Pacemakers star undergoes surgery

Marsden still tours with other 1960s stars

Merseybeat star Gerry Marsden has undergone major heart surgery at a hospital in Liverpool.

The lead singer of 1960s band Gerry and the Pacemakers was admitted on Sunday for the triple bypass operation.

Marsden, 60, who still tours with other stars of the era, has been ordered to take three months off to recover.

He was awarded an MBE for his services to charity earlier this year, and is best known for his hits You'll Never Walk Alone and Ferry Cross The Mersey.

His wife of 38 years, Pauline, stayed with him at Broad Green hospital on Sunday night as he prepared for the operation.

Their daughter Yvette said: "We don't know how long he's going to have to stay in hospital for. The operation is supposed to be routine, so hopefully he'll be out soon."

She predicted her father would find recuperation a challenge.

"Keeping him in the house for that long will be the most difficult thing. As soon as he's out, he'll be raring to go, and will want to get back out there on tour," she said.