From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Apr 17, 2002  1:15 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Billy Fury
 
BILLY FURY (By Shaun Mather)

Born Ronald Wycherley, 17 April 1940, Liverpool, England
Died 28 January, 1983, London, England

Of all the contenders for the role of Britain's answer to Elvis Presley,
Billy Fury stood head and shoulders above the crowd. Blessed with good
looks, great voice, the ability to write his own songs, and a dynamic stage
show, he was a constant hit-maker from 1959 to the mid-60's. He is still
revered in rock circles today for his 1960 album Sound Of Fury which is
rightly considered the best rockabilly album to come from this side of the
Atlantic. He experienced his first bout of rheumatic fever at age six and
was dogged with ill health for the rest of his too-short life. By 1955, he
was working on a tugboat and then as a stevedore before entering the
rock 'n' roll history books on October 1, 1958, when he attended a
performance of the Larry Parnes Extravaganza at the Essoldo in Liverpool.
Fury went backstage and offered some of his own songs to Marty Wilde
in the hope that he might perform them. However, he was overheard
by Parnes who booked into the show that night. He went down a storm and was
quickly signed by Parnes and added to the tour. He began recording in 1959
with the self-written Maybe Tomorrow, which charted soon after its release.
Following more hit singles he released the aforementioned classic 10" album,
The Sound Of Fury, before adopting a more serious façade, with a barrage of
big sounding pop ballads. The hits became even bigger with Halfway To
Paradise spending half of 1961 on the charts, peaking at no.3 and the
follow-up Jealousy hitting one place higher. The hits continued for the
next four years, although he ultimately held the distinction of spending
more time on the charts without a number one than any other act. He left
Decca Records in 1966 and signed a five-year contract with Parlophone, but
the real glory years had passed. Billy underwent heart surgery in 1970 and
'71 and had a major heart operation in 1976. He nearly died early in 1982
but by the summer he'd returned to the charts with Love Or Money and Devil
Or Angel. He was due to start a national tour but on January 27, 1983, he
was found unconscious in his home, dying in hospital later that day. His
name has been kept alive with some outstanding reissues, an award winning
BBC documentary and there's also talk of a much delayed movie about his
life. His last years had been spent in mid-Wales where he he achieved peace
and tranquility, devoting his time to his first love, looking after animals
and birds.

Recommended listening:
The 40th Anniversary Anthology - Deram
The Sound Of Fury + 10 - Deram
We Want Billy!/Billy - Beat Goes On Records
Official website: http://www.geocities.com/~uheep2/billyfury/index.htm
International discography: http://www.fury.cool.am/