By admin 
Introduction
Billy Fury Part 3 – Abbey Road Studios, Homes, and Final Resting Place
Billy Fury, one of the UK’s legendary rock and roll stars, scored 11 Top 10 hits during his career, though none reached number one. Between 1958 and 1966, while signed to Decca Records, only three of his singles failed to chart. His final Decca release was “Give Me Your Word” in 1966. That December, Fury signed a five-year deal with Parlophone, the label famously home to The Beatles. While exact recording details remain unclear, music historian Chris Eley suggests that Fury likely recorded some tracks at EMI’s iconic Abbey Road Studios before his contract ended in 1971.
Fury’s time with Parlophone was commercially disappointing; no albums were released during the contract, despite a wealth of recorded material. Later, albums such as The Lost Album, The Missing Years, and The Complete Parlophone Singles compiled much of this work.
In 1971, following his contract’s end, Fury underwent a heart bypass operation. Afterward, he recuperated with his former girlfriend, Lee Middleton, who was married to DJ Kenny Everett at the time. Around this period, Fury also split from his wife, Judith Hall. In 1972, he performed at Wembley Stadium in a rock and roll revival show featuring legends like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. Later that year, he appeared in a cameo as Stormy Tempest for the film That’ll Be The Day.
By the mid-1970s, Fury had met Lisa Rosen, whose father was a property entrepreneur. Together, they purchased a farm in Crugybar, West Wales, where Fury indulged his love of wildlife, raising sheep and nursing injured animals and birds. They also bought a house at 1 Cavendish Avenue, where Fury lived after his second heart operation in 1976. That year marked his effective retirement from performing and recording.
In 1978, declared bankrupt, Fury returned to the studio when K-Tel offered to clear his debts. He recorded The Golden Years, an album of re-recorded 1960s hits. In 1981, Fury came out of self-imposed retirement to record the single “Be Mine Tonight” for Polydor, despite harsh winter conditions at the Welsh farm.
In March 1982, Fury collapsed due to kidney bleeding and was taken to London for treatment. By April, he was back in the studio at Eden Studios, Chiswick, recording singles including “Love Or Money”—his first charting single since 1966—and tracks that would later appear on the posthumous album The One And Only Billy Fury.
Tragically, on Friday, January 28, 1983, Fury was found unresponsive by his manager, Tony Read, and pronounced dead at St Mary’s Hospital. His funeral was held on February 4, 1983, at St John’s Wood Church, attended by many fans. He was buried at Mill Hill Cemetery, north London, where visitors can find his grave by following the main road to the top of the cemetery. His gravestone reads:
“In loving memory of Ronald Wycherley (Billy Fury) Passed away 28th January 1983 aged 42. Sadly mourned by Lisa, parents, relatives and friends. His music gave pleasure to millions. Rest in peace, darling Billy.”
Offstage, Fury was a shy, humble, and introverted man, devoted to his wildlife hobbies and caring for injured animals. This contrasted sharply with his onstage persona, which was charismatic and wild—most famously during performances in the late 1950s. From October 1959 in Dublin to his final years, Fury balanced the persona of rock star with the quieter life of Ronnie Wycherley.
Today, his legacy is honored in Liverpool Cathedral with a lectern dedicated in 1993, unveiled in 2003 by the legendary Jack Good alongside his mother, Jean Wycherley. Billy Fury remains celebrated as a charismatic live performer, chart-topping artist, songwriter, and gentle animal lover—a true icon of British rock and roll.