Gerry and The Pacemakers were one of the few groups in the 60's to initially challenge The Beatles in popularity. Like The Beatles, they came from Liverpool and were also managed by Brian Epstein. Despite their early success, the group never had another number one single in the UK. Gerry Marsden began writing most of their own songs, including "It's Gonna Be All Right", "I'm the One", and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest U.S. hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying". All of these represented the band's light, poppy, enjoyable sound. By late 1965, their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic. They lacked both the innovations of the Beatles and the rawer musical and visual edge of some of the other British Invasion groups, and they soon seemed un-hip. They disbanded in October 1966, with much of their latter recorded material never released in the UK. Drummer Freddie Marsden died on December 9, 2006, at age 66.