QUESTION. Who has sold more singles for Decca Records than any other artist, including The Rolling Stones?

Clue. The same act scored more hit singles in the 60s than The Beatles.

The answer - and this surprised me, even though I was there - is Billy Fury.

Looking back over half a century of British rock 'n' roll, you would probably never realise just how shining a star young Bill was.

He remains fixed in the memory as one of the Larry Parnes stable of rockers, along with the likes of Vince Eager, Duffy Power and Marty Wilde.

Every Saturday evening about six o'clock, you turned up the volume on the black and white telly as loud as your folks would allow to catch them on shows like Oh Boy or Drumbeat, the Vernons Girls belting away in the background and Red Price honking on sax.

But history confirms the lad with the dodgy heart - a weak valve, the result of rheumatic fever, finally did for him in 1983 - as a legend.

Between 1959 and 1984 he had 29 hit singles and, during his career, spent more than 280 weeks in the charts.

Billy Fury tracks like Halfway to Paradise, Maybe Tomorrow and I'll Never Find Another You became teen anthems and jukebox favourites.

Sadly, like many acts on the cusp of the 50s and 60s, his career was knocked sideways by the arrival of Merseybeat, and although he actually cut what I thought were two of his best efforts as late as the early 80s - Devil or Angel and Forget Him, both released on Polydor - he died virtually bankrupt soon after.

But all the good times will be here again at Malvern Theatres on Wednesday, April 30.

The Billy Fury Story will be rolling back the years with Colin Gold taking over the lam jacket and the hair quiff we all tried to copy.

The two-hour tribute, which has been officially licensed by EMI, also features backing band Fury's Tornados, the re-formed group that played with Billy in his latter career, and a big screen backdrop will show live footage of the lad in concert.

So dust off your winklepickers and your ponytails, your sharp suits and your petticoats.

It promises to be quite a night. Not just halfway to paradise, but all the way there.

n The Billy Fury Story plays Malvern Theatres on Wednesday, April 30. Tickets £16-£14. Box office 01684 892277.

Preview by Mike Pryce