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.
