a big hit and during 1964, Laurie coupled "How Do You Do It?" with "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Laurie 3261) and "I Like It" with "Jambalaya" (Laurie 3271) with some success.

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.

Drummer Freddie Marsden died on 9 December 2006, age 66.

Ferry Cross the Mersey is the title of the film soundtrack of the same title. It features music by Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Fourmost, Cilla Black and the George Martin Orchestra.

It was released in 1965 on the Columbia label (GB). It contained the singles It's Gonna Be Alright (previously released August 1964) and Ferry Cross The Mersey (released December 1964 as a taster for the film).

A CD reissue in a digipak consists of both the mono and stereo versions of the album. One of the most interesting things about the original recording is the fact that there are no backing vocals - just the lone reverberated voice of Gerry Marsden.

01. It's Gonna Be Alright 
02. Why Oh Why? 
03. Fall In Love 
04. Think About Love 
05. I Love You Too (The Fourmost) 
06. All Quiet on the Mersey Front (instrumental) (George Martin Orchestra) 
07. This Thing Called Love 
08. Baby You're So Good To Me 
09. I'll Wait For You 
10. She's The Only Girl For Me 
11. Is It Love? (Cilla Black) 
12. Ferry Cross the Mersey 
+ a lot of bonus tracks

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