Although I took my Liverpool working-class roots for granted few other people did so. Wherever in the world we ‘Scousers’ went we were feted as celebrities for good reason. The Beatles in the 1960s were taking the world by storm. There were many other Liverpool legends like Billy Fury and Charlie Landsborough (Birkenhead) and, of course, Gerry Marsden of the Pacemakers.

More people listened to Jack Jackson’s weekly radio programme than tuned in to the Queen’s Christmas broadcast. Most weeks Liverpool performers filled more than half of Jack Jackson’s Top Twenty entries. Billy Fury and The Beatles were constantly knocking Elvis Presley and off his throne. Then there was Lita Roza, Frankie Vaughan, Arthur Askey, The Merseybeats ~ and The Earthlings.

The latter group was our family’s in which my brother Paul was the rhythm guitarist. As they appeared often at The Cavern their group’s name is inscribed on The Wall of Fame opposite The Cavern entrance.

At the same time, Liverpool Football Club was and still is unbeatable. It seemed everyone wanted to be from Liverpool, to experience The Cavern Club cellars on Mathew Street, The Iron Door, The Harlequin, The Bird Cage and similar. We lived it, we breathed it and we sang it.

Anita Cochrane was never out of our home. My sister’s best friend, Anita was dating Paul McCartney and was to later bear Paul’s child. Whenever Noreen and Anita were off the radar one was sure to find them in Mathew Street or having fun with the artistes appearing at The Cavern at The Grapes pub opposite.

I was a friend of the Liverpool legends like Cy Tucker, Ricky Tomlinson, Karl Terry, Owen Clayton, Gary Potter, the jazz-legend, Charlie Landsborough, who loved my poetry as did Ken Dodd, Britain’s most celebrated comedian and chart-topping singer. So it was with a special and very personal regret that today I learn of the passing of Gerry Marsden (and the Pacemakers).

Gerry Marsden’s two greatest hits were Ferry across the Mersey and You’ll Never Walk Alone. The latter ballad became the unofficial anthem of Liverpool Football club. There is a story behind that song title too. You’ll Never Walk Alone was already a chart-buster when Liverpool FC was drawn to play Cologne Football Club; a team that was said to be unbeatable. Unsurprisingly, football fans like Everton FC who disliked or were jealous of the Liverpool team’s unrivalled omnipotence chortled, ‘You’ll Never Walk Cologne’ which is Liverpool slang for ‘you’ll never defeat Cologne’.

Well, Liverpool FC trounced the German team and for this reason, You’ll Never Walk Alone (Cologne) became the battle song of The Kop, the Liverpool’s teams stadium stands. R.I.P. Gerry Marsden, September 24, 1942 ~ January 3, 2021. ~ Michael Walsh