About Billy Fury
Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), known professionally as Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include "Wondrous Place", "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy". Fury also maintained a film career, notably playing rock performers in Play It Cool in 1962 and That'll Be the Day in 1973. AllMusic journalist Bruce Eder stated that Fury's "mix of rough-hewn good looks and unassuming masculinity, coupled with an underlying vulnerability, all presented with a good voice and some serious musical talent, helped turn [him] into a major rock and roll star in short order". Others have suggested that his rapid rise to prominence was due to his "Elvis-influenced hip swivelling and, at times, highly suggestive stage act". He entered and won a talent competition and by 1958 had started composing his own songs. He released his first hit single for Decca, "Maybe Tomorrow", in 1959. In March 1960, he reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart with his own composition "Colette", followed by "That's Love" and his first album The Sound of Fury (1960), which featured a young Joe Brown on lead guitar, with backup vocals by the Four Jays.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.