[Hip Priest]

Billy Fury died aged 42.

 

Bedevilled by ill health and overtaken by changing musical fashions, Fury's final hit came in 1965 with 'Give Me Your Word'. The following year he left Decca for Parlophone, debuting with a Peter And Gordon song, 'Hurtin' Is Lovin'. Subsequent recordings included David Bowie's 'Silly Boy Blue', the Bee Gees' 'One Minute Woman' (both 1968) and Carole King's 'Why Are You Leaving' (1970), but the singer was unable to regain his erstwhile success. In 1971 he underwent open-heart surgery, but recovered to record 'Will The Real Man Stand Up' on his own Fury label, and played the part of 'Stormy Tempest' in the film That'll Be The Day (1973). A second major operation in 1976 forced Billy to retire again, but he re-emerged at the end of the decade with new recordings of his best-known songs, and several live and television appearances. In 1981 Fury struck a new deal with Polydor, but his health was rapidly deteriorating and on 28 January 1983 he succumbed to a fatal heart attack.