A yellow page from an autograph album, signed with a red biro by Billy Fury (1940-1983), born Ronald Wycherley, at Sefton General Hospital, Liverpool. When he was 18 he attended a gig in Birkenhead run by impresario Larry Parnes, in the hope of interesting established artist Marty Wilde in some of the songs he had written. Instead, in an episode that has become pop music legend, Parnes pushed young Wycherley up on stage right away. He was such a hit that Parnes signed him, added him to the tour, and renamed him "Billy Fury". Christened by the press as 'Britain's answer to Elvis Presley', he was an immediate chart success, but after several Top Ten hits Fury began a lengthy absence from the music scene in 1967, and underwent surgery for heart problems caused by rheumatic fever when he was a child. This led to his abandoning touring and, eventually, early retirement. He underwent further surgery in 1976, and in 1980 he was declared bankrupt. It's possible this forced him out of retirement, and against medical advice he enjoyed something of a comeback, but the strain was too much and the heart weakness that had dogged him throughout his life finally killed him.