According to the English press, Gerry Marsden passed away this Sunday at the age of 78. He was known to have been the singer of the Sixties English rock band Gerry and the Pacemakers, originally from Liverpool. This formation, which had crossed the Beatles a lot in its beginnings, took first place on the English charts in 1963 by taking over “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
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This American standard, whose story was told in 2018 by a German documentary, was written as part of the musical Carousel in 1945. But it is the version sung by Gerry Marsden that marked the spirits across the Channel, where it quickly became the anthem of Liverpool FC, then other European clubs (notably Celtic Glasgow, Feyenoord Rotterdam , Borussia Dortmund …).
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Peter Moore, the former CEO of the Reds, greeted the memory this Sunday on Twitter of Gerry Marsden, recalling that he had interpreted his famous hit in 2018, before a match at Anfield. But the most striking live performance of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by the leader of Gerry and the Pacemakers came without doubt in March 2003, at Celtic Park, before a quarter-final of the UEFA Cup between Celtic and Liverpool, two clubs which are therefore associated with this powerful title, and its interpreter.
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