Billy Fury • The Very Best Of Billy Fury

 

 

Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English singer from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death. An early British rock and roll (and film) star, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s, and spent 332 weeks on the UK chart, without a chart-topping single or album.

AllMusic journalist Bruce Eder stated, "His 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 Fury into a major rock and roll star in short order". Others have suggested that Fury's rapid rise to prominence was due to his "Elvis Presley-influenced hip swivelling and, at times, highly suggestive stage act."

Early years

Ronald Wycherley was born at Smithdown Hospital (later Sefton General Hospital, now demolished), Smithdown Road, Liverpool. He commenced music lessons on the piano before he was a teenager, and was bought his first guitar by the age of 14. 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.

Wycherley went to meet pop manager and impresario Larry Parnes at the Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead, hoping to interest one of Parnes' protégés, well-known singer Marty Wilde, in some of the songs he had written. Instead, in an episode that has become pop music legend, Parnes pushed young Wycherley up on stage right away. He was such an immediate success that Parnes signed him, added him to the tour, and renamed him 'Billy Fury'. However, his early sexual and provocative stage performances received censure, and he was forced to tone them down. In October 1959, the UK music magazine, NME, commented that Fury's stage antics had been drawing much press criticism.

He released his first hit single for Decca, "Maybe Tomorrow", in 1959. He also appeared in a televised play Strictly for Sparrows, and subsequently on Oh Boy! In March 1960, he reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart with his own composition "Colette", followed by "That's Love" and his first album The Sound of Fury (1960), which featured a young Joe Brown on lead guitar, with backup vocals by the Four Jays.

After securing more hits and jettisoning his band Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Parnes held auditions in Liverpool for a new group. Among those who auditioned were the Beatles, who at this time were still calling themselves the Silver Beetles. They were offered the job for £20 a week on condition that they sacked their bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. John Lennon refused and the band left[citation needed] after Lennon had secured Fury's autograph.

The Tornados were recruited as Fury's backing band and toured and recorded with him from January 1962 to August 1963. The Puppets were another band that backed Fury at a couple of gigs for 12 months.

UK chart and film success

Fury concentrated less on rock and roll and more on mainstream ballads, such as "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy" (which reached No. 3 and No. 2 respectively in the UK Singles Chart in 1961). Fury confessed to the NME that "I wanted people to think of me simply as a singer – and not, more specifically, as a rock singer. I'm growing up, and I want to broaden my scope. I shall continue to sing rock songs, but at the same time my stage act is not going to be as wild in the future". It was Decca's decision to mould Fury into a teen idol after his last self-penned song, "My Christmas Prayer", had failed to chart. The years 1961 through 1963 were Fury's best years chartwise. In 1962, he appeared in his first film, Play It Cool, modelled on the Elvis films. 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.

Fury's We Want Billy! (1963) was one of the first live albums in UK rock history, and featured renditions of his hits and cover versions of several R&B songs such as "Unchain My Heart".

In 1965 he appeared in the film I've Gotta Horse, 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.

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. Despite spending many weeks in the charts, Fury never achieved a number one single, but he remained popular even after his hits stopped. "I Will" became a US hit for Dean Martin (1965) and for Ruby Winters (1977).

Later years

In 1973, Fury emerged from a period of semi-retirement to star as 'Stormy Tempest' in the film That'll Be the Day. Also starring 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. Fury's health deteriorated and he underwent two open heart surgeries - the first was in 1972, and the second in 1976. In 1978 he 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 UK 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", just dented the UK chart.

In 1981 and 1982, Fury was signed to Polydor Records by A&R man Frank Neilson, and recorded a comeback album, The One and Only (released posthumously) with Shakin' Stevens' producer Stuart Colman. Owing to his health, Fury did little touring to promote the new album. His last public appearance was at the Sunnyside pub, Northampton, on 4 December 1982. A few days before he died, Fury recorded a live performance for the Channel 4 television show, Unforgettable, featuring six of his old hits, although, at the request of his mother, only four of them were broadcast.[citation needed]

Personal life

Fury lived with "Lady Lee" Middleton from 1959 to 1967. During this time, he had a short relationship with actress Amanda Barrie, his co-star in I've Gotta Horse.

He married Judith Hall in May 1969, but later left her for heiress Lisa Voice (née Rosen). They lived together in London, and sometimes on Fury's farm in Wales, from 1971 until his death, although they were leading separate lives for the last two years. Fury was a keen birdwatcher.

Death

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. 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. A week later a funeral service was held at the St John's Wood church in London, for which his body was embalmed by Desmond Henley. 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. A song issued posthumously entitled "Forget Him" became his final chart hit.

Legacy

On 10 April 1983, a tribute concert for Billy was held at the Beck Theatre in Hayes, Middlesex. All the artists performed for free and the money raised was donated to the Billy Fury memorial fund for research into heart disease. On the bill were names including Marty Wilde with his daughter Kim Wilde, Joe Brown, Alvin Stardust, Dave Berry, Helen Shapiro and John Miles.[citation needed]

In 1999 a TV documentary about Billy called Halfway to Paradise was broadcast on the BBC channel. It was narrated by Ian Dury. Between 1999 and 2000 the song "Wondrous Place", a favourite of Fury's (he re-recorded it at least three times during his career), later received wide airplay on British television when it was used as the theme for a Toyota Yaris car advertisement. In 2005 Spencer Leigh from BBC Radio Merseyside published a biography book about Billy Fury called Wondrous Face – The Billy Fury Story. In 2008 a biographical documentary film Billy Fury: His Wondrous Story was released on DVD.

On 19 April 2003 a bronze statue of Fury was unveiled by Jack Good at the National Museum of Liverpool Life. The sculpture, by Tom Murphy, a Liverpool sculptor, was donated by 'The Sound of Fury' fan club after the money was raised by fans.

In 2010, Camden Council named a previously unnamed alleyway "Billy Fury Way" in his honour. It starts just off Finchley Road near Finchley Road & Frognal station and runs to West Hampstead Station. He had recorded at the nearby Decca Studios. The alleyway was decorated with a large mural of his face (at the West Hampstead end), which was unveiled and blessed on Friday 29 July 2011.

Eight of Fury's EMI recordings remained unreleased on mainstream CD until June 2010, when they appeared on a 29-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. In November 2011, further co-operation between the estate and Peaksoft resulted in the issuing of a second CD, The Lost Album (PEA014), which attempted to construct the format of an album recorded by Fury in 1967–71, but which was never released.

Fury's backing band from 1970 until 1976, when he stopped touring due to ill health, were Fury's Tornados, named by Fury and his then manager Hal Carter. They continue to tour in the theatre show "Halfway to Paradise: The Billy Fury Story". Fury is also remembered in the work of tribute bands such as another theatre show called "The Billy Fury Years". The film Play It Cool was first released on DVD on 10 February 2014.

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Billy Fury (nacido como Ronald William Wycherley, Liverpool, 17 de abril de 1940 – Londres, 28 de enero de 1983), fue un cantante de rock y pop británico. Fue una de las primeras estrellas británicas del Rock and roll y el cine , igualó el récord de 24 éxitos de los Beatles en la década de 1960, y pasó 332 semanas en la lista del Reino Unido , sin un sencillo o álbum que encabezara la lista . Originariamente integrante del ambiente Mersey-Beat de Liverpool. Fue también compositor de sus propias canciones. Su carrera se desarrolló desde fines de los años 50 hasta la década de los 80.

A los 11 años recibió su primera lección de piano y tres años más tarde su primera guitarra. Uno de sus primeros trabajos, luego de la escuela, fue en el barco "Formby", donde conoció marinos americanos, que le enseñaron los estilo country y western. Creó luego su conjunto, "Formby Sniffle Group", que actuaba en cafés. En 1957 Ronald escribió para Margo King la canción Margo (Don't Go). En 1958 grabó un demo que envió al empresario Larry Parnes, el que impresionado lo tomó bajo contrato y le sugirió cambiar su nombre por el de Billy Fury. Comenzó pronto a realizar giras, y grabó un primer éxito para la compañía discográfica Decca: "Maybe Tomorrow" en 1959, que llegó al número 20 en los charts. Para marzo de 1960, su éxito "Colette" llegó al puesto número 9 en el Reino Unido,1 al que seguirían luego "That's Love", y su primer álbum, "The Sound Of Fury" (1960). Este incluía también a un joven Joe Brown en la primera guitarra, y apoyo vocal de fondo de los "4 Jays". Ellos se convertirían en "The Fourmost" tres años más tarde.

Luego de otros éxitos, Billy se uniría a la banda The Blue Flames que incluía al teclista Georgie Fame. The Blue Fames audicionaron para Parnes en Liverpool. Entre los que no calificaron para integrar su banda de respaldo, estaba la primera formación de "The Beatles", debido en parte, a que el primer bajista que tuvieron, Stuart Sutcliffe, tocó de espaldas al empresario. Los Beatles se desquitaron de todos modos, saliendo en gira por Escocia con Johnny Gentle y Duffy Power, que eran otros de los patrocinados por Parnes. El mencionado Power, fue el responsable del segundo cover de los Beatles en forma de sencillo: "I Saw Her Standing There".

Fury se concentraría menos en Rock and Roll, y más en baladas pop, tales como "Halfway To Paradise" y "Jealousy" (ambas de 1961, la primera llegó al número 3 y la otra al número 2 en las listas de sencillos británicos). Fue una decisión de Decca, la de moldear a Fury como ídolo de adolescentes, luego de que su segunda canción, "My Christmas Prayer", fallara en alcanzar los charts.

Billy Fury apareció en numerosos shows de TV y en series y películas. En 1962 voló junto con Larry Parnes a Los Angeles para entregarle a Elvis Presley varios discos de Plata y Oro. En ese año, Fury se convirtió en el primer cantante que actuara con Elvis Presley, fue éste quien le recomendó que grabara un tema de su nueva película, "Because Of Love".

También descubrió allí un sencillo de "Gladys Knight and the Pips", llamado "Letter Full Of Tears". El mismo año realizó su primera película: "Play It Cool", en el modelo de las películas de Elvis Presley, protagonizada por Helen Shapiro, Kenny Lynch, Shane Fenton, y Bobby Vee. El éxito de ésta película fue la canción "Once Upon A Dream".

A fines de 1963, Decca dispuso que Fury realizara un cover para lo que parecía un naciente éxito americano, el mismo que London Records había realizado recientemente con Barbara Chandler. Pero "Do You Really Love Me Too", no sería luego especialmente recordado.

Luego de aparecer en la película "I've Gotta Horse" (1965), y alcanzar otros éxitos en el Reino Unido, en 1965 Fury tuvo con "Thoughts Of You" su último Top-10-Hit. Su salud comenzaba a deteriorarse. Por un tiempo sólo redujo sus presentaciones. Su problema se remontaba a cuando de niño había padecido una fiebre reumática, que afectó su corazón en forma permanente. Billy siempre fue consciente de que no alcanzaría una edad muy avanzada. De ahí su amor por autos rápidos y una vida muy intensa. Fury desapareció de los charts y las giras desde 1966. Billy Fury fue también un amante de la ornitología y observador de pájaros destacado, actividades a las que se dedicó especialmente en ésta época de su vida.

Durante éste período de retiro, Fury escribió y grabó numerosas canciones, que no fueron éxitos comerciales, ni lanzadas hasta luego de su muerte. Se casó con Judith Hall en 1969, pero la pareja no duró mucho tiempo unida. Luego vivió con Lisa Rose. Fury sufría depresiones y problemas alcohólicos, a ello se agregaron problemas financieros.

En 1971 se realizó su primera operación al corazón. Para 1973, salió de su retiro para interpretar al rock 'n' roller Stormy Tempest en la película "That'll Be The Day". El film lo protagonizaban David Essex y Ringo Starr. Se basaba en los primeros tiempos de los Beatles. Ringo Starr era de la misma zona de Liverpool que Fury, y había tocado originalmente la batería para "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes". Fury regrabó en ésta época nuevamente su éxito de 1961: "A Thousand Stars". En 1976 se le realizó una segunda operación de corazón. Fury grabó un 'álbum retorno' entre 1981y 1982 : "The One And Only" (editado póstumamente) con el productor Stuart Coleman, incluyendo varios sencillos. Grabó también una actuación en vivo para el show de tv "Inolvidable", promocionando el nuevo álbum, tocando también algunos antiguos éxitos.

En marzo de 1982 tuvo un grave infarto, con parálisis y aun ceguera temporal. Luego ya sólo se deterioraría progresivamente su salud. A pesar de estar al tanto del riesgo que correría, Billy se embarcó en una gira más, que habría de ser la final. Billy Fury murió el 28 de enero de 1983, luego de una actuación en el teatro Beck en Hayes, Hillingdon, donde hoy se exhibe una placa conmemorativa de su última presentación allí.

El bajista Roger Cover recordó que Billy sabía que iba a morir, pero no quería interrumpir la gira de ningún modo. Stuart Coleman dijo que él quiso marcharse así, en un último y glorioso final.

 

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