Gerry Marsden (1942-2021) formed Gerry & The Pacemakers in the late 1950s with his brother, Fred Marsden (died 2006), Les Chadwick (1943-2019) and Arthur Mack. They rivalled The Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg, Germany, and Liverpool, England, and being from Liverpool, managed by Brian Epstein, and recorded by George Martin. Mack was replaced on piano by Les Maguire ()born 1941) around 1961. They are known to have rehearsed at Camell Laird shipping yard at Birkenhead.
They began recording in early 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a Mitch Murray written song that both Adam Faith and The Beatles had turned down (in the latter case because they wanted to record their own material, specifically "Please Please Me"). The song became a number one hit, until being replaced at the top by The Beatles' third single, "From Me to You".
Gerry & the Pacemakers next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone", both also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. Never before had the first three singles by a performer all reached the top spot (the feat would not be duplicated until Frankie Goes to Hollywood did it in the 1980s).
Despite this early success, Gerry & the Pacemakers never had another number one single in the U.S. Gerry Marsden began writing most of their own songs, including "It's All Right", "I'm the One", and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest U.S. hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying". All of these represented the band's light, poppy, enjoyable sound. They also starred in a moderately successful early 1965 film called Ferry Cross the Mersey, for which Marsden wrote much of the soundtrack.
By later in 1965, though, their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic. They lacked the innovation of the Beatles and did not have the rawer musical and visual edge of some of the other British Invasion groups, and they soon seemed un-hip. They disbanded in October 1966 with much of their latter recorded material never released in the UK.
Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer. He reformed the band in 1972 with prominent Liverpool musicians Jose McLaughlin, Billy Kinsley and Pete Clarke. In April 1973, this second version of the group became the only Merseybeat band to ever record for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio. The tracks from that show have now been included on the album Gerry & the Pacemakers Live at the BBC, released on Parlophone Records in October 2018. Subsequently, Marsden occasionally toured with various line-ups of the band on the oldies circuit. Gerry Marsden announced his retirement on 29 November 2018.
The band is probably best remembered for their version of "You'll Never Walk Alone," which has become the anthem for Liverpool Football Club in England. Liverpool's fans sing the song before every match at Anfield, their home stadium.
Slow Down
Gerry & The Pacemakers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come on pretty baby won't you talk with me
Come on pretty baby give me one more chance
Try and save our romance
Slow down
Baby, now you're moving way too fast
Won't you gimme little loving
Ow, if you want our love to last
Well I used to walk you home baby after school
Carry your books home, too
Baby now you're offered a diamong ring
Baby what're you trying to do
You better slow down
Baby, now you're moving way too fast
Won't you gimme little loving
Gimme little loving
Brrr, if you want our love to last
Well you know that I love you, tell the world I do
Come on pretty baby, why can't you be true
I need you badly, baby, oh so bad
The best little woman I ever had
Slow down
Baby, now you're moving way too fast
You gotta gimme little loving
Gimme little loving
Ow, if you want our love to last
The lyrics to "Slow Down" by Gerry & The Pacemakers convey the singer's plea to his lover to slow down and take things easy. He reminisces about the times when they used to walk and talk together after school, but now things have changed with his lover moving too fast and even offering him a diamond ring. He urges her to give their relationship another chance by slowing down and giving him some love if she wants their love to last.
The song's lyrics explore the timeless theme of relationships and how fast-paced life can sometimes impact them. In this case, the singer is trying to save his romance with his lover by reminding her of the sweet moments they shared in the past. He longs for the days when they were in sync and their love was thriving, and he believes they can get back to that place if she slows down and shows him more affection.
Overall, "Slow Down" is a love song that advocates for patience and a careful approach to relationships. It reminds listeners that relationships take time and effort, and that both parties have to be willing to slow down and work together to make it succeed.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, come on pretty baby won't you walk with me
Asks the significant other to accompany them
Come on pretty baby won't you talk with me
Asks the significant other to communicate with them
Come on pretty baby give me one more chance
Asks the significant other to give their relationship another opportunity
Try and save our romance
Urging to repair their romantic relationship
Slow down
Asking the significant other to take things slowly
Baby, now you're moving way too fast
Noticing the significant other is moving too quickly in their relationship
Won't you gimme little loving
Asking for affection from the significant other
Gimme little loving
Reiterating the need for affection from the significant other
Ow, if you want our love to last
Specifying that if the significant other wants their love to continue, they need to slow down and show affection
Well I used to walk you home baby after school
Recollecting a previous time when they would walk the significant other home from school
Carry your books home, too
Mentioning that they would even carry the significant other's books for them
Baby now you're offered a diamond ring
Noticing the significant other has been offered an expensive gift
Baby what're you trying to do
Questioning the significant other's intentions in regards to the gift
You better slow down
Reiterating the need for the significant other to take things slowly
Well you know that I love you, tell the world I do
Expressing their love for the significant other to the world
Come on pretty baby, why can't you be true
Questioning the loyalty of the significant other
I need you badly, baby, oh so bad
Expressing a strong desire for the significant other
The best little woman I ever had
Complimenting the significant other as the best they have ever had
Contributed by Anna B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.