Les Maguire

Leslie Charles Maguire (27 December 1941 – 25 November 2023) was an English musician who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.

Leslie Charles Maguire was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, and started his career playing tenor saxophone in a Liverpool pop group called the Vegas Five, which would eventually evolve into The Undertakers.

In 1961, Maguire joined Gerry and the Pacemakers, replacing the group's original pianist, Arthur "Mack" MacMahon. The same year, on 19 October, 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 Chadwick, Pete Best, Freddy Marsden, plus vocalist Karl Terry from the Cruisers with Maguire on saxophone.

After signing to EMI Records In 1963, and being managed by Brian Epstein, Gerry and the Pacemakers 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 three singles, starting with "How Do You Do It?".

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 guest appeared on shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops, were featured in the 1964 filmed event T.A.M.I. Show, and starred in a film of their own, titled Ferry Cross the Mersey.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.