Marsden and Harding make Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

BBC News

12-06-2025

Singers Gerry Marsden and Sarah Harding have been included in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which remembers the lives of influential people in the UK.Gerry and the Pacemakers were one of the biggest bands in the Merseybeat era of the late 1950s and early 60s. Their version of You'll Never Walk Alone became an anthem for Marsden's beloved Liverpool FC.Girls Aloud's Harding, from Stockport, was part of Britain's biggest-selling girl group of the 21st Century after appearing on ITV's Popstars: The Rivals.Fisherman's Friend tycoon Doreen Lofthouse, of Fleetwood in Lancashire, and Manx businessman Trevor Hemmings, who owned Preston North End, are also in the dictionary's 2021 list.
Gerry and the Pacemakers recorded a string of number one hits.Ferry Cross The Mersey, written by Marsden in honour of his home city, reached number eight in 1964.A passionate supporter of the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, Marsden was made an MBE in 2003 for services to charity.The 78-year-old died in January 2021.
Harding shot to fame in 2002 when she secured her spot in Girls Aloud alongside Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Cheryl Cole (then Tweedy).She also starred in Coronation Street and was a runner-up in BBC One's Tumble show, which saw celebrities take a leap into the world of professional gymnastics.Harding, who had breast cancer, died in September 2021 aged 39.In total, there are 238 new additions to the dictionary.They include Liverpool-born Janice Long, who was the first woman to present a daily music show on BBC Radio 1.Long, who died on Christmas Day in 2021 aged 66, was also the first regular female presenter on Top of the Pops. Also honoured is the late actress, model and "trans trailblazer" activist April Ashley.The Vogue model, from Liverpool, in 1960 became only the second Briton to undergo male-to-female gender reassignment surgery.She was appointed MBE in 2012 for her campaigning work for the transgender community.She died at the age of 86 in December 2021.
'Community projects'
Mrs Lofthouse, known as "the mother of Fleetwood", grew the Fisherman's Friend cough sweets business into a global brand.The pioneering businesswoman was awarded an OBE for her charity work.She and her family were credited with transforming Fleetwood after donating millions of pounds to fund community projects in the town.She left the Lofthouse Foundation, which she set up in 1994, £41m when she died aged 91 in March 2021.
Hemmings, who was also a leading racehorse owner and won the Grand National three times, bought a controlling interest in Preston North End in 2010 after the struggling club received a winding-up petition.The list also includes two footballers who died in 2021.Former Liverpool and England striker Roger Hunt set the Reds' scoring record at 244 goals until it was surpassed by Ian Rush.Colin Bell, known as the "King of Manchester City", made 394 appearances for the club between1966 and 1979.Olympic distance runner Ron Hill, from Accrington, Lancashire, also has his biography in the dictionary.The European and Commonwealth marathon champion died aged 82 in May 2021.
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