490. Gerry and the Pacemakers

Although the Rolling Stones have been often thought of as the chief rival to the Beatles in the 60’s, it was the fellow Liverpool alumni Gerry and the Pacemakers who was the first to challenge the Fab Four in terms of popularity. Their first three singles charted #1 in the U.K. which made them the first band to accomplish that feat. What hindered the Pacemakers was the very thing that made them popular. Their music was light and bouncy and as the times abruptly changed in the mid 60’s, they were not able to change with it. By 1966, they were finished, but to those who relished the carefree sound of the Mersey Beat there were none better.