The Billy Fury Story at Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall

Date: Mon 4th Mar
Time: 19:30

Tkts £22/£20.50 conc.
Box office 0115 989 5555
[This January 28th. marks 30th anniversary of Bill's death.]

FURY'S TORNADOS - THE 30th ANNIVERSARY SHOWS

The music of the legendary Billy Fury lives on through his longest serving backing group - Fury's Tornados. Liverpool born Billy was known as the 'British Elvis' at the height of the rock 'n' roll explosion that shook the foundations of popular music in the UK. He was also a definite influence on fellow Liverpudlians, the Beatles, when the British beat boom shook the world. Billy equalled the Beatles with 24 hits during the 1960s and he spent 332 weeks on the charts. His last hit came in the summer of 1983, following his death on January 28 of that year. He was just 42 when he passed away - ironically, the same age as Elvis.

Throughout the 60s, Billy never had a permanent backing group but in 1970 he decided, after extensive auditions, to hire the four Nottingham-based musicians who became Fury's Tornados. They followed seasoned musician/arranger Charlie Elston from Billy's first major show at Wembley Stadium performing with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis at the London Rock 'n' Roll Show. The group, who remain the same today, worked with Billy on live shows for most of the rest of his career. All of them sing, and in addition to Charlie on piano/keyboards, the original 3-piece band featured John Raynor on drums/percussion and current group leader Chris Raynor on lead guitar. Graham Wyvill joined shortly afterwards on bass to complete the four man line-up that continued to back Billy and who still perform today. The name evolved from their single Telstar '74 (produced by Billy and his manager Hal Carter) to coincide with the UK national theatre tour of 'The 1974 Rock And Roll Show' starring Billy alongside those other talented home grown musical pioneers Marty Wilde, Heinz and Tommy Bruce. Fury's Tornados are the longest serving backing group for Billy and their association with the history of the man and his music was dramatically revived in 1996, 13 years after Billy's death.

In the summer of 1996, Londoner Colin Gould was spotted by Chris and John on a popular Granada TV show and soon rehearsals began to create a new show about Billy's life and music. 'The Billy Fury Experience' opened on Valentine's Day 1997 in Hayes. Middlesex with Colin (now Colin Gold) adding uncanny Fury-like vocals to the authentically creative backing of Billy's former band. That show evolved into 'Halfway To Paradise - The Billy Fury Story' which has toured the country since 1999 giving hundreds of performances and keeping the memory of Billy Fury and his music alive. Respected publication, The Stage called it 'Rock 'n' Roll Heaven - A great 60s night out' as the show toured the length and breadth of the British Isles.

Rock 'n' Roll arrived on these shores when Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel on the iconic HMV label was released in 1956 and soon after these islands were awash with home grown talent who tried to emulate Elvis. Billy soon became known as the 'British Elvis' as he was embraced and accepted by legions of adoring fans who created similar hysteria to their American counterpart. I was fortunate to see Billy Fury perform across two decades on package shows and in concert settings before ill health sadly cut short his career. His charismatic appeal and vocal talents are everlasting memories of those halcyon days which we believed would never return, but 30 years on, thanks to Fury's Tornados and Colin Gold, we can relive those memories in a concert setting in vivid Technicolor. The audio visual experience of seeing 'Halfway To Paradise' on many occasions over the last 10 years acted like walking into a Tardis for me as the time machine wound back the clock to capture all the pizzazz, excitement and innocence from that golden era. It was thanks to Elvis' music that I began to appreciate Billy and both of them form a major part of my music collection. Those unforgettable exciting times are brought authentically to life by Fury's Tornados as they professionally and effortlessly perform all those golden hits left by Billy Fury as his musical legacy to us all. The 'Sound Of Fury' is alive and well and long may it continue!

Trevor Simpson (January 2013)

Author of Elvis: The Best Of British - The HMV Years 1956 - 1958.
(see www.elvisthebestofbritish.co.uk for more details)

Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall

Theatre Square
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG1 5ND

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The Billy Fury Story

 www.billyfurystory.com

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