Ferry Cross the Mersey

:"For the film, see Ferry Cross the Mersey (film), for the soundtrack album, Ferry 'Cross the Mersey (album)" Infobox Single
Name = Ferry 'Cross the Mersey


Artist = Gerry & The Pacemakers
from Album =
B-side = "You, You, You" (UK)
"Pretend" (USA)
Released = December 1964
Format = 7"
Recorded = flagicon|England
Genre = Merseybeat, Beat, Pop
Length = 2.24
Label = Columbia (EMI)
Laurie 3284 (USA)
Writer =Gerry Marsden
Producer = George Martin
Certification =
Reviews =
Chart position =* #8 (UK)
* #6 (USA)
Last single = "It's Gonna Be Alright"
(1964)
This single = "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
(1964)
Next single = "I'll Be There"
(1965)

"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is the name of a 1964 song, film, and soundtrack album, all related to Liverpool and the Mersey Sound, as well as the Mersey Ferry, which still runs to Liverpool from Birkenhead and Seacombe on the Wirral.

The song was recorded by Gerry & the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the US. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching #6 in the US and charting twice in the UK.

It should be noted that, according to the song's lyrics, the track is correctly title "Ferry Cross the Mersey", not "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey". "Cross" is not a contraction of "Across".

Cover versions

In 1983, Frankie Goes to Hollywood recorded a cover of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" for the 12-inch B-side of the single "Relax".

In May 1989 a charity version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster. It was recorded by Liverpool artists The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, and Stock Aitken Waterman, and held the #1 spot in the UK chart for three weeks.

In 2003, Pat Metheny included an instrumental cover of this song on his acoustic album "One Quiet Night".

A 2007 version was recorded by New Zealand artist Neil Nooyen.

The song was covered in a Bulgarian-language version in 2008 on Farmers Market's album "Surfin' USSR".

Other uses

In the mid-1990s a musical theatre production also titled "Ferry Cross the Mersey" related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.