Timeless tunes from Gerry & The Pacemakers

The Philippines is a good market for bands from the ’60s. Pinoys are hot for music and memories and those from that period remain synonymous with good times. Hermann’s Hermits, Colin Bluntstone of the Zombies, The Searchers, The Hollies and others have all come to visit. It is unfortunate that the greatest of them all, The Beatles, are now unable to accept bookings for gigs out here, but others who figured prominently in the British Invasion of the hit charts of the word, continue to tour and perform the tunes that made them famous.

They are now a lot older than they were but their songs remain as affecting as ever. So I am sure that fans will make sure they are present when Gerry and The Pacemakers comes to perform in the shows billed as Timeless. These will be held at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu on Aug. 5 and at the PICC Plenary Hall on Aug. 6. And so the baby boomers are excited about the event while the later generations are wondering how on earth did a band get the name “pacemaker.”

I do not think Gerry Marsden ever had any inkling when he named his group Gerry and The Pacemakers that there would one day be a life-saving device called the pacemaker. It is called pacemaker because it regulates the heartbeat. You know keep a check on the pace or the beat. But it was a different case for Gerry and The Pacemakers.

Way back in the mid-’60s, bands commonly look for words that would approximate what they do, The Beatles, which connotes the beat of the music; or something rugged, The Kinks or The Rolling Stones, no way you can keep Mick and company still; or something simply cute, Herman’s Hermits, The Small Faces. And so Gerry and The Pacemakers was sort of about stepping to the beat.

In their case, as in the heart device, it was the beat or to be specific, the Mersey Beat. The Mersey is a river in Liverpool and Gerry and The Pacemakers like the Beatles was born in Liverpool. That was not the only thing they had in common with the Beatles. They had the same manager, Brian Epstein. They began their careers performing in the clubs of Hamburg, Germany and at the now iconic Cavern in Liverpool. They even had the same record producer, George Martin. In fact How Do You Do It, the band’s first No. 1 seller in the UK, was also recorded by The Beatles.

The ’60s was the most influential decade in the history of popular music with rock and roll becoming a major cultural force worldwide. At the forefront of what came to be known as The British Invasion were The Beatles and not far behind with a record breaking three consecutive No. 1’s in the charts within a single year were Gerry and The Pacemakers. 

1963 found them hitting it big with How Do You Do It, I Like It, and You’ll Never Walk Alone. There were also Ferry Across The Mersey which gave them a film debut and Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying that made No. 6 but was the song that gave them the US market.   

Thanks to the British Invasion, bands in the UK were all the time coming out of everywhere. Liverpool also had The Searchers and The Swinging Blue Jeans. From Manchester came The Hollies, Hermann’s Hermits, Freddie and The Dreamers. The Animals were from Newcastle. The Move and The Moody Blues from Birmingham. The Dave Clark Five from London. They all made great music and decades later, it was up to us to listen and analyze why the songs of one became more memorable than the others.

In the case of Gerry and The Pacemakers, I think that aside from the great songs they wrote, it was because Gerry Marsden could really sing. You’ll Never Walk Alone is a beautiful song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. This is one song that chicken hearted or chicken-voiced singers should never attempt and Gerry made a beautiful version. 

And bit of trivia for football fans around here, it is the football theme song in the UK. Long before the three tenors made Nessun Dorma the theme of the World Cup, Gerry was already on the field rallying players and fans to victory and unity with his You’ll Never Walk Alone. I hope he sings it in his local shows.