Liverpool ferry terminal renamed after Gerry Marsden

Liverpool's Pier Head ferry terminal has been renamed after the late Merseybeat singer Gerry Marsden.

The Gerry and the Pacemakers frontman died, aged 78, in January 2021.

He grew up close to the banks of the River Mersey and has a long association with Mersey Ferries after his 1964 hit Ferry Across the Mersey.

His daughter Yvette Marbeck said: "Dad loved this city and its people, and he would be so proud having the ferry terminal renamed in his honour."

A 12ft high mural tribute to the singer songwriter, whose version of You'll Never Walk Alone became a terrace anthem for his hometown club Liverpool, has also been installed at the Liverpool Gerry Marsden Ferry Terminal.

It was designed and created by sculptor and artist Rick Myers.

Ms Marbeck said her family was "extremely proud and honoured at this wonderful tribute to dad".

She said, along with his music, this would be a "lasting legacy".

"Dad loved this city and its people, and he would be so proud having the ferry terminal renamed in his honour, as his song Ferry Cross the Mersey states 'cos this land's the place I love, and here I'll stay'," she added.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: "Gerry was an iconic figure whose music helped establish our region on a global scale."

He said he was "a proud champion" of the Liverpool region and "we are forever grateful to him for the legacy he leaves".

Mr Rotheram said his words had "made our ferries world famous and immortalised them in the minds of so many".

Marsden was given an honorary Freedom of the Ferries award in 1985 in recognition of his special connection.

He was made an MBE in 2003 for services to charity after supporting victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

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