Billy Fury

Born Ronald Wycherley on 17th April 1940 in Liverpool. When only 6 years old he contracted the first of several bouts of rheumatic fever which weakened his heart. He showed an early musical talent, forming the Formby Skiffle Group in 1956.

He went into a local recording booth and recorded a number of tracks which he sent to impresario Larry Parnes in 1958. Parnes, after hearing him sing and play, signed him up to sing on his tours and Ron Wycherley become Billy Fury.

In March 1960 'Collette' reached #9 in the hit parade, then 'Half Way to Paradise' reached #3 in May 1961 and that really established him as a Top Ten artiste.

Billy kept busy writing, singing and recording, but the heart disease that had started with his infant rheumatic fever was beginning to catch up with him. From the mid 60s onward he became increasingly ill and in 1970 and 1971 needed two major heart operations. In 1976 he needed another major operation and in 1982 collapsed at his farm in Wales and only just pulled through.

He moved to St John's Wood in London but in January 1983, when he was preparing for a new national tour, he was found unconscious in bed and despite being rushed to hospital was pronounced dead at 12.10pm on January 28, 1983. A very sad loss indeed to the British entertainment scene.

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THE STRINGBEAT YEARS

  

The Stringbeat Years cover2

Now available!

The Stringbeat Years: Songs accompanied by John Barry

Now available, a 4-CD box-set comprising of 144 tracks, a 24-page booklet (replete with period photographs and comprehensive notes) and including ten bonus tracks (among them the CD debut of the first ever cover version of a John Barry instrumental composition).

Featuring – for the first time – the film versions of ‘Mix me a Person’, ‘The Time has Come’, and ‘What a Whopper’ (slightly shortened). There’s also an unique opportunity to hear the original version of ‘Ah, Poor Little Baby’, making its premiere appearance on CD.

The box-set is limited to 500 copies and is only £16.99 post-free in the UK, so don’t miss out! It is available direct from this website!

£16.99  post-free in the UK
£19.99  anywhere else in the world

Order now!
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Track listing

HIT AND MISS: THE STORY OF THE JOHN BARRY SEVEN

HitAndMiss 1000

Thoroughly and painstakingly researched over a number of years, it features contributions from several ex-members of the band and from friends and relatives of John Barry.

Comprising of over 360 pages, it is packed with an array of rare photos of the band, and the singers they often supported, as well as some unique images of memorabilia and documentation from that era; some never previously published, many more seldom seen.

Even if you are not necessarily a devotee of The John Barry Seven per se, the book offers a fascinating historical insight into the British music scene of the period and, more importantly, provides an essential read for anybody remotely interested in discovering more about John Barry’s formative career.

The book’s cover price is £30, but anybody ordering direct from us will receive a 33% discount, reducing the cost to £19.99.

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