Les Chadwick

English bassist (1943-2019)

Les Chadwick

Les Chadwick (bottom right)

Born|

John Leslie Chadwick

11 May 1943

Aigburth, Liverpool, England

Died| 26 December 2019 (aged 76)

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Height| 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Musical career
Genres|

* Merseybeat
* rock
* pop

Instruments| Bass
Years active| 1961-1966
Formerly of| Gerry and the Pacemakers

Musical artist

John Leslie Chadwick[1] (11 May 1943[2] - 26 December 2019), was an English bassist, who was a founding member of Gerry and the Pacemakers.

## Early life[edit]

Chadwick was born in Aigburth, Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England.

## Gerry and the Pacemakers[edit]

### Early Years (1961-1963)[edit]

Chadwick joined Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1961. He originally did not own a bass guitar and played a standard Fender Stratocaster with the bass setting exaggerated until obtaining a proper bass. He eventually acquired a sunburst Epiphone Rivoli bass which he used for most of his performances with the Pacemakers.

On 19 October 1961, the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers merged to become the 'Beatmakers', for a one-off performance in Litherland Town Hall. The line-up comprised Gerry Marsden, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Les Maguire, Pete Best, Freddy Marsden, plus vocalist Karl Terry from the Cruisers with Chadwick on bass guitar.[3]

### International Success (1963-1966)[edit]

The Pacemakers signed to EMI Records In 1963, and were managed by Brian Epstein. They achieved immediate success in the British chart and later in the United States. They were the first group to hit number one in the British charts with their first five singles, starting with How Do You Do It?.[4]

The band would go on to have many more hits including: I Like It, You'll Never Walk Alone, Ferry Cross The Mersey, and I'm the One, among many others.

The Pacemakers appeared in the 1964 filmed event T.A.M.I. Show, and starred in a film of their own, titled Ferry Cross the Mersey.

By late 1965, the Pacemakers were declining in popularity, and soon after, split up in 1966.

## Later life and death[edit]

When the Pacemakers split up in 1966, he bought a garage with fellow former Pacemaker, Les Maguire. In 1973, Chadwick moved to Sydney, Australia, where he set up an employment agency.[1]

He died in Sydney on 26 December 2019, from brain cancer, aged 76.[5][6]

## Discography[edit]

### Studio Albums[edit]

* How Do You Like It? (1963)
* Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying (1964)
* Gerry and the Pacemakers' Second Album (1964)
* Gerry’s Second Album (1965)
* I’ll Be There (1965)
* Girl On A Swing (1966)
* Gerry and the Pacemakers... Today! (1967)

### Singles[edit]

Title

(A-side, B-side)

| Year  | Peak chart positions

|
|

UK | AUS | CAN | US
"How Do You Do It?"

b/w "Away from You"

| 1963  | 1  | 3  | —  | —
"I Like It"

b/w "It's Happened to Me"/"Jambalaya"

| 1  | 6  | —  | —
"You'll Never Walk Alone"

b/w "It's All Right"

| 1  | 1  | —  | —
"I'm the One"

b/w "You've Got What I Like"

| 1964  | 2  | 14  | 1  | 82
"Walk Hand in Hand"

b/w "Dreams"

| 1965  | 29  | 32  | 10  | 103
"La La La"

b/w "Without You"

| 1966  | —  | 66  | 4  | 90
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

## Filmography[edit]

* T.A.M.I Show (1964)
* Ferry Cross The Mersey (1965)

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Ask Jeeves - What's Your Question?". Uk.ask.com. Retrieved 8 March 2014.[permanent dead link]
2. ^ "Les Chadwick : Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
3. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 978-0600576020.
4. ^ Gerry And The Pacemakers star Gerry Marsden dies, retrieved 19 February 2023
5. ^ Paddy Shennan, "Pacemaker Les, 76, loses battle with brain cancer", Liverpool Echo, 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020
6. ^ "John Leslie “Les” Chadwick, bass guitarist with Gerry & the Pacemakers has passed away.", Facebook

* v
* t
* e

Gerry and the Pacemakers

* Gerry Marsden
* Freddie Marsden
* Arthur Mack
* Les Chadwick
* Les Maguire

Albums|

* Ferry Cross the Mersey

Singles|

* "How Do You Do It?"
* "I Like It"
* "You'll Never Walk Alone"
* "I'm the One"
* "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
* "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
* "I'll Be There"
* "Walk Hand in Hand"

Film|

* Ferry Cross the Mersey

Related articles|

* Discography

Authority control: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template