File:Paul McCartney & Others Ferry Cross the Mersey 1989

In May 1989, a charity version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was released in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster. The song was recorded by Liverpool artists The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman. The single held the #1 spot in the UK chart for three weeks. The Hillsborough Disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, all fans of Liverpool F.C. It remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst in international football accidents that has ever occurred.[2]  It was the second of two stadium-related disasters involving Liverpool supporters, the other being the Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985.

The match, an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, was abandoned seven minutes into the game.

The inquiry into the disaster, the Taylor Report, named the cause as failure of police control, and resulted in the conversion of many football stadiums in the United Kingdom to all-seater and the removal of barriers at the front of stands.