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Halfway to Paradise - The Billy Fury Story

Published Wednesday 7 May 2008 at 13:10 by Lee Wilkinson

In the sixties Billy Fury enjoyed a string of some two dozen hit singles and most of them are featured in this musical presentation.

An exponent of the beat ballad, Fury boasted smouldering good looks, a magnetic stage presence, wrote some of his own songs and was still making good records right up to his untimely death at the age of 42, in January 1983.

His backing band from the seventies, Fury’s Tornados, teamed up with Colin Gold, who appeared as Fury in TV’s Stars in Their Eyes, and the resultant show is now celebrating its tenth anniversary tour.

Gold seems to slip easily into his role as he strolls on stage in a bronze jacket and adopts Fury’s trademark posture, collar raised, coat slung over his shoulder, as he manipulates the microphone stand.

More importantly, he possesses the vocal technique and range to do full justice to all those classic recordings, from the rock’n’roll of Don’t Knock Upon My Door, to the emotive Halfway to Paradise and the slow, sentimental Maybe Tomorrow.

Besides providing solid support for Gold, the four band members have moments of their own and prove to be first-rate musicians. Keyboard player Charlie Eston, who was Fury’s musical arranger, plays a classy piano piece and guitarist Chris Raynor sings a moving number he recently wrote about Fury. Bass guitarist Graham Wyvill is equally at home on electric and stand-up versions, whilst John Raynor impresses on the drum kit.

This performance is a worthy tribute to a genuine pop star.

Production information

Management:
Paradise Productions
Cast:
Colin Gold
Website:
www.billyfurystory.com

Production information can change over the run of the show.

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Run sheet

Festival Edinburgh
April 3 2004
Grand and Opera House Leeds
July 25 2004
Albert Halls Bolton
September 17 2004
Festival Malvern
September 25 2004
Beck Hayes
October 1 2004
Wyvern Swindon
October 3 2004
Prince of Wales Cannock
October 9 2004
Queen's Hornchurch
October 10 2004
QEH Bristol
October 10 2004
Theatre Royal Norwich
October 28 2004
Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
November 22, 22 2004
Auditorium Grimsby
December 4 2004
Empire Liverpool
March 2 2005
New Wimbledon London
March 29 2005
White Rock Hastings
April 25 2005
Mayflower Southampton
May 7 2005
Capitol Horsham
May 8 2005
New Hull
May 21 2005
De Montfort Hall Leicester
June 2 2005
Princess Hunstanton
July 23 2005
Hall for Cornwall Truro
September 15 2005
Memorial Frome
September 16 2005
New Alexandra Birmingham
September 18 2005
Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
September 27 2005
Fairfield Halls, Ashcroft Croydon
September 29 2005
Royal Spa Centre Leamington Spa
November 3 2005
Gatehouse Stafford
November 4 2005
Lyceum Crewe
November 6 2005
St George's Concert Hall Bradford
November 10 2005
Theatre Royal Nottingham
November 27 2005
Landmark Ilfracombe
February 10 2006
Queen's Barnstaple
February 10 2006
Albert Halls Bolton
March 17 2006
Forum Billingham
March 18 2006
King's Portsmouth
March 25 2006
Music Hall Shrewsbury
April 22 2006
Princes Hall Aldershot
May 13 2006
Opera House Buxton
June 1 2006
Prince of Wales Cannock
June 3 2006
Forum Billingham
June 10 2006
Marlowe Canterbury
July 22 2006
Hippodrome Bristol
July 24 2006
New Hull
April 14 2007
Playhouse Weston Super Mare
May 10 2007
Plaza Stockport
June 2 2007
Camberley Theatre Camberley
June 7 2007
New Alexandra Birmingham
June 8 2007
Beck Hayes
June 14 2007
Middlesbrough Theatre Middlesbrough
July 5 2007
Grand and Opera House Leeds
August 26 2007
Hall for Cornwall Truro
September 15 2007
Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
September 23 2007
Palace Newark
October 11 2007
Mayflower Southampton
October 14 2007
Grand Swansea
October 18 2007
Broadway London
November 15 2007
Princess Torquay
November 18 2007
Gordon Craig Stevenage
November 19 2007
Castle Wellingborough
January 31 2008
Opera House Buxton
February 3 2008
Empire Sunderland
February 14 2008
Futurist Scarborough
March 30 2008
Fairfield Halls, Concert Hall Croydon
April 30 2008
Pavilion Worthing
May 8 2008
Music Hall Shrewsbury
May 24 2008
Alban Arena St Albans
June 6 2008
Prince of Wales Cannock
June 15 2008
Southport Theatre Southport
June 19 2008
Congress Eastbourne
July 18 2008
Customs House South Shields
September 5 2008
Theatre Royal Norwich
September 30 2008
Princes Hall Aldershot
October 4 2008
Grove Dunstable
October 7 2008
Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
November 16 2008
Beck Hayes
November 21 2008
Gatehouse Stafford
February 6 2009
Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
February 7 2009
Civic Darlington
February 14 2009
King's Portsmouth
February 27 2009
Brewhouse Taunton
February 28 2009
New Hull
April 9 2009
Futurist Scarborough
April 12 2009
Empire Sunderland
May 28 2009
Orchard Dartford
June 12 2009
Assembly Rooms Derby
June 13 2009
Hippodrome Bristol
August 4 2009
Grand Opera House York
September 19 2009
Grove Dunstable
September 25 2009
New Oxford
October 8 2009
Congress Eastbourne
October 9 2009
Regent Centre Christchurch
November 6 2009
Anvil Basingstoke
February 5 2010
Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
February 6 2010
Mayflower Southampton
March 7 2010
Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
March 28 2010
Playhouse Epsom
May 21 2010
Town Hall Loughborough
June 27 2010
Orchard Dartford
September 4 2010
Royal Spa Centre Leamington Spa
September 14-15 2010
Grand Wolverhampton
September 15 2010
Civic Chelmsford
September 17 2010
Broadway Barking
September 25 2010
Plaza Stockport
September 30 2010
Brewhouse Taunton
October 22-23 2010
Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
February 5 2011
Beck Hayes
April 28 2011
Princes Clacton-on-Sea
April 30 2011
Pavilion Bournemouth
May 14 2011
New Oxford
May 16 2011
Theatre Royal Norwich
June 5 2011
Empire Liverpool
June 15 2011
Empire Sunderland
September 20 2011
St George's Concert Hall Bradford
September 29 2011
City Hall Sheffield
November 11 2011
Grand Swansea
February 15
Victoria Halifax
February 22
Orchard Dartford
March 28
Corn Exchange Cambridge
April 12
Futurist Scarborough
April 28
Gala Durham
April 29
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