Number 1 at last!

Halfway To Paradise was voted to the number 1 spot in the annual listeners' poll run by Britain's most popular oldies station, Gem-AM, in May, 1998.

The song has been runner-up in the poll since 1994, but this year, it edged out the regular winner, Unchained Melody.

Gem-AM broadcasts the top 500 records in the poll over three days at Spring Bank Holiday each year.

A tribute show, the Billy Fury Experience, is drawing enthusiastic audiences at smaller venues around the country.

The band are fronted by Colin Gold. He appeared on a television show, Stars In Their Eyes, in the UK, in which members of the public with a talent for impersonating personalities, are given a national audience.

Gold sang Halfway To Paradise, and was seen by members of a group that backed Billy in the 1970s. With a great deal of hard work, the band (pictured), who call themselves Fury's Tornados, have put together a creditable, exciting show, which is a true tribute to Billy. At times, however, the narration and personal testaments by band members can become rather maudlin.

Marty Wilde, who is still touring, always gives Billy a mention, and sometimes performs Fury numbers. His 1994 album, Solid Gold, includes a Fury sequence.

The Billy Fury Fan Club can be contacted by writing to Mrs Clare Mehmet-Nugent, 36 Manbey Grove, Stratford, London E15 1EX, UK.

The fan club for Colin Gold and Fury's Tornados can be contacted by writing to Shirley Bolton, 6 High Street, Eyeworth, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2HH, UK. The band also have a web site.

In mid-May, 1998, an excellent site by a Finnish fan of Billy's, Nalle Westman, appeared.