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Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 19 March 2009

Billy Fury

Half way to Billy Fury alley

Calls to honour crooner

A FORGOTTEN path in West Hampstead could be in line for a rock ’n’ roll makeover as a campaign to name it after quiff-haired crooner Billy Fury gathers momentum.
The suggestion to honour the singer, who enjoyed huge success in the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits including Halfway To Paradise and Jealousy, stands out from a list of ideas to christen three roads with new names.
While he was not born in the area, Fury cut many of his most memorable singles in the former Decca Radio studios in Broadhurst Gardens – now home to the English Opera House. The idea would see the path running behind the Lithos Estate and leading from West End Lane to Finchley Road becoming “Billy Fury Way”.
Last night, Fury’s former partner said the singer would have been “thrilled” by the idea.
Lisa Voice, who was with Fury for 12 years before he died from heart problems in the 1980s, said: “I’m overwhelmed and very excited.”
Alan Lewis, editor of Record Collector, said Fury had a lasting appeal which means his records still sell for hundreds of pounds.
“He was one of the most enduringly popular figures in 20th-century pop,” said Mr Lewis.
“His appeal ranges from listeners to BBC Radio 2’s Sound Of the 60s Show to more contemporary figures like Morrissey who is obsessed with Billy.”
In January, Liberal Democrat councillor John Bryant appealed for help in finding names for three paths. The other two are the alley behind the Thameslink station and a trail that connects West End Lane to Lymington Road. The lack of official names meant police were finding it hard to record the locations of crimes in the area.
Cllr Bryant is currently running through a final shortlist and the public will get another chance to give their opinions.
Other suggestions include “Bentley Way” after crime writer EC Bentley, who lived in the area, Beckford Way and the Black Path.

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