Author of new Billy Fury book visits The Cavern
Dec 1 2007 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post
He was in the first wave of British rock and roll, performing with many stars along the way. This weekend, Vince Eager is coming to Liverpool with his stories. David Charters reports
ESPRESSO machines hissed steam in the cafés and sullen clouds brooded over the old dock town. Pigeons pecked, gulls cawed and spread their grey wings above the cranes. Girls pouted into little mirrors to check their lipstick.
It was the age of mood and style. Teddy boys thought about suspend- ers and combed their hair in café windows. The froth on dark coffee swayed in glass cups, as the juke boxes trembled to rock and roll.
But nobody inside saw the cool one padding along the pavements in his brothel creepers, quiet as a cat on velvet, towards the grand, art deco cinema, which had been opened 31 years before by Gracie Fields, the songstress from Lancashire.
He arrived at the stage-door, just a deckhand on the tugs with a pocketful of hope and some songs.
He left a star with a new name.
Many people have told the story of how Ronald Wycherley became Billy Fury, long hailed as Britain’s greatest rock and roller.
But today we’re hearing it straight from the mouth of a man who was there, a fine rock and roller himself.
This weekend, Vince Eager returns to Merseyside to sign copies of his autobiography, Rock ’n’ Roll Files, and to make his debut at The Cavern, on Mathew Street.
It is strange that he should not have appeared there in a career which dates back half a century, but Vince was more accustomed to big venues such as the Liverpool Empire and the 2,500-seat Essoldo Ritz in Birkenhead.
It was there that he met Billy on October 1, 1958.
Vince was leaving the building with Brian Bennett, then drummer with Marty Wilde’s backing group, and later with The Shadows.
They were heading for the local Wimpy bar when this figure with shoulders as wide as a clothes hanger approached through the drizzle, the collar high on his gabardine coat, fair hair sculpted on his head.
He knew that Larry Parne was presenting the Rock and Roll Extravaganza at the cinema. It was a huge event for teenagers on Merseyside. Marty Wilde and the Wildcats were top of the bill, which also included the John Barry Seven and Vince.
Unusually for the time, Ronnie Wycherley wrote his own songs and had made a tape of himself, recorded at Percy F Phillips’s studio, on Bold Street, Liverpool. This had been sent to Parnes, who had not replied. Ronnie wanted to know why.
Parnes (1930-89) liked young men and his tastes often matched those of teenage girls. This made him the ideal pop impresario.
His “stable” included Tommy Steele (Tommy Hicks), Marty Wilde (Reginald Smith), Vince Eager (Roy Taylor), Dickie Pride (Richard Knellar), Duffy Power (Ray Howard), Johnny Gentle (John Askew, from Liverpool), and Georgie Fame (Clive Powell).
It was said that he chose the names to match the characteristics of his singers, who devoted much of their energy to avoiding his advances.
Vince was never happy about being called “Eager”, wishing that he had been renamed Billy Fury.
Anyway, Brian and our man saw Ronnie standing in the drizzle outside the Essoldo. “It was a rotten day,” recalls Vince, 67. “He was very good looking, you could see that even in the gloom. To me, he was a cross between Elvis and James Dean. He had slightly blonde hair and that surly, sensual look. He had the perfect image for rock and roll, the perfect face. I saw that straight away.”
So did Parnes, who was introduced to Ronnie by Vince and Brian a few minutes later.
There is some doubt about whether Ronnie had brought his own guitar, but, even if he had, it seems that Parnes told him to play in the dressing-room on a Hofner Committee belonging to Kenny Packwood of the Wildcats.
After hearing the self-penned songs Maybe Tomorrow and Margo, Parnes, the son of a wealthy, London Jewish property dealer, changed Ronnie’s name and booked him to appear that night. The girls went mad.
Billy Fury (1940-83) became the British Elvis, scoring a string of hits including Halfway to Paradise, Jealousy, Last Night was Made for Love and Once Upon a Dream.
Although he didn’t have any hits, Vince, powerfully built and 6ft 5ins tall, appeared on the legendary TV shows the Six-five Special, Oh Boy! and Drumbeat. He also toured with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent and belonged in the front rank of British rock and rollers.
When his career could have slipped in the late ’70s and early ’80s, he was cast as the older Elvis in the touring version of Jack Good’s hit show, Elvis the Musical. But, among all the stars, Vince places his own childhood hero, Lonnie Donegan, at the top. In July, 2001, he had supported him in a show and Lonnie suggested that they should work together again. The opportunity arose 15 months later, when they were both to appear at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
Lonnie was suffering from backache before the show, but was to give what some regarded as the finest performance. For 10 minutes, Vince was on stage with him. “I sang Bring a Little Water Sylvie and Midnight Special with my king,” says Vince.
“The duets I had performed with Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Marty Wilde, Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, Mike Stoller and others faded into insignificance. This was Lonnie. It was the big one, the dream come true.”
Five days later, Lonnie died. The back pain had been a blood clot.
Yes, there has been happiness and sorrow in the life of this man, who went out for a Wimpy and met a rock god.
Source : http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-special-features/2007/12/01/author-of-new-billy-fury-book-visits-the-cavern-64375-20187833/
Sujet: Author of new Billy Fury book visits The Cavern-Liverpool