Billy Fury.
Photo Credit: David Redfern/Redferns.
Illustration:
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles’ record of twenty-four hits in the 1960s and spent 332 weeks on the UK chart.[4]
His hit singles include "Wondrous Place", "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy". Fury also maintained a film career, notably playing rock performers in Play It Cool in 1962 and That'll Be the Day in 1973.
AllMusic journalist Bruce Eder stated that Fury’s “mix of rough-hewn good looks and unassuming masculinity, coupled with an underlying vulnerability, all presented with a good voice and some serious musical talent, helped turn [him] into a major rock and roll star in short order”.[5]
Billy Fury.
Photo appearing on the BBC Radio 4 Extra programme
“Mike Walker - The Sound of Fury”, which enacts the
life and times of rock 'n' roll singer, Billy Fury.
Available to listen
Others have suggested that his rapid rise to prominence was due to his "Elvis-influenced hip swivelling and, at times, highly suggestive stage act".[6]
Billy Fury appearing on the Russell Harty Show in 1976.
Available on YouTube
Wycherley fronted his own group in 1955 but simultaneously worked full-time on a tugboat and later as a docker. He entered and won a talent competition and by 1958 had started composing his own songs.[5]
Wycherley went to meet pop manager and impresario Larry Parnes at the Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead,[7] hoping to interest one of Parnes’ protégés, singer Marty Wilde, in some of the songs he had written. Instead, in an episode that has since become pop music legend, Parnes pushed young Wycherley up on stage right away.[5] He was such an immediate success that Parnes signed him, added him to his tour, and renamed him “Billy Fury”.[8]
Wycherley went to meet pop manager and impresario Larry Parnes at the Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead,[7] hoping to interest one of Parnes’ protégés, singer Marty Wilde, in some of the songs he had written. Instead, in an episode that has since become pop music legend, Parnes pushed young Wycherley up on stage right away.[5] He was such an immediate success that Parnes signed him, added him to his tour, and renamed him “Billy Fury”.[8]
“Jealously”.
Sung by: Bill Fury.
Available on YouTube
He released his first hit single for Decca, “Maybe Tomorrow”, in 1959.[8] He also appeared in a televised play Strictly for Sparrows, and subsequently on Oh Boy![5]
In March 1960, he reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart with his own composition “Colette”,[4] followed by “That's Love” and his first album The Sound of Fury (1960),[8] which featured a young Joe Brown on lead guitar,[5] with backup vocals by the Four Jays.
Fury concentrated less on rock and roll and more on mainstream ballads, such as “Halfway to Paradise” and “Jealousy”[8] (which reached No. 3 and No. 2 respectively in the U.K. Singles Chart in 1961).
The years 1961 through 1963 were Fury’s best years. In 1962, he appeared in his first film, Play It Cool, modelled on the Elvis films.[5] It featured Helen Shapiro, Danny Williams, Shane Fenton and Bobby Vee, who appeared with the Vernons Girls. The hit single from the film was “Once Upon a Dream”. There were other notable performances by several British actors and performers such as Richard Wattis, Lionel Blair and Dennis Price.
In 1965 he appeared in the film I've Gotta Horse,[8] which also featured his backing group the Gamblers, the Bachelors, Amanda Barrie, Michael Medwin and Jon Pertwee. The album from the film was made available in stereo. Fury left Decca Records in 1966, after signing to a five-year recording contract with Parlophone.[5]
Having had more UK hits, such as “It's Only Make Believe” and “I Will” (written by Dick Glasser, not to be confused with the Paul McCartney song), both in 1964, and “In Thoughts of You” (1965), Fury began a lengthy absence from the charts in 1967, and underwent surgery for heart problems in 1972 and 1976 which led to his abandoning touring.[5][8]
In 1973, Fury emerged from a period of semi-retirement to appear as “Stormy Tempest” in the film That'll Be the Day.[8] The film starred David Essex and Ringo Starr; it was roughly based on the early days of the Beatles. Starr was from the Dingle area of Liverpool, as was Fury, and had originally played drums for Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, whom the Stormy Tempest group were said to be modelled on.
In the mid-1970s, Fury went out on the road with Marty Wilde. Away from the spotlight, he focused on wildlife preservation.[5]
Fury’s health deteriorated and he underwent two open heart surgeries — the first in 1972 and the second in 1976.[8]
In 1978, Fury was declared bankrupt for unpaid taxes to the Inland Revenue. The taxes dated back to 1962, and amounted to £16,780. Fury was also forced to sign over his royalties and publishing income.
A new release, “Be Mine Tonight” (1981), failed to make an appearance in the U.K. Singles Chart. Worse was to follow in March 1981, when Fury, working on his own farm, collapsed and almost died. He returned to touring later that year, and his next two singles, “Love or Money” and “Devil or Angel”, barely dented the U.K. chart.[5]
Billy Fury’s grave headstone at Mill Hill Cemetery, London.
Photo: 25 October 2018.
Source: 20181025_123156
Author: Irid Escent
(Wikimedia Commons)
After returning from a recording session in the early hours of 28 January 1983, Fury collapsed from a heart attack at his home in London.[16]
His manager Tony Read found him unconscious the next morning. He was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, but died later in the afternoon, aged 42.
Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death.[5]
A week after his death, a funeral service was held at the St John's Wood Church in London. Among the mourners were Larry Parnes, Marty Wilde, Jess Conrad, Eden Kane, Tony Read, Hal Carter and Mick Green, in addition to family members, friends and fans.
The choir sang a special version of Billy’s Decca hit “I'm Lost Without You’. After the service, Fury’s body was buried at Mill Hill cemetery, in North London.
In 1999, a TV documentary about Fury called Halfway to Paradise was broadcast on the BBC channel, narrated by Ian Dury.
In 1999, a TV documentary about Fury called Halfway to Paradise was broadcast on the BBC channel, narrated by Ian Dury.
In 2005, Spencer Leigh from BBC Radio Merseyside published a biography book about Fury called Wondrous Face – The Billy Fury Story. In 2008, a biographical documentary film Billy Fury: His Wondrous Story was released on DVD.[14]
On 19 April 2003, a bronze statue of Fury was unveiled by Jack Good at the National Museum of Liverpool Life.[4] The sculpture, by Tom Murphy, a Liverpool sculptor, was donated by “The Sound of Fury” fan club after the money was raised by fans.
On 19 April 2003, a bronze statue of Fury was unveiled by Jack Good at the National Museum of Liverpool Life.[4] The sculpture, by Tom Murphy, a Liverpool sculptor, was donated by “The Sound of Fury” fan club after the money was raised by fans.
Eight of Fury's EMI recordings remained unreleased on mainstream CD until June 2010, when they appeared on a twenty-nine-track issue, “The Complete Parlophone Singles, released by Peaksoft” (PEA009). The singer’s estate licensed the tracks to benefit his memorial fund, which finances equipment purchases for hospital heart units.
Fury’s life was dramatised for BBC Radio 4 in 1994 as a play called “The Sound of Fury”, written by Mike Walker, and starred Anton Lesser as Fury.[21]
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