Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - "The Best of Johnny Kidd and The Pirates" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue, Mono (EMI)

Frederick Heath, better known as Johnny Kidd, is one of the first rock n' roll figures in England.  Him and his band of various players throughout the early years of the 1960s, The Pirates, were RnR authentic, but still British to the very core of their existence.  "Please Don't Touch" is the ultimate horny theme song, that to describe in one word,  is marvelous.    Although their one major hit is obviously "Shakin' All Over."  Canadian band 'Guess Who?' had a hit recording in America, and it was a song covered by The Who, and Pete Townshend is/was without a doubt a huge Peter Green of The Pirates fan.  Like another British rocker of the same period, one can trace the British accent of Johnny Kidd, which to my ears, makes the recordings unusual. 

As far as I know, Johnny Kidd never made an album.  All his recordings were 45 rpm singles, so this compilation is those singles, plus the b-sides.  A lot of the songs were written by Kidd, but also by a Gordon Mills, who became a powerhouse manager of Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Gilbert O'Sullivan.  Johnny & The Pirates were half show-biz of the Music Hall world and one foot in the prototype of early rock.   Kidd/Heath was very much a product of his time and place.  Of course, we now think of Adam Ant and His Ants as being the sons of Johnny Kidd, due to the Pirate motif in his stage shows and publicity photos.   

There are many compilations of Johnny's hits or non-hits, but I think this "Best of..."  is an incredible collection of music by Kidd, and it is like peeking into a keyhole of the British world at the time of the early 60s before the Fab Four hit the scene.   In a field of teenage pop stars, Kidd and Billy Fury were the real deals.   It's rock n' roll, but clearly, it's BRITISH rock n' roll.  

Various Artists - "Jack Good's 'Oh Boy!'" Vinyl, LP, Album, UK, 1958/1978 (EMI)

The 'commercial' roots of British rock n' roll is all here on this album.  Jack Good, who is still alive at the age of 86, was a pioneer for rock n' roll TV.   His British show "Oh Boy!" was the first variety program devoted to British (pre) rock artists such as Cliff Richard and Billy Fury.  The show lasted for 30 minutes and it was packed with non-stop music.  No song lasted more than a minute, and it was like a variety show with an Amphetamine approach to its timing and management.  The other significant wrench is that Good allowed the audience to be part of the show, with the artists surrounding themselves with the audience, most if not all teenagers.  

"Jack Good's 'Oh Boy!" album is a live soundtrack to the show.  Listening to it now in 2017, it's a weird reminder of how rock was packaged almost 60 years ago.  Cliff Richard sings seven songs, but also includes the talents of the incredible John Barry Seven, way before his work on the James Bond films.  Other artists here are Vince Eager, Two Vernon Girls, and Neville Taylor & The Cutters.  The beauty and the essence of this recording are not really the music, but a snapshot view of British showbiz before the Beatles hit the scene.   Jack Good eventually made it over to America where he created the show "Shindig!" (1964-1966) which focused on the British Invasion at the time, as well as popular pop/rock acts.  

"Oh Boy!" is one of the first shows specifically made for the British teenage market.  It's interesting how the teenager became a vocal/social, and even more important, an economic model that fueled an industry.  The 'beat' cannot be ignored anymore!

Billy Fury - "The World of Billy Fury" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1971 (Decca)

This once good-looking young man was the best to come out of the United Kingdom/Pre Beatles.  A Liverpool citizen who can rock like Elvis, but made more hits by singing perfect pop songs.  Billy Fury (incredible name) was the real deal.   A lot of British rock/pop singers before the Fab Four came on the scene, were manufactured by various managers.  Fury was part of that school, yet he also wrote his own songs as well.  I can never understand why Fury wasn't a star in the States, except perhaps the presence of Elvis kept others out of the U.S. market.   

Decca throughout the years has put out "The World Of..." series.  Mostly cheap or budget best hits type of albums, but all of them had a formula graphic design, and in actuality, quite nice.  Morrissey, of course, is a fan of these series of albums that came out during the 1960s and 1970s.  This is a very pleasing collection of Fury's major hits from the early 1960s.   Fury had a lot of drama, both in his life, due to a poor working heart, and the song choices.  "I'll Never Find Another You," "Nobody's Child," and "Like I've Never Been Gone," have a tragic presence that is heightened by Fury's vocal delivery.  Women must have wept at his shows. 

The standout track for me is "Nobody's Child."  A simple arrangement, almost like a movie cowboy song, yet the lyric is almost painful to hear.   An amazing song that I'm surprised no one in the modern pop world have done a cover yet - at least as far as I know.   There are better best of Billy albums out there (mostly on CD), but this one is an excellent introduction to the wonderful Billy Fury. 

Billy Fury With The Tornados - "The Sound Of Fury Radio Luxembourg Sessions"

Billy Fury With The Tornados – The Sound Of Fury Radio Luxembourg Sessions

2 x CD, Compilation, UK, 2005

Castle Music

For hopeless fans only! The sound quality is dodgy at best, but nevertheless important document on Billy Fury's life with the Joe Meek's favorite instrumental band The Tornados. They backed the golden suit one in the early 1960's and really the best album to hear is We Want Billy, which is a pretty good live album. But beyond the sound quality, the selection of songs here are top-notch. “Don't Leave Me This Way” is a classic Fury tune, but he also does covers of Elvis' “Paralyzed” and “I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone” on disc 2 which focuses on demos and early acetates.

Disc one is from Radio Luxembourg and its a combination of his hits with cool covers such as Hank Snow's “I'm Moving On.” And there is a strong Elvis overtures on this package, which makes sense because he was seen as Liverpool's answer to Preseley. So for the fanatics only.  

Billy Fury - "The World Of Billy Fury" Vinyl LP, Compilation

Billy Fury – The World Of Billy Fury

Vinyl LP, Compilation, 1971

Decca

Decca “The World Of...” series would make a great collection by itself. I have two titles in the series. The World Of David Bowie and now this, The World Of Billy Fury. It does have the classic and moody “Nobody's Child” on it, which for me is the ultimate Billy Fury recording. Not an easy album to find on vinyl – in fact Fury albums in general are not that easy to locate. Nevertheless this is a solid collection of his hits and a great introduction to the world of the underrated Billy. 

Billy Fury - "The Sound Of Fury Demos CD Album

Billy Fury – The Sound Of Fury Demos

CD Album

Earmark

Raw demos of Billy Fury's first album, which some consider to be the U.K.'s first rock n' roll record. Sun Records recordings as imagined by a Liverpool lad. The bootleg quality of these recordings expose the vision of a young Fury, and its quite remarkable that at the time, when music was so processed in England; here was an artist willing to write original material. What happened afterwards is that Fury recorded a full version of The Sound of Fury that made an huge impression on future rock n' rollers.

Rockabilly teen pop tunes that reeks of innocence but with a dark edge that comes up time-to-time. What's interesting to me is that it is rock, but it's rock with a Liverpool accent. Not an imitation of Elvis, but sort of building on the image of Elvis that would work for Billy. This album is for the hardcore Billy fan, but for those who want to study rock n' roll mythology will find these recordings to be of great interest.

Billy Fury - "The One And Only" CD Album

Billy Fury – The One And Only

CD Album, 1983

Polydor

A very sad album. This was Billy Fury's last album and it's not a good one. In theory I think he had to come out of retirement to do music due to his financial problems and his health was getting worse. Like Boris Vian, Fury knew that he wouldn't have a full life due to heart problems. Before he recorded the album he did have a heart attack, and also I don't think his 'weak' heart was into music making anymore. He became devoted to the animal world, and was known to be passionate about birds.

Fury was 42 years old when he passed away. In many ways he was the typical tension between the music business and being a man who enjoyed making music. Sometimes the two go together, and other times, it is being in the music world for the wrong reasons. Fury was a natural talent, he was a good songwriter, and reportaly an excellent live act. But his fellow Liverpool citizens The Beatles made it clear that the future star will be one's who write their own songs. Fury already at a step-up in that direction but the music business of his world didn't encourage to go that route. But we do have some memories of Fury's perfect moments, which were few, but they stayed with me that seems forever. 

Billy Fury - "The E.P. Collection" Vinyl

Billy Fury – The E.P. Collection

Vinyl, LP, Compilation

See For Miles Records Ltd.

There are three Billy Fury albums that I love and feel that are essential, and The E.P. Collection is one of the releases that I can't live without. So much so that I bought this album on vinyl in Japan last March (2013) and for some years now have the CD version as well.

A greatest hits album for the connoisseur, but deeper than that because this is a collection of EP's realeased in the UK, including the b-sides or the three other songs. A typical EP would have two songs on each side. It was invented by record companies to deal with those who couldn't afford an entire album, and specifically marketed to the teenager and their budget. But also I imagine this format was popular with the jukeboxes at the time as well.

To this day the EP has a romantic appeal for me. I like the 45rpm format, and having four songs on a 7” single, aesthetically speaking, is very pleasing to me. So what we have here is 20 songs and not a bad cut on the collection. All his early hits are here, but also strong recordings from his catalog as well.

There are two songs that gives me goose-bumps whenever I hear them. “Nobody's Child” and the Morrissey like “Don't Jump.”

“Nobody's Child” is a heartbreaking narrative about a child all alone in the world, and Billy's voice conveys the loneliness and despair, but also just the sadnessness of it all. “Don't Jump” is our hero about to end it all at a cliff's end, with only the chorus singing “Don't Jump Billy, Don't Jump.” It's a brilliant pop record, but those two are just the highlights of an amazing album all the way through.

Even the titles alone has a haunted aspect to the Billy Fury theme of romantic disaster coming around the corner. “Don't Walk Away,” “What Am I Living For,” and the incredible “I'll Never Quite Get Over You” are important landmarks to an era when Pop was popping its head above the murky waters of Pre-Beatles UK.   

Billy Fury - "Rough Diamonds and Pure Gems

Billy Fury – Rough Diamonds and Pure Gems

CD Album, Compilation, 1991

The Magnum Music Group

To be honest this is a lame album collection of Billy Fury recordings that don't matter. It is for those who have everything by the man, and here is the bottom of the barrow as well. The only thing that is passable is his recordings of Buddy Holly songs, which of course, is natural for him. But even that one feels he's trapped by the production and the show-biz machinery of the British early 60's music world. Of course there are better albums out there by this great artist, but its tough to love a pop singer who has a faulty catalog of recordings. Still, its worth to go through the horror to find the beauty that is in his music history. 

Billy Fury - "We Want Billy" / "Billy" CD Compilation

Billy Fury – We Want Billy/ Billy

CD Compilation, 1995

Beat Goes On (BGO)

Like all good titles, the name 'Billy Fury' stayed with me ever since I first read that name. Totally unknown in America, especially in the 1960's, I must have read about him as a teenager in an article about Swinging London, but as someone from the past. At the time not that interesting but I love the combination of Billy with Fury. Many years later The Smiths put Billy Fury on the cover of one of their 12” singles, and something about his face caught my imagination. In fact I became totally fascinated by U.K. Pop culture right before The Beatles made the big time. Like millions of others, I was lead to believe that nothing was happening music wise in England before The Beatles, but alas, I was deeply wrong. In two words what was happening was Billy. Fury.

I had to search the internet for this CD release of two Fury albums on one disk. What really interested me is the live album We Want Billy because he was backed by The Tornados, the Joe Meek fueled instrumental band. I have this one image I think I got from Mojo, where Fury is on stage and wearing a gold suit, and clearly you can see he is wearing heavy eye make-up, and he's rockin' with The Tornados' bass player Heinz looking on. For me it is one of those classic moments that freezes a specific time in a very specific place.

Musically the live album is very so-so. Fury, at heart, was a white RnB singer, who was forced to sing pop, even though at the very beginning of his career he was one of the first pop figures to actually write his own songs – but alas, over time he had to cover other songs due to the recording pop world at the time. There is tension between the early songs in his set, which was mostly rock n' roll, but eventually he does a melody of his 'pop' hits. Done without passion, there is clearly a wall between the two styles of music for him, at least on stage.

Now one would think I would prefer the rockin' songs, but I actually love his pop side more. For one the songs he sang were excellent, and two he was a great British ballad singer. What makes him special is you can clearly hear his Liverpool accent when he sang, which of course gives it an instinctive stamp of individuality, as it becomes his song. Billy is a very straight forward pop, but tinge with tragedy of romance and heartbreak.