“The Billy Fury Years 1959-1983” is a show dedicated to the memory and talent of Ronald Wycherley better known as Billy Fury. He burst onto the music scene in 1959 along with his peers, Gene Vincent, Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Joe Brown and Cliff Richard. He was one of the best-selling recording artists of the 1960s and his career spanned from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s plus remaining an active songwriter until the 1980s. He was a very successful pop singer and equalled The Beatles record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spending 332 weeks in the UK top singles charts without a chart-topping single or album. Sadly, he had health problems during his short life as he had contracted rheumatic fever as a child which unfortunately damaged his heart which contributed to his early death on 28th January 1983.
He was born in Smithdown Hospital, Liverpool on 17th April 1940 and this show commemorated his birthday which would have been this month. Not only was he a talented singer, he also played guitar, piano and drums. He commenced piano lessons before he was a teenager and was bought his first guitar by the age of 14. He went on to front 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. He arranged to meet with pop star manager and impresario Larry Parnes at the Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead hoping to interest one of Parnes' protégés, well-known singer at the time, Marty Wilde, in some of the songs he had written. This led to an event which has become a pop music legend. Parnes pushed young Ronald Wycherley up onto the stage straight away. He was such an immediate success that Parnes signed him, added him to the tour he had just arranged, and renamed him Billy Fury. The Tornados were recruited as Fury's backing band and toured and recorded with him from January 1962 to August 1963.
Billy Fury released his first hit single for Decca, "Maybe Tomorrow" in 1959 and subsequently appeared on the popular pop music show at the time, 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 back-up vocals by the Four Jays.
After securing more hits and jettisoning his band 'Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames', Larry 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 refused and the band left after Lennon had secured Fury's autograph.
However, Billy’s early sexual and provocative stage performances received criticism, 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. This was the Elvis era of course, and many young aspiring pop stars were copying the antics and gyrations of Elvis on stage.
Michael King is hailed as “The best Fury since Fury”. I have only ever seen one other Billy Fury tribute show and from memory I think the leading actor was also hailed as “The Best Fury” but none-the-less Michael King is a talented performer who not only has a look of Billy Fury but also executes his music perfectly and has his gestures and mannerisms and stage presence down to a Tee.
Publicity for the show stated that “Michael King and his fantastic collection of musicians take you on a journey through the musical career of Britain’s best loved rock 'n' roll legend” and this cannot be denied. Michael and his four-piece band performed all of Billy’s most popular hits and some of the lesser known along with some of other popular hits from the 1960s. He interspersed his performance with jokes and stories along with several costume changes and lively banter with the audience.
Much loved Liverpudlian DJ Frankie Conner (one-time member of Liverpool group The Hideaways) introduced the show providing warm-up gags and audience participation. The Epstein Theatre is a small, intimate venue which lends itself ideally to this type of performance and the mainly 50 plus audience, consisting mainly of Billy Fury fans lapped up the jokes with laughter and cheers. The show is enhanced by audio footage of Billy plus stills and video clips projected onto the curtain backdrop.
The first half featured lesser known songs of Billy’s whilst the second half included all of the better-known hits such as “Like I’ve Never Been Gone”, “Last Night Was Made For Love”, “In Thoughts Of You”, “Jealousy”, “Return To My Loving Arms”, “Forget Him” and “Only Make Believe”. The last song Billy sang in public, “Maybe Tomorrow” brought rapturous applause from fans in the audience as they remembered the performance.
King eased himself comfortably into the second half after having taken off his Billy Fury quiff hairpiece he wore during the first half and appeared with his own blonde shoulder length hair. He happily read out dedications to members of the audience and introduced us to his mum who was there to see his performance.
The encore was Billy’s most famous hit, “Halfway To Paradise” which had the audience on their feet swaying to the music. The show was an enjoyable way to spend two hours being entertained by an accomplished performer. King left the stage to the pleasing sounds of appreciative fans who left the theatre with smiles and comments of being fully satisfied by an evening of Billy Fury songbook indulgence.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
on - 4/4/19
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