A BIOGRAPHY - AT LAST

A biography of Billy Fury by Spencer Leigh, author of the 1955-62 Britpop book Halfway To Paradise, was published on October 9 by Finbarr International. Spencer told me:  "I hope that people will see it as a balanced picture."

There will always be disagreements when someone approaches a subject close to other people's else's heart, but this is a very readable book.  It's by far the most comprehensive work to date, and a very professionally-assembled work, which for the most part, I've found great fun. 

If Spencer's going to challenge idealised celebrations of Billy's life (and at times he does so provocatively) then let's welcome the debate.

Make no mistake - this is an essential purchase for anyone who has an interest in the the days before the music died.  

This will not be the last word on the subject.  Others close to Billy will be able to paint a different picture, and their insight will be valued and respected.

Spencer recently completed a book on Lonnie Donegan, and his research into the BBC's music text archive is featured on the the BBC web site - so his credentials are pretty impressive.

  Profits made through orders on this site are being donated to the site's official charity, the heart fund at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool.

To order, please visit the merchandise page.

REVIEWS

Wondrous Face

By Jean and Albie Wycherley (Billy's mother and brother)

My mother and I have now read the book twice and feel the need to express our disappointment on a substantial amount of inaccuracies throughout the whole book. 

 

We would like to point out that almost the entire book is just regurgitated second hand hearsay. 

 

We understand that it has been somewhat sensationalised merely to sell copies. 

 

But, hearsay is hearsay and facts are a different matter. 

 

We do have the facts and are in the process of writing “Billy” the true story as we speak. 

 

No doubt some of you will want to own the Spencer Leigh book mainly out of curiosity and we understand that but, it is not a true reflection of our Billy and to that end we are working hard to give people a true account of Billy’s life. 

 

Everyone seems to have had a piece of Billy somewhere along the line but he is our family and we would like to put the record straight once and for all as he is not here to defend himself. 

 

We would be interested to read other people's perception of the paperback purely out of interest so please post your reviews on here. 

 

In essence we cannot stop you purchasing this product but cannot endorse the contents of this book. 

 

We just felt the need to express our views publicly in this way so that you know exactly how we feel about it. 

 

All we would say is that if you do want to purchase this book then do it through this site where at least some of the proceeds go to a charity close to our hearts. 

 

Thank you for all your support - Jean and Albie.

 

Have you read the book?  Click her to send your views.

 

Order the book and aid Alder Hey Children's Hospital heart fund.

 

Steve Morris writes: I have read approximately half of WONDROUS FACE and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised.

I did not expect such a high level of detail and research. Some of thestories I was aware of and many I was not. As a friend of Tony Tait at the age of twelve I used to sit with Tony for hours discussing his stories with Billy. He always made time for me probably because I was a rare entity, a twelve year old who was heavily into Billy Fury and not the sounds of the day ( Soft Cell , Duran Duran etc ).

This was due to my mother who was a Billy fan back in the early days.

 Once hooked, I "took over" her record collection and for the last 25 years I haven't stopped. He is still in a class of his own. 

I do not belong to any of the fan clubs as I feel the bitterness that surrounds it all these days is a sad affair and I cannot be bothered with it all. Everyone claims to have Billy's interests at heart yet cannot agree on anything. He deserves better and this bitterness among various parties is mentioned in the book.

I was a member of the club run by Alan and Carol back in the eighties. Spencer Leigh has spoken to some major characters from Billy's life. 

Artists who appeared on various bills and TV programmes have been interviewed and their anecdotes are priceless and in the main very favourable. 

We all knew Billy had a turbulent love life at times and this is reiterated throughout the story.

It details the early days and you can easily see from the childhood illnesses and the lack of schooling as to how Billy developed a singular moody exterior which hid the fact he was a shy sensitive and caring person. 

It is obvious that despite Billy's obvious talent, the fact he looked a superstar helped him climb the ranks. 

His early performances were legendary and to thirty somethings like me, we can only dream what it must have been like to see him at this stage of his career. 

Like the recently discovered Matt Monro concert which has been released on DVD, there must be some Billy footage somewhere. Whoever finds this deserves a knighthood. 

The constant touring where he was flogged like a dead horse by Larry Parnes and the way he was conned from his rightful earnings will anger any legitimate Fury fan. 

I was cursing throughout and it made you want to step in and sort it out. At one point Parnes offers to send him his wages of £120 and Billy asks for £20 only and tells Larry to save the rest for him. No guessing for where this money went and I cannot for the life of me see why Billy stayed with Parnes once he hit the big time. 

His contract must have been water tight because back in 63 , Billy was so big that Parnes needed him more than Billy needed Parnes. 

As a true fan I have always wondered why certain songs were not released as singles and others were released in preference. Some of Billy's finest work was on the B sides of his singles and I feel that come the beat boom he should have moved more towards the R and B type material which he so obviously loved. Dave Berry, Chris Farlowe and Eric Burdon were great performers and Billy would have handled their type of material with ease and I feel his management changed his style two to three years too late. 

The Billy from the Parlophone years should have been created back in 64 and an album with the Gamblers would have been a critically acclaimed thing to do. Instead they made I've Gotta Horse and in my opinion, missed the boat. 

The barren years ( chart wise ) and the years living in Wales provide some of the most interesting facts. 

There are some financial issues which I find contradictory yet they are personal to Billy and should remain so. The fact of the matter is that someone who has had 26 top forty hits, toured with amazing success since 1959 and was also a talented songwriter should have been financially sound by the time his illness took over and the career had to slow to an almost standstill. 

This grates with me and just adds to the sorry tale. 

For us fans, Billy was an amazing performer, in my opinion the greatest ever. He had an effortless voice which could portray many an emotion and he is so underrated it is criminal. 

You get a few artists who are critically acclaimed and names like Paul Weller and Morrissey are held in high esteem by contemporary music aficionados yet Billy Fury will be remembered as Britain's greatest rock and roller. 

He was more than that and over time he is surely receiving the critical acclaim which avoided him throughout his career. 

Your site Harry is a major reason for this, it more than keeps the name alive and long may it continue.

Bruce Baker writes: Well I'm three parts of the way through the book, maybe still too early for an opinion. I don't think so. 

Let me say from the start that the only real disappointment is that it is not a nice hardback volume that could sit comfortably in my "library" (I jest not).

I saw Spencer Leigh (the author) at Fort Perch Rock in April.  He looks just as he does in the little pic in the book - about 35-40ish.

I thought:  "Here comes the typical local radio 'gift of the gab' type, wasn't around in the 60s, here for the beer etc."

 WROOOONG! I still cannot believe he is the same age as me and his depth of knowledge and strength of feeling for his subject is even more astonishing. 

The way he conducted his interviews with Albie and Jean and Clem Cattini and others was a foretaste of what is in this book.

For those who like their facts cold - well there's lots of those but linked with so many anecdotes and interesting bits of trivia that make it quite a joy to pick up read in snipets as well as the half hour at bedtime.

The devious world of Larry Parnes and other ever present exploiters of our youthful hero and others is laid bare as is the growth from naivety to either lasting stardom or oblivion of those same youngsters.

There's the story behind what must be virtually (if not) all of Billy's recordings, the writers, original recording, musicians, covers and whatever all linked in a readable style with the Liverpool wit shining through each page.

Some people are not going to be too happy (you can't please them all) but Spencer never falls into the trap of stating his opinion or belief as a fact, so where there are two sides to a story he tries to give them both equal weight, something that very few writers do nowadays and especially when writing about a deceased person.

 It seems to be de rigeur now to debag reputations and destroy peoples dreams. This book does none of that.

My favourite bit (so far) is about Chic Murray who was on the same bill at Great Yarmouth where I saw Billy for the second time - he was staying in a boarding house and the landlady had those small pots of jam and honey. (I seem to remember they were only just coming in in the early 60s.)

He picks up one with honey in it and says to the landlady: "I see you appear to be keeping a bee!" Lovely!

If you haven't got this book - go out and get it NOW it's worth every penny and it won't crack those rose tinted spectacles or burst your bubles. Nice one Spencer.

I'd still like that hardback to sit n that special gap on the bookshelf though.

Paul Parker writes:  

My name is Paul 'CONRAD' Parker from Nottingham and I am a member of both fan clubs.I have just read the new book on Billy, Wondrous Face. I have read 2 other Spencer Leigh books and they were great.  Wondrous Face left me feeling uneasy. The last three words in the book are 'he was great'. Not quite the impression the book gave me overall. To my mind, Billy came over as an unreliable, semi-illiterate womaniser permanantly high on pot. Ok, so no one is perfect but why were there so few positive anecdotes about the man?  T he book seems to be a combination of 'facts' from various publications of the time plus observations from a few, mainly Liverpool based, 'celebrities'!  Where were the in depth contributions about Billy the man from those who knew him well like Marty Wilde, Joe Brown and Jess Conrad, never mind the Wycherley family themselves?  They are virtually non-existant and you have to wonder why.  I wish someone would write a balanced, non sarcastic (was there any need for the comment about the BFrose - even if it was an attempt at humour) version of Billy's life, ok with the warts as well, instead of this, in my opinion, smug rather anti version.
Keep rockin' and keep the man alive!!!!!

Marian Cave writes:
As a close friend of Billy's from 1959 until his untimely death in 1983, I am horrified by the contents of this book. There is so much in this book which is grossly exaggerated or just completely untrue, its hard to know what to say. All I can say is, this book does not reflect the kind and loving person Billy was. It says very little about his work for animals and wildlife conservation, and degrades the memory of one of this country's greatest ever singer songwriters, and my dearest friend. I am sure most people who really knew Billy will agree with me.


BBC website review

By Paul Coslett

Had the Beatles not existed then it’s possible that Billy Fury would have been Liverpool’s most famous musician. One of the UK’s biggest stars Billy Fury whose real name was Ronnie Wycherley was the original pop idol with a string of hits from the late 1950’s through the early 1960’s. Spencer Leigh’s new book is the first to tell the life story of the pop icon who battled with ill health throughout most of his life.

Billy Fury had been sacked by numerous employers before he got his big break in an almost fairytale like way when he talked his way on to the bill of a show at the Essoldo Theatre in Birkenhead on October 1st 1958. The showbiz impresario Larry Parnes was putting on Marty Wilde at the theatre, Ronnie Wycherley talked his way in to backstage and after a brief dressing room audition was added to the bill along with an ambitious young comedian called Jimmy Tarbuck.

"Spencer Leigh’s new book is the first to tell the life story of the pop icon who battled with ill health throughout most of his life."

Wondrous Face charts Billy Fury’s career as a performer who as Spencer Leigh says had shoulder so broad  “It always looked to me as though he went on stage with the coat-hanger still in his jacket.” From that first performance at Birkenhead Billy Fury rose to national stardom as one of Britain’s first rock and roll stars. With hits including ‘Halfway To Paradise’, ‘Wonderous Place’, and ‘Margo’. Spencer Leigh has interviewed many of the key stars and players of the day to bring to life a story includes the usual rock and roll standards of affairs, near riots at performances, girls hiding in car boots and appearances on the same bill as Eddie Cochran.

Ultimately for Billy Fury his career was partly destroyed by the tradition of youthful pop stars of which he had been one of  the first and gone a large way towards creating. There are two shadows hanging over the book, Larry Parnes and the constant spectre of Billy’s ill health.

Parnes was a controlling and ultimately financially destructive influence with his booking of Billy into summer seasons at Great Yarmouth and cabaret clubs he was unable to grasp with the changes that the 1960’s had brought to show business and his failure to manage Billy’s tax affairs would lead to Fury’s eventual bankruptcy.

Billy Fury
Billy Fury is honoured by a statue

Billy Fury, like his Dingle neighbour Ringo Starr, spent a large amount of his childhood in and out of hospital and his recurring health problems would blight his career and contribute to his early death in at the age of 43 in 1983. By as early as 1966 his heart complaints were becoming more serious and ‘Wonderous Face’ describes in detail Billy Fury’s decline throughout the 1970’s and early 1980’s.

Spencer Leigh also depicts the largely unknown side of Billy Fury as a lover of nature, a man who turned his swimming pool into a bird sanctuary, who visited Cornwall after the Torrey Canyon oil spill to care for birds, and who at one timed owned sheep, dogs, pigs, an owl, magpies, fox cubs and a badger he kept on a diet of Milky Way bars.

Wonderous Face is a much needed and comprehensive appraisal of one of Liverpool’s biggest stars. Over twenty years after his death Billy Fury is still much loved and has even been accorded the honour of a statue in his home city.

 

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