Gerry & the Pacemakers was a British rock and roll group during the 1960s, and one of the few groups to initially challenge The Beatles in popularity. Like the Beatles, they came from Liverpool and were also managed by Brian Epstein.
Gerry Marsden (guitar, lead vocals) formed the group in the late 1950s with Fred Marsden (his brother, drums), Les Chadwick (bass), and Arthur Mack (piano). They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool, England. Mack was replaced on piano by Leslie Maguire around 1961.
They began recording in early 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a Mitch Murray-written song that both Adam Faith and The Beatles had turned down (in the latter case because they wanted to record their own material, specifically " Please Please Me"). The song became a no. 1 hit, until being replaced at the top by the Beatles' third single, " From Me to You".
Gerry & the Pacemakers next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" and Rogers and Hammerstein's " You'll Never Walk Alone", both reached no. 1 in the UK. Never before had the first three singles by a performer all reached the top spot (the feat would not be duplicated until Frankie Goes To Hollywood did it in the 1980s). "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), and in subsequent years it would became an anthem for the Liverpool F.C. football club and supporters. The song has also been adopted as an anthem for the fans of Celtic FC as well. When the clubs met in the UEFA Cup quarter final in season 2002/3 the rendition at Celtic Park and in the reverse at Anfield were incredibly vocal.