Format: Music Show
Genre: Rock ‘n’ Roll
Date: April 4 2019
Location: Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
This show was all about looking back on the music of Billy Fury, a fondly-remembered artist from years gone by.
Local radio commentator Frankie Connor introduced the show with a few jokes and comments, before bringing out Michael King, who played Billy Fury, and his supporting band. Frankie told us that he once met Billy, who was wearing a full leather coat and driving a Mercedes-Benz car, looking every inch the rock star. He stated that Billy was the best of the lot at the time, as he wrote his own songs as well as performing. Apparently, Billy (in his own words on a tape) was always sick and missing school.
Michael King came on and performed That’s Love, before discussing his 1959 album The Sound Of Fury. A Wondrous Place and Just Because were amongst the subsequent tunes performed; Michael provided the necessary gyrations and, at one point, was even singing on his belly! He then moved on to a love song called Margo, which was very good. The band took centre-stage to perform Telstar, which was a hit for Fury’s backing group The Tornado’s.
In 1965, Billy appeared on a show called Shindig. Michael came out in a gold suit to recreate this look and performed a few more songs, including If I Lose You and I’d Never Find Another You. We also had an Elvis song called Rip It Up, and A Thousand Stars which was very well-performed. Familiar tunes to Fury fans included Once Upon A Dream and Like I’ve Never Been Gone, which were well-received amongst the three major costume changes in the first half.
The second half began with Last Night Was Made For Love, Give Me Your Word and Sweet Little 16, which were all popular with the audience. There were background pictures throughout the show of Fury, along with posters of his shows. We also had Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (written by Carole King and with the original sung by The Shirelles), along with a very lively rendition of Hippy Hippy Shake and an emotional version of I Will. We had a poignant reminder that his last song performed on TV was Maybe Tomorrow.
The band then performed Johnny B Good, followed by Michael returning on stage with a different look (sporting long hair). From there, we had When Will You Say I Love You, Jealousy (a favourite), Forget Him (which was excellently sung) and Only Make Believe, which had the audience singing along. To finish off, we were treated to Billy’s most famous song, Halfway To Paradise, which had everybody standing and waving their arms.
Overall, this was a must-see for any Billy Fury fans. A strong, authentic performance and one song after another along with a good backing group who complimented Michael really well all contributed to a very entertaining night. The audience really enjoyed this show, and so did I.
Overall Rating: 9/10 – Outstanding
