Product Description

Billy Fury became an overnight music sensation in the late 1950 s when his moody brand of rock and roll earned him the nickname of Britain s Elvis . Fury s stage performances and sexual charisma left his female fans screaming for more. He was Britain s original teen idol and had more top 40 hits than the Beatles during the 1960 s. Hits such as Halfway to Paradise; Jealousy; Maybe Tomorrow; Wondrous Place; A Thousand Stars; In Thoughts of You and many others have ensured Fury s place in pop history, despite his tragically short career. For the first time ever, Billy Fury s musical biography is now available on this magnificent full-length DVD along with a soundtrack of hits from his Decca career. His Wondrous Story highlights the early days of British rock and roll and Fury s dominance of the British pop scene. The programme features archive performance footage and interviews with Fury s family and contemporaries including Sir Jimmy Savile; Alvin Stardust; Vince Eager; Michael Winner; Paul Gambaccini; John Leyton and Clem Cattini.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23872 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-25
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dolby, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Synopsis
Britain’s first major teen idol is the subject of this documentary. Labelled as Britain’s answer to Elvis, Fury stormed the charts, lived fast and died young.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing and incomplete
Unfortunately, there is very little film of Billy Fury available, so no one should expect to see much with which they are not already familiar.

The interviews with Billy's mother and brother, and with Vince Eager are excellent, but there the merits of this DVD end.

It is crying out for input from Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, and best of all, Jack Good. What on earth does Michael Winner know of Billy Fury, apart from having once directed him in a film?

And for input from a DJ, why not choose one who was in action in the 60s? What does Paul Gambaccini have to do with the price of fish?

The worst feature is the almost total exclusion from the DVD of the part played in Billy's life by his long-term partner, Lisa Voice. She bankrolled him for more than 10 years and paid for his second heart operation, but her name is simply mentioned twice in passing.

Could this be the family's price for cooperation?

The accompanying booklet is worthless, being simply reproductions of common photographs. There is no attempt to produce proper notes, discography, etc.

There is scope for a proper biography of this much-loved singer, but will enough people buy a second product.

So sad.

where are the songs????
I bought this DVD hoping to see Billy Fury sing his songs and all I got was the usual 30 seconds unadulterated and then voice overs. Apart form the three bonus tracks which are all very early there is only one song in full here. If you're looking for performances, this is NOT the DVD for you. In short, I'm very disappointed.

Fantastic programme and brilliant DVD!
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this DVD at the recent launch which Odeon Entertainment gave in London. It's a fascinating programme which documents the life of Britain's greatest rock and roll icon, Billy Fury. The story is compulsively told with some great interviews and footage, but best of all is the music - I haven't had time to count all the hits on the programme but it would be quicker to count the missing ones. There are some fascinating insights into Billy's life and his manager, Larry Parnes and the story is movingly told. The main programme is 80 minutes long but it seemed like it was over in a flash because it totally captivated me and my partner. The editing is sharp and Dave Vanian (lead singer of The Damned), of all people, has done the voice over. I kept guessing who the voiceover was until the final credits rolled and Dave's voice is perfectly suited to the programme with his rock and roll drawl.



Incredibly this is the first ever DVD release on Billy Fury and Odeon Entertainment has set the standard so high that it will surely be seen as the definitive DVD. Jimmy Savile is a laugh a minute and Vince Eager and Alvin Stardust tell the inside story of the early days of British rock and roll and Larry Parnes. The personal side of Billy's story is told by his mum Jean and brother Albie. Their comments are fresh and exciting when they talk about Billy's fame as though it's only a few years ago; and very moving when they talk of how people just used Billy to make money and of his tragically premature death. There is some great footage of Billy performing and there are also three extra performances on the bonus material as well. The extras are all worth watching, there are some great anecdotes along with a Michael Winner cameo. The packaging is first rate as well with a colour booklet of rare photos and Billy Fury scrapbooks. All in all it's a wonderful DVD that will delight Billy's many fans and as John Leyton says - `it was just a wonderful era.'