The crowd
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The Crowd was the name under which more than 50 stars of the British music scene jointly released the Rodgers / Hammerstein song You'll Never Walk Alone in 1985 . The single reached number one on the UK charts on June 15, 1985 .
background
The Crowd ( English the crowd , name for the spectators at a football game ) was created as a reaction to the fire disaster in the stadium of the English third division football club Bradford City on May 11, 1985. More than 50 people were killed in the tragedy; a donation fund, the Bradford City Disaster Fund, was set up to help the bereaved and the affected club. The single, a cover version of the 1963 number one hit by Gerry & the Pacemakers , was supposed to support this fund.
Graham Gouldman , a member of 10cc , had called the stars together for a good cause and was also responsible for the production of the single , together with Ray Levy . As on the number one hit from 1963 , the lead singer was Gerry Marsden , the namesake of "Gerry & the Pacemakers". He became the first artist to have a number one hit with different versions of a song.
Within six months, The Crowd was the third all-star charity band to climb number one in the UK, after Band Aid in December 1984 and USA for Africa in April 1985. While the other two projects that were devoted to famine relief for Africa, became known beyond the borders of their home countries, the popularity of The Crowd was limited to the United Kingdom.
On the B-side of the single were short messages from some of the stars involved, mainly thanks for the purchase of the single and the help that came with it.
Members
The single cover lists the following artists as "The Crowd" (not all of them were involved in the recording): Gerry Marsden , Tony Christie , Denny Laine , Tim Healy , Gary Holton , Ed Stewart , Tony Hicks , Kenny Lynch , Colin Blunstone , Chris Robinson , A. Curtis , Phil Lynott , Bernie Winters , Girlschool , Black Lace , John Otway , Rick Wakeman , The Barron Knights , Tim Hinkley , Brendan Shine , John Verity , Rolf Harris , Rob Heaton , Patrick McDonald, Smokie , Bruce Forsythe , Johnny Logan , Colbert Hamilton , Dave Lee Travis , Rose Marie , Frank Allen, Jim Diamond , Graham Gouldman , Pete Spencer , Chris Norman , Gerard Kenny , The Nolans , Graham Dene , Suzy Grant , Peter Cook , The Foxes , Jess Conrad , Kim Kelly , Motörhead , John Entwistle , Jimmy Hennie , Joe Fagin , David Shilling , Karen Clark , Gary Hughes , Zak Starkey , Eddie Hardin , Paul McCartney , Kiki Dee , Keith Chegwin , John Conteh
literature
- Tim Rice / Jo Rice / Paul Gambaccini : The Guinness Book of Number One Hits , 2nd edition, Enfield (Middlesex), 1988; ISBN 0-85112-893-9 .