Billy Fury

Wondrous Place Billy Fury

Decca recordings made between 1958 and 1964, incl. Eight masters from the iconic 'The Sound Of Fury' album, a Keith Richards favorite.

Billy Fury (1940 - 1983) was one of the most successful British chart acts of the 1960s with only Cliff Richard, The Shadows and The Beatles spending more weeks in the UK Top 50 during that decade. Chiefly remembered for 'moody beat ballads' such as Halfway To Paradise and Jealousy, it is easy to forget that his first 18 months on the Decca label were spent recording almost exclusively original material culminating in 'The Sound Of Fury', described by Keith Richards in 1971 as 'one fantastic album. Songs he'd written, like people do now, he got some people he knew to play together and did it.'

However, despite a relentless concert schedule and regular promotion via television shows such as Jack Good's pioneering 'Oh Boy!', 'Boy Meets Girls' and 'Wham!!', Billy's releases weren't the smash hits they deserved to be and demand for higher chart placings led to a record company and management instigated shift in musical policy. While that change certainly reaped sales dividends and made him a household name, Fury's career as a songwriter was effectively put on hold.

Grey area releases usually focus on the well-known hits but this Bear Family compilation, licensed from Decca / Universal, spotlights sixteen Fury compositions (including eight tracks from that classic debut LP) alongside many lesser known tracks from his extensive 1958 to 1964 catalogue with a slant towards the kind of upbeat material he was often accused of abandoning. A worthy companion piece to any Fury 'Greatest Hits' set, this collection helps provide a more rounded view of Billy's strengths as an artist and presents the listener with a different spin on the sound of Fury.