Billy Fury: The Sound of Fury


Billy Fury: The Sound of Fury

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# Hey, baby

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# Whoa-whoa whoa-whoa

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# I love you

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# Yeah-yeah yeah-yeah

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# I want you

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# Whoa-whoa whoa-whoa

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# Need your love... #

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Billy stood out. He was a star.

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He had 29 hit singles.

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Everybody wanted to look like him.

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There's still people paying homage to Billy Fury. He was fantastic.

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A nice guy who pretty well did what was suggested to him.

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# Just give me one sweet chance... #

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His songs were fantastic, his voice was beautiful,

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charisma oozing out of every pore in his body.

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Billy had it all and although he rocked like the clappers onstage,

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he would collapse afterwards.

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His light had gone out around him. I knew he was on his way.

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# Maybe tomorrow

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# Whoa-whoa whoa-whoa

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# There'll be no sorrow

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# Yeah-yeah yeah-yeah... #

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# One kiss goodbye

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# Last kiss, it meant goodbye... #

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Liverpool was a pretty bleak place, bleak and lonely.

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The black buildings and soot

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and very melancholy in a way.

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It was kind of biblical bleak.

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I mean, the storms and the light shafts cutting through

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and the sea hitting up against that sea wall.

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Before rock and roll and before that sort of mid-'50s, late '50s period,

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it was dull. It was grey.

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It was monochrome in music, in films, in everything.

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There were no sort of British heroes.

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Billy Fury was perfectly placed chronologically to be

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a rock and roll baby and he was also geographically placed.

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When he was first born in Smithdown Road Hospital,

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I had the name of Kenneth.

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I couldn't remember a boy's name,

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and he was going to be Kenneth,

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and me husband came home on leave.

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This nurse said to him, "Do you want to see the Wycherley baby?"

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When he came back, he said to me, "Where did you get Kenneth from?"

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I said, "Oh, you can change it."

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He said, "It's going to be Ronnie" but it could have been Kenneth Fury.

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He was just like any other kid, you know, he was the older brother.

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He done the same as any other kids do.

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Well, what they were like was two devils.

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Just general things that kids do,

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you know, get in a bit of mischief, obviously, because you did.

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But they were mateys.

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I think I was maybe six or seven.

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I remember a sudden absence of him in the house

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and where he was was actually in hospital.

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Both my boys... Both had rheumatic fever as children, both of them,

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and it leaves them with a weak heart and kidney trouble.

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Which I didn't understand, cos I was only a kid,

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but I just thought, "Great, I've got this bedroom to meself."

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Well, when he was 11, he went to piano lessons

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and he wanted to play the quick stuff on the piano, and the teacher

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slapped him on the wrists with the rule and said, "You can't do that."

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And his first piece of music was Oh Mein Papa.

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# Oh, mein Papa... #

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This is where we grew up all around here.

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I don't think many people know

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that Billy Fury went to that school, to be truthful.

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That's when he bought a guitar and he started playing the guitar.

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Mostly he done a lot of learning the guitar in the bedroom,

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things like that, and he managed to have a piano.

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Sometimes he'd get his father when he was on leave.

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My dad used to say, "That's getting on my nerves, that,"

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you know, he says, "that twanging thing going all the time."

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Any piece of paper he'd pick up and he'd write so many words on it,

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so he was thinking of songwriting even at 11.

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In the 1950s, it was very difficult

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to get American rhythm and blues records, and blues records.

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The word "teenager" really wasn't

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coined until about 1950.

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If you were a person of 17, 18, you were a young version of your father.

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The first sports jacket that I bought was something similar

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to what my father had because you wanted to look like him.

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Liverpool rock and roll fans were very lucky because they had

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the services of the Cunard Yanks.

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That was the name given to the men who worked on the boats that

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went back and forth between Liverpool and New York.

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A lot of Liverpool boys would get jobs in the merchant navy,

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and they would bring back records from America,

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so they'd hear them first.

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And this is how people in the Liverpool area got to hear

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the Chuck Berry records and other blues records and R&B records.

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It wasn't like today. You had to really search this stuff out.

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Now you can just go on the internet and source it,

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but in those days it was like a pilgrimage

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and it was a wonderful journey.

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Ken Colyer goes over to New Orleans, he'd jump ship,

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he's working with the merchant navy

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and when he's there he hears all this music

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which is called spasm music, which is basically

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people playing in houses with tin pans and with washboards.

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When he comes back and he's working with Chris Barber,

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he tells them about this form of music that he's heard about.

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They said, "What's it called?" He says, "It's called spasm music."

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Everybody says, "You can't call it spasm music, it sounds really rude,"

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and somebody, it may have been Lonnie Donegan, maybe Chris Barber,

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somebody comes up with the name skiffle.

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# I'm blowin' down this old dusty road, dusty road

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# I'm a-blowin' down this old dusty road

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# I'm a-blowin' down this old dusty road, Lord, Lord... #

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Skiffle was the first real exciting music that we could go and see.

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We'd been big-banded up to then.

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Skiffle is the beginning of the British rock and roll revolution,

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so if you look at people we think of as being the classic innovators,

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if we look at Tommy Steele,

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he's thought of as the first rock and roll star. Actually,

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he comes out of something which is sort of proto-rock and roll.

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At the same time you've got Lonnie Donegan as well.

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# I may be right, I may be wrong

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# I know you're going to miss me when I'm gone

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# Now, the Rock Island Line is a mighty good road... #

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Skiffle music is a music that could be very cheaply made.

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Cheap acoustic guitars,

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you could go to the chandler and get a washboard, for example,

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which you played with thimbles.

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You could get a dustbin and put a pole in it and have a bass,

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so it was a group that you could get together for just a few pounds.

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He wanted to go to sea. The tugs was the nearest thing for him.

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Dad had a friend of his who worked on the tugs and basically

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it was me dad who got him the job on the boats, who put a word in.

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When I went on the tug boats, I learnt a few Lonnie Donegan numbers

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and we used to play these when we had nothing to do,

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in between tides or something.

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# Well, the Cumberland Gap, the Cumberland Gap

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# 15 miles on the Cumberland Gap

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# The Cumberland Gap, the Cumberland Gap

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# 15 miles on the Cumberland Gap. #

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It looked sort of playable, what he was doing,

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and it captured the imagination of so many young people,

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young people barely in their teens at that time,

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to want to sort of play or pick up a guitar,

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have a connection with it, to have a connection with the music.

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And very, very quickly, skiffle becomes rock and roll.

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# Yeah!

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# Well, I think I'll start a layabout trade union

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# So we can stand together for our rights

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# Hey!

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# And if they never give us satisfaction

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# There'll be nothing left for us to do but strike. #

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As a rock and roller, I really have never sort of discovered

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what rock and roll is, because you get so many variations on it.

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I mean, in a way, you could say some of the skiffle was rock and roll,

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which I first started playing.

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You could say Johnnie Ray's stuff is rock and roll

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because he's done stuff that in the meantime Elvis has done,

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like Such A Night, for example.

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# The moon was bright, ooh, how bright

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# It really was such a night... #

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I've never thought, "Well, I'm not doing skiffle now, I'm doing rock and roll."

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It's just, "I'm doing a different type of music."

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In hindsight, all these years later,

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Johnnie Ray was the one who first influenced me

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about doing a different type of music to that which I was used to,

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which was being a chorister in a church choir.

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The whole thing about rock and roll was that when it came out it

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was told wrongly, it was told by the tabloids as being this

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outrageous thing where teenagers went mad and were uncontrolled.

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It was all bollocks. It wasn't like that.

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Most of us were at school.

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Why did she protest?

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She said that it was causing an obstruction

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and the children were acting like hooligans.

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-ARCHIVE NARRATOR:

-Bill Haley and his Comets on a personal appearance tour

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had whipped up the enthusiasm of their German fans into a frenzy.

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# Shake, rattle and roll

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# I said shake, rattle and roll

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# Well, you'll never do nothing to save your doggone soul

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# Wearin' those dresses, your hair done up so nice

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# Whole lot of shakin' goin' on

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# Yeah, come along, baby, baby, you can't go wrong... #

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I was there really from the birth of rock and roll.

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I was born in 1944, so

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middle '50s I was still at school,

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13, 14, and Jerry Lee, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, the Everly Brothers,

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Buddy Holly, Presley, these were 100% our heroes.

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Shake it one time for Jerry Lee Lewis! Yeah!

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# Come on over, baby, we got the bull by the horns

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# Yeah, ain't fakin'

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# A whole lot of shakin' goin' on... #

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# Well, Johnny is a joker

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# He's a bird

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# A very funny joker

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# He's a bird

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# But when he jokes my honey

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# He's a dog

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# His joking ain't so funny

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# What a dog

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# Johnny is a joker that's a-trying to steal my baby

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# He's a bird dog. #

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# I'm gonna tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine

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# I chew my nails, I twiddle my thumbs

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# I'm getting nervous but it sure is fun

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# Come on, baby, driving me crazy

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# Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. #

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APPLAUSE

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It was on the radio. It was probably Radio Luxembourg.

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It would have been, cos the BBC wouldn't play it.

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I was doing my homework, so I was probably just 16...

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15, 16, and doing my homework

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and she said, "This next record has been requested by..." blah-blah-blah

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"..and it's by this man who sounds as though he's singing

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"from the bottom of a well and his name is E...Elvis Presley."

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And Heartbreak Hotel came on.

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# Well, since my baby left me

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# I found a new place to dwell

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# Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street

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# At Heartbreak Hotel... #

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It was like something that had come down from the moon.

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It was so totally unlike anything I had ever heard before.

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Dylan, Lennon, Ringo, Paul, they all heard Elvis

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and thought, "This is different, this is what we are."

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I put down my pen and I was never the same again. I was not

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going to go and work in a bank or an insurance company. That was it.

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# ..There in the gloom... #

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Until Elvis, I wasn't in love.

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Then I was totally obsessed.

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We went to see a film which had just come out.

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It was called The Girl Can't Help It

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with Little Richard, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran.

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# She can't help it, the girl can't help it

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# If she wink an eye the bread slices turn to toast

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# She can't help it, the girl can't help it

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# If she got a lot of what they call the most

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# She can't help it, the girl can't help it

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# The girl can't help it if she was born to please

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# She can't help it, the girl can't help it... #

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# When I climb one, two flight, three flight more

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# Five, six, seven, flight, eight flight more... #

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Eddie Cochran came on and a few of the fellas said,

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"Wow, you really look like Eddie Cochran." I was rather flattered

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as I liked the kind of things that Eddie Cochran was doing.

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It was Twenty-Flight Rock, I think, so I started to grow sideboards

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and do my hair like Eddie Cochran.

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At the same time I was also influenced by Elvis Presley,

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James Dean, and of course Gene Vincent.

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# And she's the woman that loves me so, say

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# Be-bop-a-lula, she's my baby

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# Be-bop-a-lula, I don't mean maybe

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# Be-bop-a-lula, she-he-he's my baby doll

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# My baby doll, my baby doll... #

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Let me hear you!

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When rock and roll arrived

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he started changing into the teddy boy style.

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Me dad wouldn't let us dress with teddy boy tight trousers on,

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tight jeans on and all that sort of stuff.

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And he used to go out and get his rock and roll stuff on.

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Me dad was like, pretty strict, me dad.

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And his father come and found him one day and he got a thrashing.

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As far as Billy Fury is concerned,

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you didn't really have rock and roll stars at that point.

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You didn't have what we now think of as a pop star.

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In a very strange way, until Elvis comes along,

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the idea of the proper full-on 360-degree star

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who does nothing but be a rock star is really a little bit alien.

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Intelligent people didn't like rock and roll, you know,

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people like me, grammar school boys who went to university -

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"God, how could you like rock and roll? It's for morons!"

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When I was at the LSE, the university I went to,

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I would hide the NME inside the Guardian

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because I was so embarrassed to be seen reading it.

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On 20th March 1958, Buddy Holly and the Crickets

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are playing the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool

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and you find that so many of the people who later played

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in Mersey beat groups went along to the Philharmonic Hall, to that show,

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and they saw Buddy Holly with a Fender Stratocaster guitar.

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Nobody in Britain had seen a Fender Stratocaster guitar

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and it just looked wonderful, and so they came out

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and they walked down the hill thinking, "We want to go electric."

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I went there with two mates of mine who played guitars at the time.

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We came out and they said,

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"Let's form a rock and roll group."

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I said, "All right, fine. What do I play?"

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They said, "You play drums", so that was it.

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As soon as Elvis took off, it was in the papers a lot, you know?

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We felt in Britain, or some people felt, we had to have our own star.

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# Old-time cave dweller lived in a cave

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# Here's what he did when he wanted a rave

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# He took a stick and he drew on the wall

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# Man, I've heard he had himself a ball

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# Rock with the caveman... #

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Tommy Steele was the one who was chosen - by God knows who.

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Rock With The Caveman may have been the worst record ever made.

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# Writers never lie, it's where they got the saying "starry-eyed"

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# Rock with the caveman... #

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Tommy Steele got four weeks at the Astor Green,

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which was owned by Bertie Green in London,

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and all the photos in the newspaper showed you this rock and roller

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surrounded by people... Women in cocktail dresses

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and guys with big cigars and the dickie bows and tuxedos,

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and he was there for a month. He absolutely tore it apart.

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They loved him.

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# Shake with the caveman... #

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British rock and roll, generally speaking,

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very early on, it wasn't good.

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We didn't get it right and we didn't understand it.

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The silly part about it is that the Americans thought we were great,

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our rock and roll was great.

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The only really great rock and roll came from Memphis or New Orleans

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or maybe the doo-wop people from New York,

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and I wouldn't listen to the English rock and roll. I didn't like it.

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I thought, "We can't do this, it's got to be American!"

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And then Cliff Richard came along.

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MUSIC: Nine Times Out of Ten by Cliff Richard

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# Well, nine times out of ten, baby, I told you

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# And I aim to tell you just nine times again

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# Hey, just how much I aim to hold you

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# Again and again and again

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# Little girl, it's nine times out of ten you have refused me

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# And say that you refuse me nine times again

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# But I won't stop until you choose me

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# Again and again and again. #

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Poor Cliff has been sort of laughed at for 30, 40 years in a way,

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for not being a real rock and roller, and I heard Move It.

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That was a great record.

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# Come on, pretty baby, let's move it and groove it

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# Well, a-shake a-baby shake, well, honey, please don't lose it... #

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And there's a lead guitar played by Ernie Shaw on that,

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and it was fantastic.

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It was a kind of duet between the singer and the lead guitarist,

0:17:410:17:45

and that, to me, was rock and roll.

0:17:450:17:48

It wasn't Tommy Steele.

0:17:480:17:49

MUSIC: Slippin' and Slidin' by Little Richard

0:17:510:17:54

# Slippin' and a-slidin' Peepin' and a-hidin'

0:17:560:17:59

# Been told a long time ago

0:17:590:18:02

# Slippin' and a-slidin' Peepin' and a-hidin'

0:18:020:18:05

# Been told a long time ago

0:18:050:18:08

# I've been told, baby, you've been bold

0:18:080:18:10

# I won't be your fool no more... #

0:18:100:18:12

# Well, she comes from Tallahassee

0:18:320:18:36

# She's got a hi-fi chassis

0:18:360:18:38

# Maybe looks a little sassy

0:18:380:18:41

# But to me she's real classy

0:18:410:18:45

# Yeah, my Tallahassee lassie down in F-L-A

0:18:450:18:51

# Well, she's romping to the Drag

0:18:510:18:53

# The Cha-cha, Rag-a-mop

0:18:530:18:55

# Stomping to the Shag

0:18:550:18:56

# Rock the Bunny Hop... #

0:18:560:18:58

And then of course it was then the Billy Furies

0:18:580:19:01

and the Vince Eagers and people like that came along

0:19:010:19:03

and Larry Parnes, I suppose, really,

0:19:030:19:06

was sort of the main protagonist, if you like, for putting

0:19:060:19:10

these rock and roll shows on.

0:19:100:19:12

Larry Parnes at the time had signed up Tommy Steele,

0:19:120:19:16

Marty Wilde and Vince Eager

0:19:160:19:19

and he was looking to build his so-called stable of stars.

0:19:190:19:23

I started with Tommy Steele.

0:19:230:19:25

Tommy was my first artist when I went into management

0:19:250:19:29

and everything progressed from there on.

0:19:290:19:32

After Tommy Steele, I signed Marty Wilde.

0:19:340:19:36

# Deceiving me, grieving me

0:19:360:19:40

# Leaving me blue

0:19:400:19:43

# Jezebel, it was you

0:19:430:19:49

# Well, if ever the devil's plan was made to torment man

0:19:490:19:56

# It was you

0:19:560:19:57

# Jezebel, it was you

0:19:590:20:01

# Twould be better had I never known a lover such as you

0:20:030:20:11

# Forsaking dreams and all

0:20:130:20:17

# For the siren call of your arms

0:20:170:20:24

# Jezebel... #

0:20:240:20:31

Early in 1958, Billy decided

0:20:310:20:33

he wanted to make a demonstration record of his songs,

0:20:330:20:37

and he went to Percy Phillips' studio in Kensington

0:20:370:20:41

and this is about a mile outside the city centre.

0:20:410:20:44

What is particularly interesting is that a couple of weeks later,

0:20:440:20:47

John Lennon and Paul McCartney with The Quarrymen go there as well,

0:20:470:20:50

so within a couple of weeks, Percy Phillips recorded both the Beatles

0:20:500:20:55

and Billy Fury, which is an extraordinary coincidence,

0:20:550:20:58

and Billy Fury recorded six songs.

0:20:580:21:01

It's just incredible, really, what Billy did, especially in the '50s,

0:21:010:21:06

because he wasn't looking back on the Beatles or looking back

0:21:060:21:10

on this one or that one,

0:21:100:21:11

and the records in the charts were pretty rubbish then.

0:21:110:21:14

It was, you know, How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

0:21:140:21:16

He makes this record and wants to do something with it,

0:21:160:21:22

and his mother writes to Larry Parnes and says,

0:21:220:21:26

"My son is very good. He'd like to make a record for you."

0:21:260:21:31

I decided to go across and try to sell some of these songs

0:21:310:21:36

I'd been writing, to Marty Wilde.

0:21:360:21:38

I loved the fact that Billy believed in his songs.

0:21:380:21:41

I loved the fact that he was...

0:21:410:21:43

not trying to sell himself.

0:21:430:21:45

He was trying to sell his songs. He wanted them songs to be heard.

0:21:450:21:48

Now, that's the story, from Billy, because he was so self-effacing,

0:21:480:21:54

but in a letter that I once had from Margo, who worked with Billy,

0:21:540:22:00

she said that he practised his moves with her, with a guitar,

0:22:000:22:05

and that she had got him gigs in and around working men's clubs

0:22:050:22:10

in Wavertree and other places in Liverpool. Now,

0:22:100:22:14

those are not the actions of someone who wants his songs recorded.

0:22:140:22:17

They're the actions of a guy who knows he looks cool,

0:22:170:22:20

knows he looks great, and who really wants to be a rock and roller.

0:22:200:22:23

Unlike the Beatles, who had done hundreds of gigs

0:22:230:22:26

before they made a record, Billy Fury had hardly done any.

0:22:260:22:30

It was a horrible day.

0:22:300:22:31

It was really dank and there was this drizzle you can't see,

0:22:310:22:35

really horrible day, and this lad comes up to me.

0:22:350:22:38

He's got his collar turned up.

0:22:380:22:39

I said I was looking for Marty Wilde. He asked my reason. I said,

0:22:390:22:43

"Well, I have some songs which he might be interested in recording."

0:22:430:22:47

Well, when I saw him I thought, "Wow, he's good-looking."

0:22:470:22:50

He reminded me of a cross between...

0:22:500:22:52

He was a mixture of Elvis, Eddie Cochran and James Dean.

0:22:520:22:56

He looked like a pop star, to be honest.

0:22:560:22:58

I tell Larry, I said, "There's a guy outside, he's written some songs,

0:22:580:23:01

"he's sent them to you. His name's Ronnie Wycherley. He wants to know if you heard them."

0:23:010:23:05

He said, "Oh... Oh, fetch him in."

0:23:050:23:08

So I went out and I said, "Mr Parnes will see you", so I took him in

0:23:080:23:12

and you could see Larry's eyes light up, as did Marty's.

0:23:120:23:16

I mean, Marty will tell you now, there was an aura about him.

0:23:160:23:20

He came in very humble, very meek, very mild, beautiful lad,

0:23:200:23:23

lovely nature, and he said, "I've written these songs"

0:23:230:23:26

and so Larry said, "Well, let me hear the songs", so really,

0:23:260:23:29

he hadn't come as a singer.

0:23:290:23:31

He'd come to play Larry the songs he had written

0:23:310:23:34

and the first one he sang was Maybe Tomorrow.

0:23:340:23:36

# I love you, baby

0:23:360:23:39

# I really care

0:23:400:23:42

# I need your loving

0:23:440:23:47

# So hear my prayer

0:23:470:23:56

# Maybe tomorrow... #

0:23:570:24:00

We're stood there, we're going, "Wow!"

0:24:000:24:04

I mean, we looked at each other and he just looks the part.

0:24:040:24:07

You think, "Where's he been?"

0:24:070:24:09

And there were some girls there that were going crazy,

0:24:090:24:12

banging on the window and going crazy.

0:24:120:24:15

So that's when Larry Parnes said,

0:24:150:24:16

"Well, you should go on the stage now and sing."

0:24:160:24:18

And he said, "I'll do it."

0:24:180:24:20

It's great, isn't it? Sink or swim!

0:24:200:24:23

But that's what you need!

0:24:230:24:25

You've got to have gall, you know, how are you going to survive?

0:24:250:24:28

As I started to sing, I was so nervous that my knees were shaking

0:24:280:24:32

and everyone thought, "Wow, who's this guy with the shaking knees?"

0:24:320:24:36

-And he just absolutely stole the show.

-The girls went wild for him.

0:24:360:24:39

I think he did one of his own songs,

0:24:390:24:41

maybe an Elvis song, something like that. He did a couple of songs

0:24:410:24:45

and that's when Larry Parnes said, "This kid is going to be big."

0:24:450:24:48

Larry Parnes asked me if I would like to join the show,

0:24:480:24:51

rehearse with one of the bands and carry on with the tour.

0:24:510:24:56

I can remember him coming home that night.

0:24:560:24:59

I can remember him saying, "Dad, let me go, let me go.

0:24:590:25:01

"Please let me go."

0:25:010:25:02

Anyway, they said, "You know, you'll have to take care of yourself."

0:25:020:25:06

He said, "Well, I've got to try, I've got to try, let me go."

0:25:060:25:09

So, erm, they let him go.

0:25:110:25:13

We picked him up outside a pub at about 11 o'clock in the morning.

0:25:130:25:18

He came to Stretford, did the show at Stretford.

0:25:180:25:22

We did the show that night. Again, he stole the show.

0:25:220:25:24

And when we got back to London, it wasn't five minutes

0:25:240:25:27

before Larry had got him a contract with Decca.

0:25:270:25:30

Ronnie Wycherley went off and the next time I saw him -

0:25:300:25:33

he was Billy Fury.

0:25:330:25:35

There's Ron Wycherley, 17, known to his fans as Billy Fury.

0:25:420:25:47

Roy Taylor, 18, alias Vince Eager.

0:25:490:25:53

John Askew or Johnny Gentle, 22, from Merseyside.

0:25:540:26:00

And Duffy Power, real name Raymond Howard, 17.

0:26:000:26:05

Pride, Gentle, Fury, Eager, why do you choose names like that?

0:26:050:26:09

Well, this means something, you see?

0:26:090:26:11

For example, with Fury, Billy is nice and friendly

0:26:110:26:13

and Fury is a little bit ferocious, so it gives him the mean streak.

0:26:130:26:17

And Johnny Gentle is...?

0:26:170:26:19

Johnny's a quiet one, that's why he's Johnny Gentle.

0:26:190:26:22

And Vince is always ready to give a very good show

0:26:220:26:26

and that's why he's Eager, that's Vince Eager.

0:26:260:26:28

It didn't happen overnight.

0:26:280:26:30

I mean, he did well on Oh! Boy.

0:26:300:26:32

Maybe Tomorrow got into the top 20.

0:26:320:26:34

Margo did OK.

0:26:340:26:36

Colette was the first single that got into the top 10.

0:26:360:26:40

# Don't forget we have a date, Colette

0:26:400:26:45

# How I love you, Colette... #

0:26:450:26:49

Larry tried to work it like the Six-Five Specials were

0:26:490:26:54

and those sort of shows, where the artists one after another

0:26:540:26:58

came on the stage.

0:26:580:27:00

You know, one guy would come on and do two numbers

0:27:000:27:02

then he'd go off and someone else would come on and do two numbers.

0:27:020:27:05

That's the way he worked it.

0:27:050:27:06

He had an eye for that.

0:27:060:27:08

I mean, Dickie Pride could rock like there's no tomorrow.

0:27:080:27:11

Particularly with Slippin' And Slidin'.

0:27:110:27:13

Billy and Dickie were great mates

0:27:130:27:15

and Vince Eager was also a great rock and roller.

0:27:150:27:19

And it was a bit of a treadmill.

0:27:190:27:21

The whole thing with us was we wanted to play.

0:27:210:27:25

That's what we wanted to do, I wanted to play drums

0:27:250:27:27

and the guys wanted... We wanted to be musicians.

0:27:270:27:30

And we had to go through the crap to do it, you know.

0:27:300:27:33

# Angel face, angel face, angel face

0:27:330:27:38

# Darling, I love you... #

0:27:380:27:42

The gigs or the appearances would be organised in such a way

0:27:420:27:47

that it was, to you and I today, illogical.

0:27:470:27:50

There was one instance where we actually were in Edinburgh

0:27:500:27:54

one night and the Isle of Wight the next.

0:27:540:27:56

So we were actually travelling overnight in the coach.

0:27:560:27:59

And we got...

0:27:590:28:01

We actually got to the show half an hour before the opening.

0:28:010:28:04

You know, by the time we got there and I was actually onstage playing

0:28:040:28:07

and eating sausage and chips out of a bag off the side of the drums.

0:28:070:28:12

Between numbers, having a quick bite of the sausage and chips.

0:28:120:28:16

That's the way it was. We never really travelled with Billy.

0:28:160:28:19

We were in, as we used to call it, the vomit box which was the coach.

0:28:190:28:22

You know, but he used to travel by car.

0:28:220:28:25

Obviously had his own roadie who used to drive him about.

0:28:250:28:28

# Of another

0:28:280:28:31

# Christmas Day

0:28:310:28:35

# Oh, Lord

0:28:350:28:38

# Will you please help me? #

0:28:380:28:42

He wasn't a diva, if you like.

0:28:420:28:44

He was down to earth.

0:28:440:28:46

The same as Marty was the same.

0:28:460:28:47

Most of the guys in those days were the same. You never...

0:28:470:28:50

They weren't allowed to be, to be honest.

0:28:500:28:52

# Well, darling, I love you

0:29:040:29:07

# Baby, yeah, I care

0:29:070:29:10

# I really need your loving, baby

0:29:100:29:13

# Babe, I want you near

0:29:130:29:14

# Oh, yeah, indeed

0:29:140:29:17

# It's you I need... #

0:29:170:29:19

He has some, you know, rock hits

0:29:190:29:21

and of course he records one of the most famous albums of all time.

0:29:210:29:25

Sound Of Fury?

0:29:250:29:27

Great LP.

0:29:270:29:29

Wrote every song.

0:29:290:29:30

It's a ten inch record, five songs on each side.

0:29:300:29:33

I remember getting it, my father gave it me for Christmas

0:29:330:29:37

and it cost 22 shillings.

0:29:370:29:39

Well, The Sound Of Fury is a classic album.

0:29:390:29:41

If you're into rock and roll, you must have this album.

0:29:410:29:45

Otherwise you're a liar!

0:29:450:29:47

He fused country with blues, rockabilly and rock and roll.

0:29:480:29:52

No-one else was doing that.

0:29:520:29:54

Marty was writing his own stuff, like Bad Boy.

0:29:540:29:56

Johnny Kidd was writing some great stuff.

0:29:560:29:59

More or less rock and roll or pop,

0:29:590:30:01

but Billy had the ability to draw on all of those areas of music

0:30:010:30:05

and make something definitive and make something really special.

0:30:050:30:09

He was a modest guy and he didn't want to appear big headed

0:30:090:30:11

and didn't want to look...

0:30:110:30:13

He didn't want it to look as though he'd written all ten songs,

0:30:130:30:16

so some of the songs are written under the name Wilbur Wilberforce,

0:30:160:30:20

but Billy wrote all ten songs on the album.

0:30:200:30:22

At the time, I thought, oh, so he's written his own songs. Fine!

0:30:220:30:25

We didn't realise what a special thing that was.

0:30:250:30:29

Sort of made a precedent then for bands to write their own songs.

0:30:290:30:32

Rather than to rely on the Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the time.

0:30:320:30:36

# Baby, don't leave me this way

0:30:370:30:43

# Don't leave me this way

0:30:430:30:45

# Hold it, honey

0:30:450:30:47

# You promised me you'd never go astray

0:30:470:30:51

# Never go astray... #

0:30:510:30:52

I think it's a milestone in rock and roll.

0:30:520:30:55

The album is always considered a classic

0:30:550:30:58

and Joe Brown played guitar on it.

0:30:580:31:00

I went along with my guitar.

0:31:000:31:02

I listened to it and then I said, OK, let's take one.

0:31:020:31:05

I'll play it on the guitar here.

0:31:050:31:07

Played it and as we went through it,

0:31:070:31:09

I played it through and the guy says, that was great.

0:31:090:31:12

It wasn't like you went into the studio and created something.

0:31:120:31:14

You created something

0:31:140:31:15

and then a recording studio would record it for you.

0:31:150:31:18

It was the sound of the actual album that was different.

0:31:180:31:21

It was the nearest you'd ever get to American rock and roll.

0:31:210:31:24

# Well, I gave you my advice

0:31:240:31:26

# But you don't care

0:31:260:31:28

# I told you not to fool around with me

0:31:280:31:33

# But you're as cold as ice and you don't care

0:31:330:31:37

# Go on, away with you, honey

0:31:370:31:40

# And don't come back to me... #

0:31:400:31:43

You could hear me learning it, as it were, as I went through it

0:31:430:31:46

and that way it got better and better as the track went through.

0:31:460:31:51

What Jack Good tried to do was recreate the sound

0:31:510:31:55

of Sam Phillips's studio making those rockabilly records in Memphis.

0:31:550:31:59

The Sound Of Fury as an album was raw.

0:31:590:32:04

It was before everyone got too conscious of trying to be clever

0:32:040:32:07

about what they were putting in the album.

0:32:070:32:09

It's all in the hands of the producer.

0:32:090:32:11

If he can maintain and retain that original thought,

0:32:110:32:15

then it's a good record.

0:32:150:32:17

There's nothing against doing it like they do it now,

0:32:170:32:19

but it's not really for me.

0:32:190:32:20

And that's what Jack did.

0:32:200:32:22

They did it in a day.

0:32:220:32:23

Ten-track album in a day!

0:32:230:32:25

They produced the best record ever, LP.

0:32:250:32:27

The idea that somebody could have recorded something

0:32:270:32:30

pretty much straight through is astonishing

0:32:300:32:32

and tells you just how well they were playing.

0:32:320:32:34

We went in the studio and played it once or maybe twice.

0:32:340:32:38

And then the guy said, "OK, we'll take one."

0:32:380:32:41

So they took one and then he says, "That's fine. That's good."

0:32:410:32:46

So I put my guitar in the case, I went into the control booth

0:32:460:32:50

and I said to the bloke, "Can we hear it?"

0:32:500:32:52

"Oh, no," he said. "We've taken this tape off now."

0:32:520:32:55

He took the tape of the machine, put it in the box,

0:32:550:32:58

wrote on the box and it was gone.

0:32:580:33:00

We never even heard it!

0:33:000:33:01

# Bye-bye, baby

0:33:010:33:03

# Bye-bye to you

0:33:030:33:04

# Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba

0:33:040:33:06

# Bye-bye, baby

0:33:060:33:08

# Guess what I'm gonna do

0:33:080:33:09

# I'm gonna swing around, honey

0:33:090:33:11

# Gonna turn my back on you... #

0:33:110:33:13

I love Turn My Back On You because it's a perfect example

0:33:130:33:16

of UK rockabilly, although the term wasn't coined at that time,

0:33:160:33:20

being the equal of virtually anything

0:33:200:33:23

that came out of the States.

0:33:230:33:24

I mean, how did he do that? It's incredible.

0:33:240:33:27

Jack Good decided that the bass was very, very important there

0:33:270:33:31

and he thought, we are not going to be able perhaps to get this

0:33:310:33:34

American bass sound right,

0:33:340:33:36

so what he did was he got a stand-up bass player and he got

0:33:360:33:40

an electric bass player, so there's actually two basses on the record.

0:33:400:33:44

One of my favourite songs of all time.

0:33:440:33:46

I can't...

0:33:460:33:48

speak enough about it.

0:33:480:33:50

Bizarre, two basses on it.

0:33:500:33:52

One being slapped and one being played.

0:33:520:33:55

If you take that song,

0:33:550:33:56

the live rehearsals or the live version from the show was well,

0:33:560:34:01

and then you look at that classic picture of Billy rehearsing

0:34:010:34:05

for Boy Meets Girls with Joe Brown and they're rehearsing that number,

0:34:050:34:09

and in this picture, Billy's got the angular thrust of the pelvis,

0:34:090:34:13

he's got the collar turned up to his jacket,

0:34:130:34:16

he's got that quiff with just a few strands hanging...

0:34:160:34:21

and his lips are curled in virtually a feral snarl.

0:34:210:34:26

And he is the epitome of Elvis-style rock and roll.

0:34:260:34:30

I mean, it's blood red and he looks so cool on it.

0:34:300:34:34

It was, as Jack Good said, the soul, the musical soul of Billy Fury.

0:34:340:34:38

He sent his record.

0:34:380:34:40

The Sound Of Fury, and he said, don't give it to anybody else.

0:34:400:34:45

He must have been thinking he wasn't going to get another one.

0:34:450:34:48

The teenagers came along.

0:34:560:34:57

They wanted to have their own identity as such

0:34:570:35:00

and they had their own music,

0:35:000:35:02

they had their own film stars with Marlon Brando and James Dean...

0:35:020:35:05

Rock and roll came in at 1956 and there was a film

0:35:050:35:09

called It Came From Outer Space.

0:35:090:35:11

And someone like Little Richard seemed like that.

0:35:110:35:14

# I woke up this morning

0:35:250:35:27

# Lucille was not in sight

0:35:270:35:28

# I asked my friends about her

0:35:280:35:30

# But, no, all their lips were tight... #

0:35:300:35:32

It was a whole era of rock and roll films.

0:35:320:35:36

And of course, during those, you'd see somebody,

0:35:360:35:39

there'd be a bit of dancing going on, and then you'd look at it

0:35:390:35:42

and there used to be a girl, Mad Madeline I used to call her.

0:35:420:35:45

I used to get old Mad Mad in and we'd practise and I'd say,

0:35:450:35:48

"No, no, no, it went like this somehow."

0:35:480:35:50

And then you'd fiddle about.

0:35:500:35:52

I was working for an ad agency and all of a sudden,

0:35:520:35:55

people started using this weird phrase,

0:35:550:35:57

"teenagers having disposable income."

0:35:570:35:59

So although the disposable income of teenagers might not

0:35:590:36:02

be very much, the average household has no disposable income, ie,

0:36:020:36:05

the money was spent before it was earned.

0:36:050:36:07

So the fact that you had a quid in your pocket

0:36:070:36:10

or maybe two quid in your pocket

0:36:100:36:13

meant you were a desirable object for advertisers.

0:36:130:36:16

Five shillings a week pocket money.

0:36:160:36:18

Which went on records, of course.

0:36:180:36:20

American records.

0:36:200:36:21

All of a sudden, it wasn't just Radio Luxembourg,

0:36:210:36:24

Saturday morning was rock and roll pop music

0:36:240:36:27

and then Saturday evening on television became pop music.

0:36:270:36:30

All of a sudden, the top of the bill wasn't Al Martino

0:36:300:36:34

or someone my parents loved, but was actually someone that I liked.

0:36:340:36:38

# Yeah, yeah

0:36:380:36:41

# No, no

0:36:410:36:42

# Yeah, yeah

0:36:420:36:44

# No, no

0:36:440:36:46

# Yeah, yeah... #

0:36:460:36:47

This was the heart of all the activities for us rock and rollers.

0:36:470:36:52

It was certainly a lively place and one that anybody who

0:36:520:36:56

was between the age of 15 and 22 wouldn't want to miss.

0:36:560:37:00

There was a coffee bar called The Freight Train

0:37:000:37:02

which was owned by Charles McDevitt.

0:37:020:37:04

That is where, in the cellar, Johnny Kidds' Shakin' All Over was written.

0:37:040:37:08

# Shakin' all over...

0:37:080:37:11

# Just the way that you say good night to me... #

0:37:180:37:22

# Rocking at the 2 I's

0:37:250:37:29

# We're rocking at the 2 I's... #

0:37:290:37:31

This place, the 2 I's coffee bar.

0:37:310:37:33

You'd go through the coffee bar, at the back there was a little door

0:37:330:37:36

that led you downstairs to the cellar.

0:37:360:37:38

It was a small cellar which only held about 80 people

0:37:380:37:41

but I've seen as many as 110 in there and nobody could move.

0:37:410:37:44

Without this little coffee bar,

0:37:440:37:46

there possibly wouldn't be any rock and roll in Britain today.

0:37:460:37:49

It's where people like myself, Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard,

0:37:490:37:52

The Shadows, Hank and Bruce, Brian Bennett, Clem Cattini...

0:37:520:37:56

So many guys started in the 2 I's coffee bar.

0:37:560:37:58

I liked Marty Wilde and Billy, I really did like them.

0:38:020:38:04

I thought they had energy and they were important

0:38:040:38:07

because they were emblematic of my generation.

0:38:070:38:09

They were the same age as me.

0:38:090:38:11

I will never forget growing up with all those rock and rollers.

0:38:110:38:16

And it doesn't matter what era you come from,

0:38:160:38:18

you still love the music of your teens.

0:38:180:38:22

Things that get you when you're 15...

0:38:220:38:25

stay with you for life, and the records stay with you for life

0:38:250:38:28

because you can never again be that age

0:38:280:38:29

and you have the same feelings and the emotions and the romance

0:38:290:38:32

of it and the excitement of being young, just being young.

0:38:320:38:36

There was a programme called All That Jazz

0:38:360:38:38

and Billy was singing I'd Never Find Another You.

0:38:380:38:40

I looked at that and I'd had a mild interest in pop

0:38:400:38:43

because I'd heard various songs on the radio,

0:38:430:38:45

Billy and Elvis in particular, but when I saw that,

0:38:450:38:47

I just suddenly wanted to be Billy Fury.

0:38:470:38:51

# Don't ever worry that I'll leave you

0:38:510:38:59

# That's such a foolish thing to do

0:38:590:39:03

# How could I ever go

0:39:060:39:10

# When in my heart I know

0:39:100:39:13

# I'd never find another you?

0:39:130:39:19

# I might find other arms to hold me

0:39:220:39:28

# But they would only leave me blue

0:39:290:39:34

# The thrill of your embrace

0:39:370:39:41

# Is what is I can't replace

0:39:410:39:44

# I'd never find another you

0:39:440:39:48

# Though there are times when we may quarrel

0:39:510:39:57

# I can't stay mad at you for more

0:39:590:40:03

# Than just a minute or two, now

0:40:030:40:07

# I know I never want to leave you

0:40:070:40:15

# Cos if I search my whole life through

0:40:150:40:22

# I know there'd only be

0:40:220:40:26

# A second best for me

0:40:260:40:30

# I'd never find another you

0:40:300:40:34

# I know I never want to leave you

0:40:370:40:45

# Cos if I search my whole life through

0:40:450:40:53

# I know there'd only be

0:40:530:40:57

# A second best for me

0:40:570:41:01

# I'd never find another you

0:41:010:41:06

# I'd never find another you. #

0:41:080:41:14

PHONE RINGS

0:41:260:41:28

Hello, Larry Parnes speaking.

0:41:290:41:31

I think that Larry was one of the first to have an

0:41:310:41:33

eye on the future, to see that youngsters could make it.

0:41:330:41:36

He was also very good with press.

0:41:360:41:39

At one stage, Billy visited his father,

0:41:390:41:41

that's when he got bitten by the dog on the cheek.

0:41:410:41:44

Which Parnes then turned into this publicity about

0:41:440:41:47

a Liverpool gang stubbing a cigarette out on Billy's cheek.

0:41:470:41:51

Larry Parnes almost could have been a boxing promoter.

0:41:510:41:54

You know, the camel coat and everything else.

0:41:540:41:56

So Larry Parnes came out of the Jack Solomons boxing promoter school.

0:41:560:41:59

And instead of moving into boxing, moved into music.

0:41:590:42:02

I think if we can bring him along steadily,

0:42:020:42:04

he may be very big in the business in the future.

0:42:040:42:06

-'Thank you very much, Mr Parnes.'

-Thank you.

0:42:060:42:09

To be honest, he didn't know much about music anyway.

0:42:090:42:12

So he left the music to the musicians to sort out ourselves,

0:42:120:42:15

and the singers.

0:42:150:42:16

In the pop world, you had Larry Parnes, you had Tito Burns,

0:42:160:42:19

you had Don Arden.

0:42:190:42:21

And they were really looking after their businesses first of all.

0:42:210:42:25

Not really paying the artists all that they should have done.

0:42:250:42:28

And indeed, Cliff Richard walked away from Tito Burns

0:42:280:42:32

when Tito asked him to do a charity show,

0:42:320:42:35

and Cliff found out that actually Tito was being paid £500

0:42:350:42:40

for this appearance.

0:42:400:42:41

But it wasn't really until you get the Beatles coming along,

0:42:410:42:45

with Brian Epstein, that you get a manager

0:42:450:42:48

who was truly for his artist.

0:42:480:42:51

At one point, Larry actually wanted to manage me.

0:42:510:42:54

And there were discussions going on between him and my manager.

0:42:550:43:00

And while the discussions were going on,

0:43:000:43:02

we turned up to the next gig, and my name,

0:43:020:43:04

instead of being down the bottom there, was two thirds of the way up.

0:43:040:43:08

I think he was trying to encourage us,

0:43:080:43:10

to show what would happen if he was managing me. I didn't go.

0:43:100:43:13

So the next gig we turned up,

0:43:130:43:14

the name had been put down the bottom of the poster again.

0:43:140:43:16

One night, I could be top of the bill.

0:43:160:43:19

It could be Vince Eager, underneath, Billy Fury, Dickie Pride,

0:43:190:43:23

or Terry Dene, or whoever.

0:43:230:43:25

Then the next night, it could be Billy Fury top of the bill,

0:43:250:43:27

and you right down at the bottom, no bigger than the admission prices.

0:43:270:43:31

I've got some sort of admiration for him in the fact of

0:43:310:43:34

the money that he ploughed back into the business.

0:43:340:43:36

Which I know he did, we had a lot of shows.

0:43:360:43:38

We did a lot of these tours around the country,

0:43:380:43:41

which cost money, obviously.

0:43:410:43:43

Larry was like a mother hen.

0:43:430:43:47

And he was very... He was a very clever guy.

0:43:470:43:50

He tried his damnedest at first to see me off.

0:43:500:43:53

I think he saw me as a threat.

0:43:530:43:55

Perhaps I was!

0:43:550:43:56

So we didn't get on at all.

0:43:570:44:00

But in the end, we used to go on holiday with him.

0:44:000:44:04

He took us all over the world.

0:44:040:44:08

It became a very nice situation.

0:44:080:44:11

Larry was gay, and he must've had a lot of laughs

0:44:110:44:14

when he thought about Dickie Pride - I mean, what a name that is!

0:44:140:44:18

In fact, it's said that Larry chose these names

0:44:180:44:21

because it was what he thought they'd be like in bed.

0:44:210:44:24

I got the worst of the bunch, names-wise, without a doubt.

0:44:240:44:27

When you hear, "Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Billy Fury!

0:44:270:44:30

"Marty Wilde! Tommy Steele!

0:44:300:44:33

"And Vince Ea..."

0:44:330:44:34

And it rolls into one, so it wasn't a good name.

0:44:340:44:37

But he came up with these names, and I thought the names suited,

0:44:370:44:40

particularly Billy and Marty. I think they suited them brilliantly.

0:44:400:44:43

Because both guys, offstage, were such lovely,

0:44:430:44:46

boy-next-door type of characters.

0:44:460:44:48

On stage, they were dynamic.

0:44:480:44:50

Of all the English rock and roll innovators, Billy stood out.

0:44:580:45:05

He would walk onto the stage, and it was electrifying. Everything.

0:45:050:45:10

He was just incredible. He would walk on and stand there for a while.

0:45:100:45:15

And then suddenly...

0:45:150:45:17

become Billy.

0:45:170:45:19

# Well, just because you think you're so pretty

0:45:190:45:23

# And just because your momma thinks you're hot

0:45:230:45:27

# And just because you think you've got something

0:45:270:45:31

# That nobody else has got

0:45:310:45:34

# You caused me to lose all my money

0:45:350:45:39

# You left and called me old Santa Claus

0:45:390:45:43

# Well I'm telling you, baby, I'm through with you

0:45:430:45:47

# Because, well, just because

0:45:470:45:50

# Well, there will come a time when you could be lonesome

0:45:510:45:55

# And there's-a come a time when you'll be blue

0:45:550:45:59

# And there's-a come a time when old Santa

0:45:590:46:03

# He won't pay your bills for you

0:46:030:46:07

# You caused me to lose my money

0:46:070:46:11

# You left and called me old Santa Claus

0:46:110:46:15

# Well I'm telling you, baby, I'm through with you

0:46:150:46:19

# Because, well, just because. #

0:46:190:46:22

It was like somebody had just plugged an electric bolt into him.

0:46:220:46:26

It was such a difference.

0:46:260:46:27

I stood in the wings so many nights and watched him.

0:46:270:46:30

Because he was mesmerising. The energy was just beaming off him.

0:46:300:46:33

I made a point of trying to see him on stage,

0:46:330:46:35

every time he came to this area.

0:46:350:46:37

Because we hadn't really seen what Elvis Presley was like,

0:46:370:46:40

live on stage. You know, we'd only seen him in the movies.

0:46:400:46:43

But I'd seen Billy Fury on stage, that's entirely different.

0:46:430:46:46

He's generating something that Cliff, Marty, Adam

0:46:460:46:48

just couldn't generate.

0:46:480:46:50

And he always could generate some kind of real excitement.

0:46:500:46:53

I remember Joe Brown saying that he didn't realise how sensual

0:46:530:46:57

and charismatic Billy was.

0:46:570:46:59

Until one day he broke down on the way to the theatre.

0:46:590:47:02

And Billy had had to go on instead of me, to close the first half.

0:47:020:47:06

And I went into the theatre while he was on.

0:47:070:47:09

And I'd never felt such an electric atmosphere.

0:47:090:47:12

Because I'd never seen him.

0:47:120:47:14

I'd never seen Billy Fury from the front, ever.

0:47:140:47:17

The only time I'd ever seen him was either

0:47:170:47:19

playing in the band for him, or it was from the side of the stage.

0:47:190:47:22

He had this wonderful way of moving, which of course, Presley had.

0:47:220:47:25

And he had all sorts of idiosyncrasies.

0:47:250:47:29

Flicking hands here, and flicking hips there.

0:47:290:47:33

# Well, I just want to be in that number

0:47:330:47:37

# I said, when the saints go marching in. #

0:47:370:47:40

That look in his eye, that you'd see,

0:47:430:47:45

if you look at any of the old footage of him.

0:47:450:47:48

He had that confidence,

0:47:480:47:51

but yet...

0:47:510:47:52

Like a little, lost boy.

0:47:520:47:54

You wanted to just wrap him up and take him home.

0:47:540:47:57

And the girls, you know, the girls went crazy for him.

0:47:570:48:00

The guys wanted to be him, the girls wanted to be with him.

0:48:000:48:03

He loved the screams.

0:48:030:48:04

And when he heard those girls screaming, it drove him

0:48:040:48:06

to give everything for that particular number.

0:48:060:48:08

To see it on stage, and it's your brother...

0:48:080:48:11

It was just unreal. The feelings were unreal.

0:48:110:48:13

You don't know whether to laugh or cry or smile what.

0:48:130:48:16

As a rock and roll, live performer,

0:48:160:48:20

I would certainly put Billy Fury at the top.

0:48:200:48:22

There's a clip of Billy in Oh Boy!, doing Don't Knock Upon My Door.

0:48:220:48:25

And you can tell he means business.

0:48:250:48:27

This doesn't sound like some wimpish, British rock and roll star.

0:48:270:48:31

This sounds like the real deal.

0:48:310:48:32

And once Jack Good got a hold of him,

0:48:320:48:34

he was saying things to Billy like,

0:48:340:48:36

"Now, you've got to hit the deck here, like that."

0:48:360:48:39

And Billy would lie on the floor, grab hold of the microphone,

0:48:390:48:44

pretend he was making love to it.

0:48:440:48:46

We did the Theatre Royal, Dublin.

0:48:460:48:49

And it was... Billy was doing his movements,

0:48:490:48:52

and the guy comes, "Excuse me, sorry -

0:48:520:48:54

"if you wiggle your bottom once more, we'll pull the curtain down."

0:48:540:48:58

So the next night, Billy does that, and down comes the curtain.

0:48:580:49:01

His father was very annoyed with him about that.

0:49:010:49:03

But it helped to make him a great star.

0:49:030:49:07

And in Scotland, the same sort of thing happened.

0:49:070:49:10

Where this guy stood in front of him and says,

0:49:100:49:14

"If ye wiggle yer arse once more, I'll punch yer heid in."

0:49:140:49:17

His first really big hit was Halfway To Paradise.

0:49:190:49:22

# I want to be your lover

0:49:300:49:37

# But your friend is all I've stayed

0:49:370:49:44

# I'm only halfway to paradise

0:49:440:49:52

# So near, yet so far away. #

0:49:520:50:00

Shortly after Halfway To Paradise was a huge hit for Billy Fury,

0:50:000:50:04

Tony Orlando came to the UK as a support act on the Bobby Vee tour.

0:50:040:50:09

And I saw him at the Liverpool Empire.

0:50:090:50:11

Tony Orlando came on, and he said,

0:50:110:50:13

"I'm now going to do Halfway To Paradise,"

0:50:130:50:16

which had been a big American hit for him, but had meant nothing here.

0:50:160:50:20

And the audience started booing him!

0:50:200:50:22

Which was highly unfair,

0:50:220:50:24

because Billy Fury had actually pinched Tony Orlando's song.

0:50:240:50:29

Billy knew that he couldn't write songs that were

0:50:290:50:32

up to the standards of those Carole King and Gerry Goffin songs.

0:50:320:50:36

But he did say later, "They got heavy with me,

0:50:360:50:39

"and they forced me into doing American covers."

0:50:390:50:41

And that was virtually his words.

0:50:410:50:44

And of course, that's where the success really came.

0:50:440:50:46

You know, 29 hit singles, and most of those were ballads.

0:50:460:50:49

# Away from harm, in my baby's arms

0:50:490:50:53

# A wondrous place. #

0:50:550:50:56

Jack Good saw Wondrous Place could be given

0:50:560:50:59

a treatment like Elvis Presley's Crawfish, from King Creole.

0:50:590:51:03

Really sultry and sexy.

0:51:030:51:05

And he said to Billy, "Less is more."

0:51:050:51:09

He said, "When you do this on stage,

0:51:090:51:11

"we'll just have a single spot on you,

0:51:110:51:13

"just shining up your face, and your hand with a cigarette."

0:51:130:51:18

And he said, "When you get to 'Ah, wondrous place,'

0:51:180:51:22

"you just flick a bit of ash on the floor."

0:51:220:51:24

# I want to stay and never go back... #

0:51:240:51:27

He'd knock ash off his ciggie...

0:51:270:51:29

# Wondrous place. #

0:51:290:51:30

..and then he'd sing "wondrous place".

0:51:300:51:32

The place used to be in an uproar.

0:51:320:51:34

My favourite tango - and I mean this -

0:51:340:51:37

my favourite tango, Jealousy.

0:51:370:51:39

HE HUMS THE TUNE

0:51:400:51:43

Oh, yes! I'm getting a tingle in my loins just thinking about it!

0:51:430:51:47

# Our hearts were broken. #

0:51:470:51:50

It would be A Thousand Stars, without any doubt at all.

0:51:500:51:52

I think it was an outstanding record.

0:51:520:51:54

It's also quite a big record.

0:51:540:51:57

It's got shades of Phil Spector in it.

0:51:570:52:00

# A thousand stars in the skies

0:52:000:52:03

# Make me realise. #

0:52:030:52:07

I love Last Night Was Made For Love.

0:52:070:52:10

I loved his version of I'll Save The Last Dance For You.

0:52:100:52:14

I like him doing a song called Last Kiss.

0:52:140:52:17

His B-sides were always good.

0:52:170:52:19

# Last night was made for love

0:52:190:52:23

# But where were you? #

0:52:230:52:27

I went all the way to see a show of his, I went by myself.

0:52:290:52:33

And when I got there,

0:52:330:52:34

I'd brought a programme.

0:52:340:52:36

And I went upstairs into the circle.

0:52:360:52:39

And I sat and watched the show right through.

0:52:400:52:43

And at the end, I was going like that with the programme.

0:52:430:52:48

So he'd see me. And he spotted me.

0:52:480:52:51

And I went downstairs to go backstage.

0:52:510:52:55

And this burly fella said to me, "Where you going?"

0:52:550:53:01

"You can't go in there."

0:53:010:53:04

So I said, "I'm his mother."

0:53:040:53:06

He said, "Oh, come off it."

0:53:060:53:10

He said, "We get all this stuff."

0:53:100:53:12

He said, "Billy Fury's mother, sister, auntie and this."

0:53:120:53:19

So a door opened, and Johnny Leyton - who was his manager then -

0:53:200:53:25

came and he said, "It's all right, Mum, I know it's you. Come on."

0:53:250:53:31

From the very off, when I started working for him,

0:53:310:53:34

I realised that Billy was a big star.

0:53:340:53:37

When we used to take Larry's car and go up to the West End,

0:53:370:53:41

at 1am and drive around, and have girls following us,

0:53:410:53:45

you go in to a cafe and they put you in a corner, and all of a sudden

0:53:450:53:48

it's full and everybody's watching you,

0:53:480:53:50

that's how you know you've made it.

0:53:500:53:52

I can only imagine that Billy and Vince and Joe going out.

0:53:520:53:56

They must have felt great going around, rolling into town

0:53:560:54:01

and thinking, "Yeah, we're going to knock their socks off."

0:54:010:54:04

I did a coming-out party for the Currys family,

0:54:040:54:09

the people that own Currys.

0:54:090:54:11

And I did this coming-out party.

0:54:110:54:14

And when I came off stage and went through, I went to my room -

0:54:140:54:17

they gave me one of the rooms. And there were two girls in bed.

0:54:170:54:21

And I said, "I've always liked my curries, let's go for it!"

0:54:210:54:24

That's the sort of thing that used to happen!

0:54:240:54:27

Larry gave me a good name when he said Eager. Because I was.

0:54:270:54:30

Girls trying to get into bedrooms and all sorts of strange goings-on.

0:54:300:54:36

And some you let in, and some you didn't.

0:54:360:54:39

I went to my dustbin one day -

0:54:390:54:44

and we were in the middle of nowhere -

0:54:440:54:47

I took the lid off, and there was a girl in there.

0:54:470:54:50

And this was the first time really

0:54:500:54:52

England had really seen screaming kids like that.

0:54:520:54:55

It'd never been seen before.

0:54:550:54:57

It was a time you'd go into a cafe or restaurant,

0:54:570:55:00

and a crowd would develop and cause problems.

0:55:000:55:04

So we got to the theatres, and we'd stay in our dressing rooms.

0:55:040:55:07

We had to come out of the theatre, and we were going home.

0:55:070:55:11

And we were swamped by the girls.

0:55:110:55:17

And they really meant mischief.

0:55:170:55:20

I had never seen it before, it was quite frightening.

0:55:200:55:23

As soon as our car was spotted,

0:55:230:55:25

they'd all run from wherever they were.

0:55:250:55:27

I remember, one time, they were running down the street like this,

0:55:270:55:31

from round the corner, and he came out of this one exit.

0:55:310:55:34

And in the end, the girls grabbed him

0:55:340:55:36

and I undid his cardigan and in we got and ran again for it.

0:55:360:55:41

It was like living in a nightmare, really. It wasn't glamorous.

0:55:410:55:46

We had to move from the house that we were in,

0:55:460:55:48

because it just became unbearable.

0:55:480:55:50

Because every time he did the Empire, they'd all get on buses

0:55:500:55:53

and cars and taxis and the whole street would be full of girls.

0:55:530:55:57

I felt embarrassed about it, for the female race, quite frankly.

0:55:570:56:01

Because they were just ridiculous.

0:56:010:56:04

They just went mental.

0:56:040:56:07

Like they were on something.

0:56:070:56:09

It was one of the worst experiences of my life.

0:56:090:56:12

And he lived it all the time.

0:56:120:56:14

It could be quite a rough life on the road,

0:56:140:56:16

with jealous boyfriends and husbands.

0:56:160:56:18

Joe Brown was accepted by both the girls and by the fellas.

0:56:180:56:21

But Billy Fury was smouldering, really sexy,

0:56:210:56:25

and, therefore, some of the teddy boys didn't like the fact

0:56:250:56:30

that their girlfriends were screaming for him.

0:56:300:56:33

It wasn't a peaceful life at all.

0:56:330:56:36

Until we moved further and further and further out.

0:56:360:56:39

And finally, we were living in the middle of nowhere.

0:56:390:56:41

And, of course, America, for us, was fine, because nobody knew him.

0:56:410:56:44

Neither Billy Fury nor the Tornados went to America.

0:56:440:56:47

What is interesting is that, in 1962,

0:56:470:56:50

he had the Tornados as his backing group.

0:56:500:56:53

And the Tornados had an instrumental hit with Telstar.

0:56:530:56:56

It went to number one in America.

0:57:010:57:04

And they were going to go to America and do some dates there,

0:57:040:57:07

like the Ed Sullivan show.

0:57:070:57:09

And Larry Parnes said, "You can't go to America without Billy Fury.

0:57:090:57:13

"You've got to take Billy with you."

0:57:130:57:15

And the promoters and the like said,

0:57:150:57:17

"We don't want Billy Fury, we don't know who he is."

0:57:170:57:19

He wants one of the top British singers.

0:57:190:57:21

-Could you recommend somebody?

-Yeah, that'd be Billy Fury.

0:57:210:57:25

-That'd be Billy who?

-Billy Fury.

0:57:250:57:28

Billy Fury? You're kidding!

0:57:280:57:31

You mean there's a guy walking around with a name like that?

0:57:310:57:33

LAUGHTER

0:57:330:57:36

Well, I think he's the greatest.

0:57:360:57:37

"That's Love."

0:57:370:57:39

Well, now, that is a sensible title, That's Love.

0:57:390:57:42

You wouldn't, by any remote chance, happen to know how this song goes?

0:57:420:57:47

-Well, kind of.

-Kind of?

0:57:470:57:50

Would you, by some remote chance, be able to sing a little of it for me?

0:57:500:57:54

-I'd like to hear it.

-Sure, great.

-Come on.

0:57:540:57:57

# Someday, somehow

0:58:040:58:07

# I know we'll make-a that vow

0:58:070:58:10

-# That's love

-That's love

0:58:100:58:13

# Baby, I know that's love. #

0:58:130:58:15

He was so charismatic. Yet he was two people.

0:58:240:58:27

There was Billy Fury, the rock and roll legend, that is now an idol.

0:58:270:58:32

And there was Billy Fury, the human being.

0:58:320:58:35

They were two different people, two totally different people.

0:58:350:58:39

I hated talking to anyone, because I was even too shy to speak,

0:58:390:58:43

believe it or not.

0:58:430:58:45

He was very confident. Very confident. In the dressing room.

0:58:450:58:49

But as soon as people came in... When Hal was there,

0:58:490:58:52

Hal was like his right-hand man. He would be himself.

0:58:520:58:56

But when someone else came in the room,

0:58:560:58:59

this little-boy-lost act came on.

0:58:590:59:02

And people would run and get him things.

0:59:020:59:05

"I'll go and find you a bottle of lemonade."

0:59:050:59:08

And they'd go for miles to the nearest shop

0:59:080:59:10

to come back so Billy had a glass of lemonade.

0:59:100:59:12

He'd push the boundaries, and he would be controversial.

0:59:120:59:16

But then he would be shy and timid.

0:59:160:59:18

Of course, the girls loved that, it was the perfect combination.

0:59:180:59:22

It was just something he'd developed as a little boy.

0:59:220:59:24

He found out how to manipulate people to get what he wanted.

0:59:240:59:28

I didn't put him on this pedestal that a lot of people did,

0:59:280:59:30

because I spent more time with him off stage

0:59:300:59:33

than I did watching him on stage.

0:59:330:59:34

So I felt that I knew the real Billy Fury,

0:59:340:59:38

which was the fun-loving, giggly guy,

0:59:380:59:41

doing the daft stuff we used to do.

0:59:410:59:43

This woman came up to Billy and said,

0:59:430:59:48

"Didn't you used to be Billy Fury?"

0:59:480:59:50

He said, "No, love - Marty Wilde."

0:59:500:59:52

I thought that was so funny, you know!

0:59:520:59:54

He was a totally simple, working-class boy.

0:59:540:59:58

He was at home with music. That was his life.

0:59:581:00:02

The fact that all this other had come along, along the way,

1:00:021:00:05

had really got nothing to do with Billy at all.

1:00:051:00:07

Very quiet, very nice. Very polite.

1:00:071:00:10

I mean, really, really polite. But disconnected.

1:00:101:00:13

For example, don't remember him coming and having a meal with us.

1:00:131:00:16

He struck me as being very lonely and insecure.

1:00:161:00:20

The trouble is, being a star like he was,

1:00:201:00:23

and mobbed wherever he went, he became very, very introverted.

1:00:231:00:28

He cut himself off from everything.

1:00:281:00:32

There are many instances of him

1:00:321:00:34

not wanting to do more than one number instead of two.

1:00:341:00:38

Not turning up.

1:00:381:00:39

Billy Fury did have some problems with his health.

1:00:391:00:42

From time to time he did have to cancel appearances.

1:00:421:00:45

But he was also very much a person who

1:00:451:00:48

depended upon his own whims.

1:00:481:00:51

And if he didn't feel like performing that particular day,

1:00:511:00:54

then he wouldn't do it.

1:00:541:00:55

Don't think he ever thought in any way ahead, or thought

1:00:551:00:57

what his career was going to do. He just got through the days.

1:00:571:01:01

In July 1962, Billy Fury didn't do a particular show.

1:01:011:01:06

And Larry Parnes sent along Marty Wilde in his place.

1:01:061:01:09

But the BBC wasn't happy with that,

1:01:091:01:11

because they'd asked for Billy Fury.

1:01:111:01:13

And you'll see there's a note here from production that says

1:01:131:01:17

that neither Fury or Wilde are to be booked for six months.

1:01:171:01:21

And that seems, to me, to be very unfair on Marty Wilde.

1:01:211:01:24

# All the people down the street, whoever you meet

1:01:241:01:27

# Say I'm a bad boy

1:01:271:01:29

# Say I'm a bad boy

1:01:311:01:33

# Say I'm a bad boy. #

1:01:351:01:37

In my days, rock and roll became respected as part of show business.

1:01:371:01:43

It became professional music.

1:01:431:01:46

The artists in it became professional.

1:01:461:01:49

This is a memo sent from the light entertainment booking manager

1:01:491:01:53

to the assistant solicitor - so it's going up the chain, really -

1:01:531:01:57

complaining about Billy Fury.

1:01:571:01:59

And what has happened is that Larry Parnes has

1:01:591:02:02

come round to see Patrick Newman and brought a bottle of champagne

1:02:021:02:06

and said he's very sorry for Billy's behaviour.

1:02:061:02:09

And it says here, "Mr Parnes duly appeared yesterday

1:02:091:02:12

"and he told me of the simple country boy Billy Fury was.

1:02:121:02:17

"And he's really only interested in bird-watching -

1:02:171:02:19

"in the purest sense of the word - and goldfish and animals."

1:02:191:02:24

Always his animals. Always the animals.

1:02:241:02:26

The animals were always there.

1:02:261:02:27

I've Gotta Horse, to me, it was a bit of a laugh, really.

1:02:271:02:31

Because Billy Fury, the rock and roll fella, doing a song

1:02:311:02:37

# I like animals much more than human beings! #

1:02:371:02:41

I thought, that's funny, that.

1:02:411:02:43

Billy, what makes you want to be a Derby owner, then?

1:02:431:02:46

First of all, I wanted to really start in motor racing,

1:02:461:02:49

but Larry, my manager there, was so upset about the whole thing

1:02:491:02:52

that he suggested horse racing. So it's a racing of some kind.

1:02:521:02:56

Do you know anything about horse racing?

1:02:561:02:57

Not very much. I follow, but never back very much, you know.

1:02:571:03:00

-You ever seen this horse in action?

-No, I haven't, no.

1:03:001:03:03

I'm told it's shortened in odds since you took it over.

1:03:031:03:05

Is this because your fan club are putting money on it?

1:03:051:03:08

I don't know, really!

1:03:081:03:09

-Do you advise us to back your horse?

-Erm...

1:03:091:03:13

No, buy my records instead!

1:03:131:03:14

At 100/1, Anselmo -

1:03:141:03:16

bought the week before by pop singer Billy Fury for 8,500.

1:03:161:03:20

Billy was walking around with a holdall which was

1:03:211:03:25

full of a Chihuahua and all her puppies.

1:03:251:03:30

So there must have been at least eight dogs in the bag.

1:03:301:03:33

And Sheba, his stray Alsatian, and Rusty, his Great Dane.

1:03:331:03:38

When it came to animals, we were just ridiculous. We had so many.

1:03:381:03:43

God.

1:03:431:03:44

The whole place was full of birds anyway.

1:03:451:03:48

In aviaries and things like that.

1:03:491:03:51

I mean, he'd start feeding first thing in the morning.

1:03:511:03:54

Of course, when he was on tour, it would take me all day to feed them.

1:03:541:03:57

He had the affection for wildlife right from the start.

1:03:571:04:01

Even when they were living in a small, terraced house.

1:04:011:04:05

He was feeding birds and suchlike in the back garden.

1:04:051:04:08

And, as Hal Carter said, Billy was never happier than

1:04:081:04:11

sitting in a hide in the pouring rain with a pair of binoculars.

1:04:111:04:14

He was a complete ornithologist.

1:04:141:04:16

He used to go all over the place, just bird spotting.

1:04:161:04:19

We liked Jamaica.

1:04:191:04:21

We went to a hotel in Ocho Rios, which is right out of the way,

1:04:211:04:24

and got to know all the beach boys.

1:04:241:04:26

And they took us to their houses, that were like huts, really.

1:04:261:04:30

And I think that was our happiest time,

1:04:301:04:33

when we were in the West Indies.

1:04:331:04:35

You got lovely wacky baccy there.

1:04:351:04:37

I mean, the best you can get, in Jamaica.

1:04:371:04:41

Jamaica.

1:04:411:04:42

The marijuana came first, before everything.

1:04:421:04:45

And I think it was something that was literally

1:04:451:04:49

life-holding-onto for him.

1:04:491:04:52

He was taken ill in the studio, and the doctor said,

1:04:521:04:55

"Do you know that he smokes marijuana?"

1:04:551:04:58

And I went, "Hmm?"

1:04:581:04:59

Because you didn't know what to say in those days.

1:04:591:05:01

And I said, "Yes, yes."

1:05:011:05:03

And he said, "If he doesn't, and if he stops, he will die.

1:05:031:05:08

"It's keeping him alive."

1:05:081:05:09

I think he knew that that heart was doing funny things. So he smoked.

1:05:091:05:13

And he did smoke all the time.

1:05:151:05:17

Before he got out of bed, he would roll a joint.

1:05:171:05:21

And I'd get in the bath, and where you had the soap,

1:05:211:05:25

there'd be joint ends, dead, stubbed out in there, you know?

1:05:251:05:30

And he did propose to me,

1:05:301:05:31

and I thought, "I don't think I could live like this."

1:05:311:05:35

It was a bit surreal.

1:05:351:05:38

But I think that was to do with Billy smoking so much.

1:05:381:05:42

But he was not totally of this world.

1:05:421:05:46

# Last kiss, and then goodbye

1:05:461:05:51

# One kiss goodbye

1:05:511:05:54

# Last kiss, and then goodbye. #

1:05:541:05:59

He was a flirt,

1:05:591:06:00

but he wasn't one of these that would switch from one to the other.

1:06:001:06:03

He had more regular girlfriends than any of us.

1:06:031:06:05

He wasn't like some of us - including myself - wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

1:06:051:06:09

But he was very loyal, very respectful.

1:06:091:06:10

And he treated them like ladies. I admired him for that.

1:06:101:06:13

I never had an argument with Billy.

1:06:131:06:16

Not that I can remember, anyway.

1:06:161:06:19

I don't think Billy had the energy to have an argument.

1:06:191:06:22

He used to get fed up with things.

1:06:221:06:24

I think it probably happened with his women, at the time,

1:06:241:06:26

he got fed up with them.

1:06:261:06:28

You know, decided to change.

1:06:281:06:29

By the time, when he went - we're having a perfectly normal evening.

1:06:291:06:34

I think he'd gone to go and get some milk or something.

1:06:341:06:37

He just never came back!

1:06:371:06:38

He was such a strange creature.

1:06:401:06:43

But it kind of fitted that he'd have relationships that

1:06:441:06:48

I didn't even know about.

1:06:481:06:50

This one was now not going anywhere.

1:06:501:06:53

And maybe he did want to get married and settle down, I don't know.

1:06:531:06:57

You weren't in contact with a real person.

1:06:571:07:00

We had a very good life for quite a long time.

1:07:001:07:04

And then...

1:07:041:07:05

I think it was me that got fed up, really.

1:07:081:07:10

I think it was my fault, everything that broke me up.

1:07:101:07:13

Because I really got...

1:07:131:07:15

I wanted a life again.

1:07:151:07:18

# My baby, baby, baby

1:07:181:07:19

# She's-a gone from me

1:07:191:07:21

# My baby, baby, baby

1:07:211:07:23

# She's-a gone from me

1:07:231:07:25

# She left me here alone, alone and so blue

1:07:251:07:29

# It's just my baby, baby, baby, she was so untrue

1:07:291:07:33

# My baby, she's gone

1:07:331:07:35

# I don't know what to do

1:07:351:07:37

# What to do, what to do. #

1:07:371:07:40

All these young, aspiring kids in the rock and roll era,

1:07:471:07:51

they just wanted to perform.

1:07:511:07:53

And they would sign a contract, they didn't care.

1:07:531:07:56

If someone came along and said, we're going to put you on

1:07:561:07:59

Six-Five Special, or whatever, you'd sign your life away.

1:07:591:08:02

First one for Larry to sign was Tommy Steele.

1:08:021:08:04

Then he took on Tommy's brother Colin. Then he took Marty.

1:08:041:08:08

There he took myself, then Billy.

1:08:081:08:10

Then Dickie Pride, and then Duffy Power,

1:08:101:08:12

were on totally different contracts.

1:08:121:08:14

Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Colin Hicks

1:08:141:08:17

and myself were all on percentage.

1:08:171:08:19

When Billy started, it was Billy, Dickie, Duffy, Johnny Gentle.

1:08:211:08:25

The other guys - Joe Brown, even Joe was - they were on salaries.

1:08:251:08:32

I was managed by Robert Stigwood. And I was paid £1,000 a week.

1:08:321:08:37

Billy found out about it.

1:08:371:08:39

And I don't think he was too happy about that.

1:08:391:08:41

I don't know what Billy was on.

1:08:411:08:42

Knowing Larry Parnes, he was probably on about 50 quid a week!

1:08:421:08:46

Nothing like that. It was £20 a week, and that was it.

1:08:461:08:49

And pay your own expenses.

1:08:491:08:51

-VINCE:

-Part of the contract, what it said was that Larry Parnes had

1:08:511:08:55

power of attorney over the said artist.

1:08:551:08:58

Billy, myself, Marty, whoever.

1:08:581:09:01

And what happened with me was

1:09:011:09:02

I'd made about four records that had sold well.

1:09:021:09:04

I hadn't had any major hits, but I'd done well.

1:09:041:09:07

And I said, "When I going to get some record royalties?"

1:09:071:09:09

He said, "You'll never get record royalties." I said, "Why?"

1:09:091:09:12

He said, "Because they're mine."

1:09:121:09:13

I said, "No, the contract said a penny or ha'penny a record."

1:09:131:09:17

He said, "No, you'll also notice on the contract,

1:09:171:09:20

"it states I have power of attorney.

1:09:201:09:22

"So I say you don't get record royalties." And we didn't.

1:09:221:09:25

In all those stories you heard about somebody picking up a kid

1:09:251:09:28

out of the street and manufacturing a rock and roll singer,

1:09:281:09:32

in a way, a lot of that was true.

1:09:321:09:34

# What do you want if you don't want money?

1:09:341:09:37

# What do you want if you don't want gold?

1:09:371:09:40

# Say what you want, and I'll give it you, darling

1:09:401:09:44

# Wish you wanted my love, baby. #

1:09:441:09:46

There were some stables that were really manipulated.

1:09:461:09:50

They were just paid a wage,

1:09:501:09:53

and they worked for 40 weeks of the year.

1:09:531:09:58

At, I don't know, 50 quid a week, or something.

1:09:581:10:00

And they really were manipulated.

1:10:001:10:02

Larry Parnes decided that he would pay people so much per week.

1:10:021:10:06

And with Billy, I think it was £20 a week to start with.

1:10:061:10:10

Which was more than he was getting on the tug boats.

1:10:101:10:12

But Billy was writing his own songs,

1:10:121:10:15

Billy was doing a lot of shows.

1:10:151:10:17

I came along, I was getting more money than him.

1:10:171:10:19

There he is, top of the bill, touring all over England,

1:10:191:10:24

and he was getting peanuts.

1:10:241:10:26

Larry Parnes didn't like people having days off.

1:10:261:10:29

If they were on tour, he liked them to work seven days a week.

1:10:291:10:32

Because if they were having a day off, they weren't earning anything.

1:10:321:10:35

Joe Brown did something like

1:10:351:10:37

14 months without a night off for £20 a week.

1:10:371:10:41

Joe Brown, who'd got a very strong constitution,

1:10:421:10:46

said he collapsed after three years,

1:10:461:10:48

because he'd been working day in, day out for Larry Parnes.

1:10:481:10:51

I mean, the money was absolute rubbish.

1:10:511:10:52

I was sleeping in the coach most nights.

1:10:521:10:54

Make the coach driver - which wasn't supposed to be -

1:10:541:10:57

he used to pick me up and drive me to local baths to have a wash.

1:10:571:11:01

Joe Brown, when he wanted some money once, he went on a Friday afternoon

1:11:011:11:04

to the office to get paid, and he couldn't get any money.

1:11:041:11:07

He used to ride up on a motorbike. And he had a crash helmet.

1:11:071:11:11

He put his crash helmet on,

1:11:111:11:13

and he started banging against the doors, going,

1:11:131:11:15

"Larry! Give me the bloody money!"

1:11:151:11:18

I was with a manager called Larry Parnes,

1:11:181:11:20

who had a reputation for being a bit tight.

1:11:201:11:22

I'll never forget when we recorded Picture Of You,

1:11:221:11:25

which went to number one in most charts,

1:11:251:11:27

and I never got given one, I had to buy one.

1:11:271:11:29

I mean...!

1:11:291:11:32

And I never got any royalties off of it either.

1:11:321:11:35

# But the only sight I want to view

1:11:351:11:39

# Is that wonderful picture of you

1:11:391:11:43

# On a streetcar or in the cafe

1:11:461:11:50

# All of the evening and most of the day

1:11:501:11:55

# My mind is in a maze, what can I do?

1:11:551:12:00

# I still see that picture of you. #

1:12:001:12:05

We were doing a show at the Liverpool Playhouse

1:12:051:12:08

called Be-Bop-A-Lula.

1:12:081:12:09

It was based on the 1960 British tour by Gene Vincent

1:12:091:12:13

and Eddie Cochran, of which Billy Fury was the third top.

1:12:131:12:17

Larry Parnes' partner rang me up and said,

1:12:171:12:21

"Larry's coming up for the opening night."

1:12:211:12:23

He said, "There isn't going to be anything in this show

1:12:231:12:26

"that will embarrass Larry, is there?"

1:12:261:12:27

I said, "No, the only thing that he mightn't like is that they

1:12:271:12:32

"do talk on tour about how little money they're getting."

1:12:321:12:36

Larry then rang me up and he said, "I don't mind that,

1:12:361:12:39

"it's just like schoolchildren having a go at the headmaster."

1:12:391:12:43

The Oh Boy! show was Marty's show. He was the headliner.

1:12:431:12:46

Until Larry had a fall out with Jack Good over Marty's wardrobe.

1:12:461:12:51

Marty was pulled from the show, and Cliff dropped into his slot,

1:12:521:12:56

and it became more of Cliff's show than it was before.

1:12:561:12:58

Larry absolutely screwed up Marty terribly by doing that.

1:12:581:13:02

Because it let Cliff in the door.

1:13:021:13:04

# Let the rumours come and go

1:13:041:13:08

# We'll prove to everyone

1:13:081:13:12

# We'll still carry on as though

1:13:141:13:18

# Our love affair has just begun. #

1:13:181:13:24

We used to nick money off Larry's dressing table,

1:13:241:13:27

because he hadn't give us any money.

1:13:271:13:28

If it hadn't have been for a little Italian restaurant

1:13:281:13:31

on the ground floor, they looked after us, gave us free spaghetti,

1:13:311:13:33

I think we might have starved to death.

1:13:331:13:36

He was mean in a lot of ways.

1:13:361:13:38

I think I must have blotted out all the horror.

1:13:381:13:41

Because in the last few years of his life, we were very, very close.

1:13:411:13:47

And I was devastated when he died, really.

1:13:471:13:50

So, when you search your soul, you know that you loved him, really.

1:13:501:13:55

Even though he was such a bastard.

1:13:551:13:58

We used to drive up to town in Larry's car without Larry knowing.

1:13:581:14:01

And we'd come round this part of London, or the West End,

1:14:011:14:04

and we would go up and down here.

1:14:041:14:06

And it was, on one occasion,

1:14:061:14:10

just around the corner where we were stopped by a policeman who said,

1:14:101:14:14

"You're going the wrong way down a one-way street."

1:14:141:14:16

And I said, "Well, I'll turn round."

1:14:161:14:18

But I couldn't find reverse, it was a column shift.

1:14:181:14:21

And Billy was saying,

1:14:211:14:22

"Come on, he's going to arrest us, he's going to arrest us!"

1:14:221:14:25

So I managed to get the car started. But we went straight ahead

1:14:251:14:28

and put the metal - what do they call it? - the pedal to the metal,

1:14:281:14:31

or whatever it is. Put our foot hard down,

1:14:311:14:33

and we got out the way, we didn't get in trouble.

1:14:331:14:35

But we'd just to get up to all sorts of things.

1:14:351:14:37

And this used to be, as I say, packed with cars,

1:14:371:14:40

and with girls, and with guys looking for girls.

1:14:401:14:43

How would I criticise myself?

1:14:431:14:45

Perhaps I should have been

1:14:451:14:48

a little more selfish towards my bank balance.

1:14:481:14:54

Later on, after the whole Billy Fury thing has blown up,

1:14:541:14:57

and he's been famous, and he's disappeared from the spotlight,

1:14:571:15:01

actually, the thing that then is the perfect vehicle for him

1:15:011:15:04

are films again.

1:15:041:15:06

In That'll Be The Day, playing a character

1:15:061:15:08

who is a rock and roll star, makes perfect sense.

1:15:081:15:11

We thought, we've got to get some people of the era

1:15:111:15:14

who can play those parts.

1:15:141:15:16

And the thing about using actors and things is, OK, you can

1:15:161:15:20

get an actor to do it.

1:15:201:15:21

But if you get the real thing, they're better.

1:15:211:15:23

Billy, at one point, felt maybe we were sending him up.

1:15:231:15:26

We weren't sending him up, what we were doing is depicting an era.

1:15:261:15:29

And I remember having a discussion with him.

1:15:291:15:30

I said, look, you've got to understand that from the perspective

1:15:301:15:33

of making the film - that was 1972 - what was going on at that point -

1:15:331:15:37

'56, '57 - does look weird.

1:15:371:15:40

It does look over the top, it does look strange.

1:15:401:15:42

The red coats and everything else.

1:15:421:15:44

We were down on the Isle of Wight,

1:15:441:15:45

we'd recorded the backing tracks,

1:15:451:15:47

and he had to sing something.

1:15:471:15:48

And he wouldn't do it in front of the band.

1:15:481:15:51

He wanted to do it by himself.

1:15:511:15:53

And I wondered whether that was

1:15:531:15:54

because he felt they were all very hip guys - Keith Moon

1:15:541:15:57

and all those sort of people - maybe he felt he was kind of old.

1:15:571:16:01

He did go into a bit of a... not so much a depression,

1:16:021:16:04

he just went very, very quiet.

1:16:041:16:05

And said, "I've got a nasty feeling I'm being sent up."

1:16:051:16:08

But there must be a great film to be made about these people, who were

1:16:161:16:20

so big, and suddenly the light went out and they were nothing.

1:16:201:16:25

And when you get up in the morning, you think,

1:16:251:16:28

"Last year, I was the biggest thing in the world.

1:16:281:16:30

"And now nobody wants me."

1:16:301:16:32

# Rise in the morning

1:16:321:16:35

# You're not around

1:16:351:16:38

# Searching all over

1:16:381:16:42

# You can't be found

1:16:421:16:45

# And then in the evening

1:16:451:16:48

# By the moonlight

1:16:481:16:51

# I'll hold you, darling

1:16:511:16:55

# I'll hold you tight. #

1:16:551:17:01

I met him in 1982, twice.

1:17:011:17:03

The first time, he was just so worn out.

1:17:031:17:07

And he'd just performed with the Mick Green Band.

1:17:071:17:09

It was a great show.

1:17:091:17:11

And he was absolutely drained and exhausted.

1:17:111:17:13

And he was standing there,

1:17:131:17:15

and the queue went all the way back through the nightclub.

1:17:151:17:18

And he was there signing autographs.

1:17:181:17:20

He really should have been sat down, and more care taken

1:17:201:17:22

of him on that night, to be honest, because he looked absolutely wiped.

1:17:221:17:25

It just didn't seem right for Billy Fury to be performing

1:17:251:17:29

in a little cabaret club with just a three-piece backing group.

1:17:291:17:33

He was bigger than that.

1:17:331:17:35

But he just had to work, and there was nothing he could do about it.

1:17:351:17:38

His light had gone out around him. You know?

1:17:381:17:41

I knew he was on his way.

1:17:411:17:45

I saw him once during that time.

1:17:451:17:48

I think it was a Baileys in Leicester or Watford

1:17:481:17:51

or one of those gigs.

1:17:511:17:52

And he was brilliant.

1:17:521:17:54

He was his old self, if not better.

1:17:541:17:57

I saw him again on December 4th, and it was to be his last public gig.

1:17:571:18:01

And he looked really good. He sounded good, hell of a performance.

1:18:011:18:05

He ended with Johnny B Goode.

1:18:051:18:07

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven -

1:18:071:18:09

there's Billy Fury with a guitar, singing Johnny B Goode,

1:18:091:18:11

and he was rocking out, and he looked great. And we were hopeful.

1:18:111:18:14

We knew he was unwell, and we thought,

1:18:141:18:16

hey, maybe things aren't so bad.

1:18:161:18:18

But with a heart condition, one day you're up, next day you're down.

1:18:181:18:21

And then, in the January, we lost him.

1:18:211:18:24

It was devastating for me when he died, really.

1:18:241:18:27

You don't ever stop loving somebody, do you?

1:18:271:18:30

# You don't know

1:18:321:18:36

# How I feel

1:18:361:18:40

# You don't know

1:18:401:18:42

# My love is real

1:18:421:18:48

# If I tell you

1:18:481:18:51

# You might say

1:18:511:18:55

# That I should not

1:18:551:18:59

# Feel this way. #

1:18:591:19:03

There was always something of the tragedy

1:19:031:19:06

hanging around Billy, actually.

1:19:061:19:09

There was just that air of something that you can't always pick...

1:19:091:19:13

You don't quite know what it is from someone.

1:19:131:19:16

It was sort of hovering in the air.

1:19:161:19:18

Because he was a bird-watcher, he would go out and get wet through.

1:19:181:19:22

And that's why he had the heart trouble, really.

1:19:221:19:26

He would stay out until he dried.

1:19:261:19:29

Which, of course, was fatal, really, in a way.

1:19:291:19:32

A seagull was hurt.

1:19:321:19:33

And he carried it the full length of the promenade to the RSPCA.

1:19:351:19:39

And all his suit down there was covered with yellow.

1:19:411:19:47

And I found the suit wringing wet when he came home.

1:19:471:19:52

And I said to him, "What have you been doing?"

1:19:521:19:55

And he never told me until after,

1:19:551:19:58

that he carried this seagull the full length of the promenade.

1:19:581:20:02

Because it was hurt.

1:20:041:20:06

# Maybe you don't care

1:20:061:20:13

# Baby, that's what I fear. #

1:20:131:20:19

He's left us with some great memories.

1:20:211:20:24

He's left us with some great songs.

1:20:241:20:26

And he's left us remembering, what I like to think, was just a great era.

1:20:261:20:31

It was a very, very exciting era.

1:20:311:20:33

I think his legacy is the records he made and the songs that he wrote.

1:20:331:20:36

And I honestly think, and I still say it to this day,

1:20:361:20:40

that if Billy had the management that Cliff had,

1:20:401:20:43

Billy would have been as big, if not bigger.

1:20:431:20:46

The guy from the Arctic Monkeys, Alex, with his quiff, his movements

1:20:461:20:50

and whatever - they're all little acknowledgements to Billy Fury.

1:20:501:20:56

This has to be his legacy, The Sound Of Fury 10".

1:20:561:20:59

It's a wonderful record, and I'm a fan.

1:20:591:21:02

When I was in Liverpool, doing the Strictly tour, and I was

1:21:021:21:04

walking round the docks, there's a fantastic statue of Billy Fury.

1:21:041:21:08

And there was half a dozen women putting flowers.

1:21:081:21:10

And I said, "What's going on?" They said, "It's his birthday."

1:21:101:21:13

So there's still people paying homage to this guy.

1:21:131:21:18

He was fantastic.

1:21:181:21:19

# My heart is breaking for the way you left me

1:21:211:21:27

# I'm feeling aching, baby

1:21:271:21:30

# Please, don't forget me. #

1:21:301:21:32

We opened the statue.

1:21:321:21:33

I was approached to see if I had any ideas

1:21:331:21:36

as to who could unveil a statue of Billy.

1:21:361:21:38

And I said, well, the only person really to do it is Jack Good.

1:21:381:21:43

Because Jack loved Billy.

1:21:431:21:44

He produced The Sound Of Fury, he should do it.

1:21:441:21:47

Jack doesn't do anything, he's becomes so reclusive.

1:21:471:21:50

And he said, "I tell you what, Vince,

1:21:501:21:52

"because it's Billy, I'll do it."

1:21:521:21:54

Me and Albie went down, and we were thrilled to bits.

1:21:541:21:59

It is a statue now that will give a bit of remembrance of him.

1:21:591:22:04

We're all very proud, and it's going to be here forever, you see.

1:22:041:22:07

Because it has been given to the people of Liverpool, this statue.

1:22:071:22:10

The statue is introducing the public to Billy and his music.

1:22:101:22:14

They see this statue of this energetic young man,

1:22:141:22:17

and they go and find out about him. Listen to the music.

1:22:171:22:21

And they realise what a great pop star he was.

1:22:211:22:23

It's a good statue, better than the one of John Lennon.

1:22:231:22:26

At last, he's getting some fame. He's getting the recognition he really deserved.

1:22:261:22:30

# Oh, honey

1:22:371:22:39

# How I pray

1:22:391:22:41

# That phone will ring today. #

1:22:411:22:44

You don't really want this place to be just Beatles city, we want

1:22:441:22:47

to do something for the other people that came from this city.

1:22:471:22:50

Billy Fury Way, I mean, considering Billy wasn't from London,

1:22:501:22:54

it's a hell of an acknowledgement.

1:22:541:22:57

It's a nice thing for people to go and visit. Billy Fury fans.

1:22:571:23:02

And there's a lot of them, all over the country, have seen it.

1:23:021:23:04

So with London having that,

1:23:041:23:07

Liverpool, I would have thought, should definitely have something.

1:23:071:23:11

So, come on, councillors, get it sorted.

1:23:111:23:14

Interesting to know whether the Beatles phenomenon could

1:23:141:23:17

have happened or would have happened had it not been for the ground

1:23:171:23:20

that was broken before them by Billy, Marty, Adam.

1:23:201:23:22

One of the great images of Billy Fury

1:23:221:23:24

is with his arms outstretched, like that.

1:23:241:23:26

And if you look at the statue from a distance,

1:23:261:23:28

you've got that position, with the arms outstretched.

1:23:281:23:31

And it looks great. It's such a distinctive pose of Billy Fury's.

1:23:311:23:34

It captures everything about Billy, really.

1:23:341:23:37

And all the force comes from a twist in his foot.

1:23:371:23:40

And it goes right through to his arms, like lightning, or something.

1:23:401:23:43

Going right through his foot, right through his hands,

1:23:431:23:46

it all happens in a split second.

1:23:461:23:47

# Well, all right

1:23:471:23:53

# I told a lie. #

1:23:531:23:57

You know, he's a great ballad singer.

1:23:571:24:00

And that's how he was a rocker.

1:24:001:24:01

When he did the live shows, he rocked.

1:24:011:24:03

He wasn't a mirror image of someone else. He was unique.

1:24:031:24:08

He was emblematic of a period.

1:24:081:24:10

In exactly the same way that Dusty Springfield was.

1:24:101:24:13

If you're really interested in that period, you couldn't make

1:24:131:24:16

a movie, not even a short movie, that didn't include him.

1:24:161:24:18

Youngsters love Elvis, they love the Beatles.

1:24:181:24:21

And, frankly, they should love Billy, because he was a pioneer.

1:24:211:24:25

There was probably more tribute acts to Billy Fury

1:24:251:24:28

than any other British artist.

1:24:281:24:30

I'm co-producing a show called Be-Bop-A-Lula.

1:24:301:24:33

We feature four icons in it, which is

1:24:331:24:36

Roy Orbison,

1:24:361:24:38

Eddie Cochrane,

1:24:381:24:39

Gene Vincent

1:24:391:24:41

and Billy Fury.

1:24:411:24:43

For the kids coming to see the show, they don't care.

1:24:431:24:46

They don't care whether it's Halfway To Paradise

1:24:461:24:48

or Gonna Type A Letter or Don't Knock Upon The Door.

1:24:481:24:51

They just think, "What is it? Wow! Proper rock and roll."

1:24:511:24:55

So his music is still being kept alive in one way.

1:24:551:24:59

And people ask, "Who was this fella?"

1:24:591:25:01

And of course, he was the greatest British rock and roll star.

1:25:011:25:05

Maybe the only British rock and roll star.

1:25:051:25:07

See, a lot of people can look well, they can sound well,

1:25:071:25:10

but they don't have that magic.

1:25:101:25:12

And Billy Fury had magic.

1:25:121:25:15

# All right, goodbye

1:25:151:25:19

# All right, goodbye. #

1:25:191:25:24

APPLAUSE

1:25:311:25:32

# I'm Alabamy bound

1:25:321:25:35

# I'm no heebie-jeebie hanging around

1:25:351:25:39

# I got the meanest ticket man, oh, man

1:25:391:25:43

# All I'm worth

1:25:431:25:45

# To get my tootsies in that upper berth

1:25:451:25:48

# To hear that choo-choo sound

1:25:481:25:51

# I know that soon I'm going to cover ground

1:25:511:25:55

# So I can shout it so the world can know

1:25:551:25:58

# Here I go

1:25:581:26:01

# I'm Alabamy bound

1:26:011:26:04

# I'm Alabamy bound

1:26:041:26:07

# Oh, I'm no heebie-jeebie hanging around

1:26:071:26:11

# I got the meanest ticket man, oh, man

1:26:111:26:14

# All I'm worth

1:26:141:26:16

# To get my tootsies in that upper berth

1:26:161:26:19

# To hear that choo-choo sound

1:26:191:26:22

# I know that soon I'm going to cover that ground

1:26:221:26:26

# And then I'll shout it so the world can know

1:26:261:26:29

# Lordy, here I go

1:26:291:26:32

# I'm Alabamy

1:26:321:26:34

# I'm Alabamy

1:26:341:26:36

# I'm Alabamy bound. #

1:26:361:26:41

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