Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Monday 28 January 2019

Remember These Wonderful Hits ? Where Are They Now ? Happy, Happy, Days. Grateful Thanks. Rock On, Tommy.



"When You Walk In The Room".
Sung By: The Searchers.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Searchers are an English Merseybeat Group, who emerged in the 1960s along with The Beatles, The Hollies, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry and The Pacemakers.

The Band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; an original song written for them, "Sugar and Spice"; a cover of The Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of The Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Searchers tied for the second group from Liverpool, after The Beatles, to have a hit in the U.S. when their "Needles and Pins" and The Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.



"You'll Never Walk Alone".
Sung By: Gerry And The Pacemakers.
Available on YouTube at:

Gerry and The Pacemakers is an English Beat Group, prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin.

They are most remembered for being the first Act to reach Number One in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases: "How Do You Do It ?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone".

This record was not equalled for twenty years, until the mid-1980s success of fellow Liverpool Band, Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Another of their most famous songs, "Ferry Cross the Mersey", refers to The River Mersey that flows past Liverpool.

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. 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 Group's original name was Gerry Marsden and The Mars Bars, but they were forced to change this when The Mars Company, producers of the chocolate Mars Bar, complained.

The Band was the second to sign with Brian Epstein, who later signed them to 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. The song was produced by George Martin and became a Number One Hit in the UK, the first by an Epstein-managed Liverpool Group to achieve this on all Charts.


Gerry and 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, the latter recorded instead of The Beatles' "Hello Little Girl". "You'll Never Walk Alone" had been a favourite of Marsden's since seeing Carousel growing up. It quickly became the signature tune of Liverpool Football Club and, later, other sports teams around the world. The song remains a football anthem. The group narrowly missed a fourth consecutive number one when "I'm the One" was kept off the top spot for two weeks in February 1964 by fellow Liverpudlians The Searchers "Needles and Pins".

Despite this early success, Gerry and the Pacemakers never had another Number One Single in the UK. Marsden began writing most of their songs, including "I'm the One", "It's Gonna Be All Right" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest US Hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which peaked at No.4.

The Band also starred in an early 1965 film, Ferry Cross the Mersey (sometimes referred to as "Gerry and 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 US, their recordings were released by the small New York City Record Label "Laurie" in 1963, with whom they issued four Singles without success. 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 (On the Bayou)" (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 later recorded material never released in the UK. Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer. He reformed The Pacemakers in 1972 with prominent Liverpool musicians Jose McLaughlin, Billy Kinsley and Pete Clarke.


This second version of the Group, as well as touring internationally, became the only 'Merseybeat' Band to ever record for "The John Peel Show" on BBC Radio 1 in April 1973. The tracks from that Show have now been included on the Album: "Gerry and The Pacemakers, Live at The BBC", released on Parlophone Records in October 2018.

Since then, Gerry has occasionally toured with various line-ups of the Band on The Oldies Circuit.

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

On 15 March 2017, Gerry Marsden collapsed onstage at a Gerry and The Pacemakers concert in Newport, South Wales, UK, and was helped offstage after telling the audience he was scheduled to undergo knee surgery the next week. Marsden did not return, and a spokesperson said only that he was "ill".

Gerry Marsden announced his retirement, along with his Band, on 29 November 2018, to spend more time with his Family.



"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying".
Sung By: Gerry And The Pacemakers.
Available on YouTube at


"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is a song written and originally performed by British Beat Group, Gerry and the Pacemakers. The songwriting is credited to Gerry Marsden and the other band members, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire. It was first recorded by Louise Cordet, and then recorded by the group themselves in early 1964.

The song was given first to Louise Cordet, a singer who had previously toured with the group as well as with The Beatles. Her version was produced by Tony Meehan and released on Decca Records in February 1964. The group then decided to issue their own version. The record, like the group's earlier releases, was produced by George Martin.

It was released in April 1964 as Gerry and the Pacemakers' fifth single in Britain, and spent 11 weeks on the United Kingdom's Record Retailer chart, reaching No. 6. In the US, it was the breakthrough single for the group, spending 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 4. The song debuted at No. 4 in the first issue of Canada's RPM "Top Forty-5s" chart, while reaching No. 5 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, and No. 6 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade".

Gerry and the Pacemakers performed the song on their first US television show, The Ed Sullivan Show on 3 May 1964. The group's earlier UK hit singles - "How Do You Do It ?", "I Like It", "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "I'm the One" - were then re-issued in the US to follow up its success, but "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" remained their biggest hit in the United States.

The song has been recorded by many other singers, including Steve Lawrence (1964), José Feliciano (1968), Rickie Lee Jones (1989), Gloria Estefan (1994), Jeff Buckley (1998), Paul Carrack (2010), and Nellie McKay(2015).


"Elenor".
Sung By: The Turtles.
Available on YouTube at

With the Autumn of 1968, Beatlemania reached a new blazing height with the release of the double-sided 45 single "Hey Jude" and "Revolution," the televised videotape of a live performance of "Hey Jude" on the Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, and the slice by slice dishing out of new treats by the radio stations from the soon to be released "White Album."

One Sunday evening in November 1968, like lightning from a clear sky, the song "Elenore" materialised out of radio speakers all over the Country and, like many others listening (not too closely, obviously), for several heady minutes the Beatles of old, of 1964, were suddenly back.

Never mind that the lead singer (Howard Kaylan) didn't sound anything like Lennon, McCartney, or Harrison -- that glorious chorus had all the hallmark joy and awe of a true Beatles classic. Of course, it was not The Beatles at all, as it turned out, but The Turtles.

And that turned out to be just as great a revelation ! "Happy Together" had been the group's signature hit in 1967; now they were back with a stirring love song in the midst of a year marked by war, assassination, inter-generational discord, and at times violent revolution. The message was simple enough: guy falls for girl, guy asks girl out on a date, guy declares his undying love. The chorus leaves no doubt as to the outcome.

There is no ambiguity or heartbreak to be found in "Elenore" . . . this is one song that indeed ends happily ever after.

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