Singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with Pacemakers legend

In 1985, Athlone singer and popular music star, Brendan Shine sang on the No. 1 charity record, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, in aid of the Bradford fire appeal with the late Gerry Marsden, who died earlier this week.

Some 56 spectators were killed and at least 265 people were injured in the Bradford fire, which occurred during an English league third division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City at Bradford’s stadium on Saturday, May 11, 1985

Brendan was part of the music gathering, ‘The Crowd’ that recorded the charity song. ‘The Crowd’ was led by Gerry Marsden, and it included several Irish and British artists who recorded the song in a Marble Arch, London studio.

Gerry Marsden was a Liverpool singer who was the lead in the 1960s ‘Merseybeat’ music group, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Merseybeat was a popular music genre, named after groups from around the Liverpool area.

The Pacemakers were present around the same time as the other Mersey group, The Beatles. Their first three singles in 1963, ‘How Do You Like It’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘I Like It’ each went to No. 1 in the charts. The feat wasn’t again equalled until 1984, when another Liverpool group, ‘Frankie Goes to Hollywood’ did the same.

Gerry Marsden’s re-recording of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ as a charity single for the Bradford appeal, took the song back to No. 1 for two weeks in June 1985. Brendan joined Gerry in ‘The Crowd’, with other Irish acts including the Nolan sisters, Phil Lynott, Johnny Logan and Rose-Marie.

“I fondly remember talking to Phil Lynott that day, and also Gerry Marsden who was very nice and very ordinary,” said Brendan. “You’ll Never Walk Alone was a great song, and it’s a Liverpool anthem.”

Brendan has performed in Liverpool over the years and was very aware of ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’, and The Beatles music over the decades. Brendan had a song, ‘My Son’ released in the UK in the mid-1980s, which got daily airplay on BBC Radio Merseyside on Billy Butler’s music show.

“The Mersey thing was like the Castleblayney or Moate of Ireland,” said Brendan laughing. “The amount of talent that came out Liverpool was huge, and they had musicians, comedians, tv presenters and actors. I’d say a lot of it had to do with the Irish connections. It was a mini 33rd county of Ireland. Many people who emigrated out of Ireland got as far as Liverpool, and that’s where the music came into it.”

Gerry Marsden died on Sunday, January 3 after a short illness, aged 78 years.