The film opens with Gerry Gerry Marsden and the Pacemakers stepping off a plane after returning from a trip to America. They are greeted by screaming young fans who chase them down the street as they drive off. Once they are far enough from the crowd, the setting shifts to a studio where the group records It's Gonna Be Alright.
The story then travels back to before the band hits it big. Gerry, speaking in a reflective monologue about life in Liverpool, is overlaid with shots of children playing and neighbors mingling in the streets. The group is shown performing Why Oh Why? at the Cavern Club to a screaming audience. The next day, Aunt Lil [Mona Washbourne] wakes Gerry with a cowbell; to her surprise, he is already awake, listening to the radio. After breakfast, he hurries out and boards a ferry, with the rest of the band waiting on the dock, and they sing Ferry Cross the Mersey to the passengers aboard. When the boat docks, they scooter to the art school. Before the instructor enters and tells everyone to get to work, Dodie [Julie Samuel] reminds Gerry to come up with a good song for the beat competition. When class ends, the Pacemakers grab a lunch break at a Chinese restaurant and perform This Thing Called Love.
Meanwhile, Dodie meets with Jack Hanson [T. P. McKenna] and convinces him to consider managing the Pacemakers. He is invited to watch the band rehearse Think About Love in a warehouse, where a lively crowd has gathered, and he offers to manage them. Gerry returns home to join an orchestral rehearsal with Aunt Lil before retiring to his room to play She's the Only Girl for Me. He later receives a letter saying Dodie has been involved in a car pile-up; the four men travel to her mansion to check on her.
Dodie is in good health but tells the group they face stiff competition. They play I'll Wait for You in her music room. On Saturday, the Pacemakers — now in new outfits — meet Hanson at a music store to try out new instruments, including a performance of Baby You're So Good to Me.
On the day of the competition, they rent a car from a funeral home to carry their gear and travel to the Locarno ballroom. MC Jimmy Savile opens the show with the Fourmost performing I Love You Too; the audience response is measured by the Audiometer. The band discovers the instruments they've dropped off have been accidentally taken to the airport. As other bands take the stage, they rush to retrieve their gear, trying to outrun the police. Back at the ballroom, the Black Knights perform, and Hanson grows anxious as he watches. The Pacemakers return to the stage just in time to play It's Gonna Be Alright to the exuberant crowd. The Audiometer finally puts them over the top, and the movie ends with the four friends celebrating on the ferry.
