Unreleased material by Billy Fury is finally seeing the light of day as part of a new compilation of his late-60s performances for the BBC.
After signing with EMI in December 1966, Fury recorded 11 singles for Parlophone up until late 1970. During this period, the singer also performed live sessions for BBC television and radio. In keeping with BBC policy of the time, most of the recordings were destroyed. Eight tracks from 1967-70 have made it to release, but nothing from 1968-69 was thought to have survived – until now.
Released with the blessing of the Billy Fury Estate via the Top Sounds label, Three Saturdays With Billy offers seven previously unreleased live recordings made for the Radio One programme Saturday Club, as well as audio of a performance taken from an appearance on Simon Dee’s Dee Time TV show. The Saturday Club performances
include unique versions of David Bowie’s Silly Boy Blue and the Bee Gees’ One Minute Woman, as well as Billy’s own
Bye Bye and Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. Fury’s studio version of I Love You was never released in his lifetime although an alternate incarnation was issued as a bonus track on The Missing Years compilation. Two interviews with Billy also survive from those broadcasts and feature on the new release, as well as Fury’s most left-field single, Phone Box (The Monkey’s In The Jam Jar).
Three Saturdays With Billy is available on 10″ vinyl and CD, and comes with a 24-page illustrated booklet including unpublished photographs. The CD also features a radio broadcast of Fury’s Lady single introduced by the singer.
