IT was more than 50 years ago that Beatles manager Brian Epstein signed Gerry & The Pacemakers as his second band to the Fab Four.

Over the years there have been changes in The Pacemakers’ line-up but Gerry Marsden still fronts the band which made him a sixties pop icon.

It was nearly 50 years ago that I interviewed Gerry when the relatively shortlived sixties bubble was beginning to burst.

Then he and the original Pacemakers were headlining a cabaret night at Southampton’s Silhouette Club.

The Silhouette has long since disappeared into the shadows of time but Gerry is a true survivor from that golden age of pop.

Today he is still travelling the globe with those catchy Mersey-sound hits which turned him into a household name.

He might be 71 but he still has that trademark cheeky grin which put fun into pop all those years ago.

This year there are plans for a possible summer tour of the USA where in the early sixties Gerry and The Pacemakers were part of the British Invasion.

Eastleigh was the latest port of call for The Gerry Cross The Mersey show which captures the magic of a decade when the hit machine was in full flow.

Under the baton of the Beatles’ maestro producer, George Martin, Gerry and The Pacemakers burst on to the scene with three consecutive number one hits – How Do You Do It, I Like It and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

They were included in the band’s Concorde back catalogue of hits along with It’s All Right, I’m the One, Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ and Ferry Cross The Mersey.

Gerry threw into the Friday feel-good rock ‘n’ roll mix some Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard classics.

His Concorde fixture was on the eve of his beloved Liverpool’s clash with the Saints. And there was some friendly banter with the audience about the outcome of the big game at St Mary’s.

Then it was time for chairs to be pushed to one side as with arms swaying the Concorde choir joined in with that famous football anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Gerry Marsden had obviously scored a huge hit with his faithful fans as he left the stage with cheers ringing in his ears.