IMPORTANT: If you are planning to visit Liverpool for the unveiling of the statue on Easter Saturday, and you do not have an invitation, please read the information at the bottom of this page.

What to see where and when

Jack Good will be collected from the Holiday Inn Hotel (NOT the Express) at 1.30pm by car.  

The car will be escorted to the Museum of Liverpool Life by motorcyclists from a club in Southport. They will peel away at the museum, where Jack will be welcomed.

2.25pm Laura sings.

2.30pm Dr David Fleming, director of National Museums, Liverpool speaks.

Jack Good and Eddie Clein (former Mayor of Liverpool) jointly unveil statue.

Clein and Jack speak.

Dr Fleming introduces Chris Eley and Maureen Bowden (fan club), who speak.

Dr Fleming speaks again.

Reception at Maritime Museum until 4.30pm.

 Anyone without a ticket will be able to see the statue later.  I have some spare tickets - track me down and I will give you one.  My mobile telephone number is 0794 1219207, but please do not call before 11am, as I shall be driving Jack to Liverpool, and waiting for a call.

The  £44,000 life-size bronze statue of Billy will be officially unveiled at the Museum Of Liverpool Life at Pier Head on Easter Saturday, April 19.

I can exclusively reveal that there will be a joint unveiling. One of the two participants will be Jack Good, the pioneering producer of Oh Boy! and Six-Five Special.

Jack agreed to take part after an approach, authorised by the fan club, and in which this site was closely involved, by a music industry personality.

The other person involved in the unveiling will be a member of the business community in Liverpool.

Although it was originally intended that the statue should be outside the museum, it has now been decided to place it in an inner courtyard.

The invitations to the main event, and the reception, are being organised by the museum in conjunction with the project originators, Peter and Lynda Keller, and the fan club.

For those visiting Liverpool, a map is shown below.

Happily, Easter Saturday is also the day on which Albie, supported by Colin Paul and others, will be in concert in the city.   For details, click here.  It should be a great day out!

The unveiling will be a triumph for the fan club, bringing to an successful conclusion six years of fund-raising, much of it championed by Chris Eley, who has become a familiar figure at events, running auctions and selling merchandise.

Billy's mother, Mrs Jean Wycherley, and his brother Albie are expected to attend the unveiling, timed for 2.30pm.

This photograph below shows the clay figure from which the mould for the bronze has been taken, during a visit by fan club official Maureen Bowden. With her is the sculptor, Tom Murphy. (Tom produced the statue of the late Liverpool FC manager, Bill Shankly, which stands outside Anfield.)

Jean Prosser, a member of the syndicate who manage the Sound Of Fury fan club, is the treasurer of The Billy Fury Bronze Fund. Members Clare Mehmet-Nugent, Jackie Clark and the late Mick Hill (of Rock You Sinners fame) have also played a part in steering the project to its successful conclusion. Contributions have been received from fans, raffles, auctions and other fund-raising events. There have been donations from a few organisations and individuals, but more than 90% of the money has come from grass roots fans.

 

PLAQUE OFFER

Jenny Warwick, the owner of Billy's last home, Rhos Farm in Carmarthen, Wales, has commissioned 200 copies of this plaque, which she is offering to raise money for the Bronze Fund.

The dark wood, varnished plaque, measuring 8ins x 6ins, has a diagonally-mounted model of a guitar and a 2.75ins x 2ins photograph of Billy on a gold-coloured background.

Each plaque is individually numbered.

If you would like a copy, you can order one from the Sound Of Fury, 36 Manbey Grove, London E15 1EX, price £12.  Cheques should be payable to JL Warwick.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO VISIT LIVERPOOL FOR THE UNVEILING, THIS INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY FAN CLUB, Monday 7 April:

The Sound of Fury Official Billy Fury Fan Club has informed the National Museums and Galleries of Liverpool - Museum of Liverpool Life of all current members of the Fan Club, those having either renewed their membership for 2003 at or around 28th January 2003,or joined around that date or a short while afterwards.

All of these fans have already been sent invitations to the unveiling by the museum, who are the primary organisers of the event.

Every effort has also been made to also include fans who are known to have been active in the fundraising, whether members or not.

Obviously fans who join/wish to join, as the result of learning about the statue unveiling are welcome to the fan club and can visit the site, as can the general public, between about 3.30 and 5pm in order to view the statue.

The actual unveiling ceremony, which is brief, is by invitation only because the temporary location of the statue is unfortunately enclosed and therefore physically restricted in terms of space.

Eventually the statue is to be moved into a planned new museum complex which will, we are assured, show off the statue to good effect.

Due to circumstances outside of its control The Sound of Fury
deeply regrets that unfettered access cannot be achieved on such an occasion but believes that fans without specific invitations will still be able to view the statue during the course of the afternoon up to the closure time of 5pm.

PRESS PREVIEW 17 APRIL.  REPORT AND PICTURES BY MAGS

We Mags, John, Rick and Maggie arrived at 10.15 and met up with Jean and Ray Shenton. 

We went into the museum (which is free of charge) and there were around 25+ people already there including Jean W and Albie. 

Eventually, 36 people attended.

Jean is looking extremely well these days and looked very pretty in a pink outfit. 

I spotted Chris Eley and Colin Paul with their respective wives and other familiar faces who I couldn't put names to.

Ray pointed out Tom Murphy to me, I was getting very excited. Jean introduced me to Jean Wycherley and I shook her hand, meeting up again after more than 40 years,  brilliant.  What a lovely lady she is and she seemed to know me, probably because Ray and Jean have told her all about my exploits in the sixties! 

 
Outside in the courtyard there was a statue clothed in a blue waterproof cover.  This was removed to reveal a white cloth covering.

At this point my husband John rushed out and stood beside the BBC cameraman with the video camera.  

The assembled all went into the courtyard, which is in fact a children's playground, to await the unofficial unveiling. 

The cover was removed and there was the wonderful bronze of Billy which we have been waiting so long to see. 

It really is an amazing likeness and captures the spirit of the great man.  Jean and Albie were summoned for a photo/TV call and mounted the plinth to stand alongside Billy. 

They both looked very proud and Jean was obviously moved by the experience.

Albie announced to all that it was Billy's birthday, I think we all knew that apart from maybe the Press.

Somehow it made the occasion all the more meaningful.  Billy must have been proud looking down on us all. 

We each took our turn to pose for photographs alongside the bronze and chatted to one another about Billy and what a fantastic experience we were having.

Colin Paul said that he knew me from the message board and so did Chris Eley...I'm not sure whether that's a good thing.

 
We stayed for around an hour, not wanting to leave our Billy behind.  I shook the hand of Tom Murphy and thanked him so much for giving us this wonderful tribute to the greatest British rock and roller of all time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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