Billy Fury

About Billy Fury

Who is it?: Soundtrack, Actor
Birth Day: April 17, 1940
Birth Place:  Dingle, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Died On: 28 January 1983(1983-01-28) (aged 42)\nPaddington, London, England
Birth Sign: Taurus
Birth name: Ronald Wycherley [as confirmed on gravestone - he had no middle name]
Genres: Rock and roll pop pop rock rockabilly
Occupation(s): Musician singer-songwriter actor
Instruments: Vocals guitar piano drums
Years active: 1958–83
Labels: Decca Parlophone Polydor Warner Bros.
Associated acts: the Beatles Joe Brown Vince Eager Georgie Fame Johnny Gentle Billy J. Kramer Dickie Pride the Puppets the Searchers The Tornados Marty Wilde
Website: www.billyfury.com

Billy Fury Net Worth

Billy Fury was born on April 17, 1940 in  Dingle, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom, is Soundtrack, Actor. Billy Fury was born on April 17, 1940 in Dingle, Liverpool, England as Ronald William Wycherley. He was married to Judith Hall. He died on January 28, 1983 in London, England.
Billy Fury is a member of Soundtrack

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Billy Fury images

Biography/Timeline

1940

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.

1955

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.

1959

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.

1961

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.

1962

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.

1963

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".

1964

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).

1965

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.

1969

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.

1973

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.

1982

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.

1983

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 such names as Marty Wilde with his daughter Kim Wilde, Joe Brown, Alvin Stardust, Dave Berry, Helen Shapiro and John Miles.

1999

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.

2003

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.

2010

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.

2011

In 2010, Camden Council named a previously unnamed alleyway "Billy Fury Way" in his honour. It starts just off Finchley Road near Finchley & 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.

2013

¶ – Billed as Billy Fury and the Tornados
† – Billed as Billy Fury with the Four Jays
‡ – Billed as Billy Fury with the Four Kestrels

2014

Fury's backing band from 1970 until 1976, when he stopped touring due to ill heath, 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.