The £44,000 bronze statue of Billy Fury, a project conceived by Peter and Lynda Keller, and achieved by six years of fund-raising by the Sound Of Fury fan club, was unveiled in the Museum of Liverpool Life on Easter Saturday, 19th April 2003. Reports below are by Harry, and Mags Cummings. Photographs below are by Mags and Tony Harte.
The statue, which is now owned by the Liverpol Museum Service, was moved on Friday 2nd March 2007 from the museum to a spot beside the Mersey. Mags Cummings has kindly supplied these photographs - more can be seen on the Billy Fury In Thoughts Of You Fan Club site, www.thebillyfuryfanclub.com
BILLY ROCKED ON! Jack Good speaks
That was quite a day. When we arrived at the Museum of Liverpool Life at 1pm, Maureen and I had been up and about since 5am. We set off at 6 to collect Jack Good, one of the world's heroes of rock 'n' roll, from his home in Oxfordshire, and deliver him safely to Liverpool. We met our son, Richard, an adopted Liverpudlian, and at the museum, debated whether we were too early. In view of the extraordinary number of people who were already gathering, we decided we should stay around.
The £44,000 bronze statue was swathed in a blue cloth in the courtyard beyond the doors, and we were encouraged to move into the yard beyond, where the speeches were to take place. Jack, meanwhile, was being collected by Peter Keller, who first had the idea for the statue, in a car, which was escorted to the museum by motorcycle outriders. I had learned a few days ago that in view of the number of people expected to attend, there were likely to be two unveilings, and I had briefed Jack on this on the way.
(On the Friday, about 200 people, misled by Press publicity, had arrived to look at the statue, and were disappointed to be turned away.) The early arrivals moved through the courtyard to an outer area, where a small stage had been erected for speeches. At 2.25, Laura and her 11-year-old sister Emily performed a charming duet of Collette, with Jeff Morgan, lead guitarist of The Persuaders, providing accompaniment. For no clear reason, they then had to do it again, but it doubled the pleasure for the audience.
Watched by Albie and Jean Wycherley, who were sitting beside the stage, Dr David Fleming, the Director of National Museums in Liverpool, introduced the proceedings, then Mr Eddie Clein, a former Mayor of Liverpool, spoke.
Things really came to life when the legendary Jack Good stepped on to the stage. Nowadays, Jack treasures his privacy, but he generously agreed to pay his own tribute to Billy by travelling from his home in the south of England. Since he arrived, he had been besieged by fans seeking his autograph, and simply wanting to talk to him. Jack spoke for about two minutes, and I hope that in the very near future, I will be able to add a sound file to the site. The quote that will remain in everyone's memory was very simple.
"At his peak, he was the greatest rock 'n' roller in the world. In the world!" Jack's
direct, emphatic speech changed the entire feeling of the event. We were
cheerful, happy and proud when we arrived, but Jack focused us on the scale and
significance of the life of Billy Fury. Maureen Bowden and Chris Eley, two of the syndicate who run the Sound Of Fury fan club, spoke next about the long road that led to the unveiling of the statue, from the day when Peter and Linda Keller first had the idea. The club have been supported and helped by many people, but the people entitled to the credit for raising funds for the statue are the fans, led by the Sound of Fury. After the speeches, we moved back to the courtyard, where the statue was unveiled jointly by Jack Good and Eddie Clein. The first shift of invitees were then ushered into the museum, so that the statue could be unveiled all over again. There are many photographs of the statue on this site, so I will leave you to judge just how striking and impressive it is. I took over escorting Jack again after the unveiling (Chris Eley and Linda had given him lunch while I had some family time) and we walked over to the nearby Maritime Museum, where refreshments were being served.
Chris presented Jack and other guests with superb framed portraits of Billy, then Jack, his friend Paul, Maureen, Richard and I escaped to a hostelry for some reviving beverages. We walked back to the Holiday Inn, where we were staying that night, and had an early dinner in the bar, then Jack went to his room to rest.
Jack is a devout Catholic, and I had agreed that we would get him to the Easter Vigil at the cathedral that night. The original intention was that during the concert at the Philharmonic, we would excuse ourselves and go to the cathedral, but Jack needed time to recuperate. I arranged a wake-up call and a taxi for him, then we took Paul to the concert, where we met many old friends, and made many new ones.
In November 2010, an extra plaque was fixed to the plinth, recording the date of its unveiling, and the fund-raising efforts. It reads: "This statue was
donated to the nation by The Sound Of Fury official Billy Fury Fan Club. (Picture by Jean Todd)
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PRESS PREVIEW 17 APRIL 2003. REPORT AND PICTURES BY MAGS
We:
Mags, John, Rick and Maggie arrived at 10.15 and met 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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Things could hardly have been better arranged, as Billy's brother Albie was appearing in concert at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on the night of the unveiling. There were almost 740 people in the hall, a high, vaulted space with an art deco feel to it, and a great atmosphere for shows of this nature. Edited, silent excerpts from Play It Cool, I've Gotta Horse and assorted videos and television programmes were projected on to an overhead screen throughout the evening. This was one example of the investment that the promoters had clearly made in the event. I believe a video projector was being used, and I was once quoted £400 for the day's hire of one of these items. I also know how much time and money is involved in contacting copyright holders of films, videos and television programmes to arrange licensing for theatrical displays. The sound system was superb and the lighting was very slick. Compere was Frankie Connor, a presenter on a Liverpool radio station, who wrote all four tracks on Albie's superb EP, I Never Met Colette. I keep recommending this CD to folk who know of Albie's work covering Billy's numbers, and perhaps his Joe Meek tracks, as the numbers on the CD give an extra insight into his talents, The show was opened by 16-year-old Laura from Northampton, who had performed with her 11-year-old sister Emily at the unveiling. Laura has become familiar to many of us through her support appearances at several Fury events, and she just gets better and better. Her set included the song for which she first became known, Legends Never Die, and Like I've Never Been Gone, with which she is featured on the Without You CD. She was kind enough to mention the web site. She showed her confidence and professionalism by overcoming sound problems that could have proved shattering to a lesser performer. The backing track for her first number appeared to start ahead of cue, and at one point, it simply stopped, producing a dead silence for perhaps 30 seconds. Laura said with a smile: "That wasn't supposed to happen," then started to sing unaccompanied in an unshaken, clear voice that hit the note immediately. Her composure drew two prolonged bursts of applause, and the incidents, which could have destroyed the set, may well prove in the long term to have helped her. Everyone left impressed with her performance, her personality and her sheer guts. The set ended with another duet of Collette with Emily, accompanied by the Persuaders' lead guitarist, Jeff Morgan. Great stuff, girls! We're all looking forward to seeing what Laura can do with her featured spot at Fury Fest in September. Wee Willie Harris and Tommy Bruce's repertoire will be familiar to those who make a point of catching 60s shows. Two superb rocking sets - but why no Rockin' at the 2is, Willie? The pair were backed by a very tight and competent four piece, Rocking Horse, who were new to me. After the interval, Colin Paul and the Persuaders provided us with one of the most compelling and exciting live rock sets any of us are likely to see nowadays. These guys are not just good, they are stormers. With a collection of mainly Elvis numbers, Colin and the lads set the theatre alight. Colin's gymnastic performance was never less than awesome, and he deserved every second of his standing ovation. The Persuaders returned to the stage to back Albie's performance of Billy Fury numbers. After his recurrent health problems, it was great to see Albie back in form, and the audience lapped it up. One highlight was the appearance on stage of his wonderful mother, Jean, who took his hand.
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From Chris Eley, syndicate member of Sound of
Fury Fan Club
When the covers came off the statue, it
was an incredibly emotional It was great to see so many Billy fans
together at one time, and Please don't think I am being condescending when I say a great big thanks to everyone for making the effort to get there and to show how much this great star is still loved. We were all so busy that I know several people who wanted a word had to make do with a grunt or a nod, and we apologise for that- but the pressure of the day was tremendous. The great thing about Jack Good was that he
gravitated naturally and quietly to Also present from the Sound of Fury were Maureen Bowden, Jean Prosser and Jackie Clark, who was helping Linda and I by escorting Jack Good on the day whilst Mo and Jean were meeting and greeting folk. Without the intense hard work and not a little expenditure from the Museum of Liverpool Life this would not have happened on the day that it did,and perhaps not this year either. We are so grateful to the director and everyone
there but in particular to the hands-on people, Janet Dugdale (a tremendous
lady), and her equally warm and Also to Councillor Eddie Clein ,the talented gutsy Laura (it's not easy facing that many folk-especially at 16), and Martin. Tom Murphy, such a talented, genuine, lovely guy, has, in my opinion, captured the essence of "live" Billy; there is almost movement in the statue. Thanks Tom, and to Chris and everyone at the foundry. I am sure that I have forgotten to thank
someone important or say something For once in my life I did not take notes of the day or the highly enjoyable concert (a great night from everyone who performed). My own Linda has worked so hard and stood by me
for these past six I include Peter and Lynda Keller in that
friendship. They have remained They can feel very proud. A great vision, lovely folk, and we have had made some lovely friends amongst those great Liverpool folk. I know that not everyone approved/approves of
this monument to Billy and All I will say (and this is also a personal
comment-not from the SOF), is That's not something for the likes of me to decide. I did, however, see waves of love for Billy on
the day. As for the statue, | |||||||||||||||||||||
From the message board | |||||||||||||||||||||
Posted by
Albie Wycherley/Chris Hewitt
on
April 20, 2003, 5:49 pm
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Posted by
Pierre
on
April 20, 2003, 6:38 pm
, in reply to "Thankyou to those who came to the Liverpool concert
Concert" 62.252.200.17
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Posted by
Diane Wardle
on
April 20, 2003, 9:04 pm
, in reply to "Thankyou to those who came to the Liverpool concert
Concert" 62.30.26.93
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Posted by
Moya - T.B.F.F.C.
on
April 20, 2003, 9:22 pm
, in reply to "Thankyou to those who came to the Liverpool concert
Concert" 203.97.2.242
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Posted by
Don & Eileen Albert
on
April 21, 2003, 10:31 am
, in reply to "Thankyou to those who came to the Liverpool concert
Concert" 80.193.53.109
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Posted by
Tom Murphy
on
April 20, 2003, 9:20 pm
, in reply to "News & Reviews Unveiling & Philly Show." 81.135.106.150
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Posted by
Mags
on
April 21, 2003, 2:30 am
, in reply to "Re: News & Reviews Unveiling & Philly Show." 213.122.44.128
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Posted by
marie
on
April 21, 2003, 10:36 am
, in reply to "Re: News & Reviews Unveiling & Philly Show." 81.132.160.191
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Posted by
kevin
on
April 21, 2003, 12:02 pm
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The old statue prelim page was such a major news effort that I couldn't bear to discard it - so it's archived here. |