Brian Matthew meets the shy Billy Fury

One of the most requested acts on Sounds Of The Sixties is Billy Fury.

The singer is often described as desperately shy and desperately handsome in equal measure

Liverpool's biggest star of the pre-Beatles era was a regular visitor to Saturday Club, and I ask Brian Matthew if he remembers meeting him. "Yes, a great many times, and I remember introducing him on Thank Your Lucky Stars on television as well."

He was always ready and willing, and a really nice guy, as well as being a damn good singer.
Brian Matthew on Billy Fury

I wonder if Billy was particularly shy - his Live At The BBC set, released in 2006, is the only one of its kind I can think of without any interviews.

"Yes I think he was, extremely. He wasn't the ace chatter for interview purposes. But he was always ready and willing, and a really nice guy, as well as being a damn good singer.

"There was one instance where we recorded Thank Your Lucky Stars near Birmingham on a Sunday. On one occasion Billy was performing on a staircase. He started his number at the top of the staircase, and then I would have to go up the stairs, and have a few words with Billy at the end of his song. Some beastly chap in the television team thought for a joke they would unscrew the banister at the back of the balcony where Billy was standing. So when old Brian leans on it, he'll fall off! Which I did. I mean, I didn't know about this. They didn't warn me and I crashed down, and landed on a mattress about 12 or 15 feet lower down... under which they'd put stage weights. I mean, they could have killed me. I could have killed them when I found out.

"What a dreadful thing to do. It was nothing to do with Billy; he didn't know all this was going on. But he was always very friendly. A good guy, I liked him."