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Sarahlea and I arrived at the Metropole hotel on Thursday evening just to settle in' relax and go for a meal with Blackpool wkd regulars Chris and Eunice Parsons' before the big rush on Fri. morning. Many people who attend these great wkds have started to do the same and it's great fun meeting up later at the bar to discuss the weekend's planned events and have a few drinks just to wind down you understand.

Friday morning arrived and by 9am people were gathering in the concert room as we prepared the room for the weekend ahead. The backdrops', the posters', the band and DJ’s equipment and large speaker systems, the gear stalls etc. Meanwhile, the Billy Fury fans are deciding where they are going to sit for the evening’s entertainment and the excitement on their faces is worth the wkd alone. Its always a pleasure to see and talk with the fans and as a fan myself makes it more special to me. By midday the room looks great and as the rest of the band arrive things begin to take shape very quickly. The DJ is our regular ‘Jiving Jim Killey’ and he begins to play Billy’s music as more fans arrive for the wkd. This weekend we had just bought a new PA system so we were eager to try it out and at 4pm sound checks were carried out to ensure a good evening ahead. By now everyone was settling in and Jim proposed a toast to Billy and to a great weekend.

After the evening meal, everyone gathered in the concert room and I took to the stage to welcome them all and to run through the programme of events. I discovered people had arrived from all four corners of the UK and France too and you could feel the excitement in the air as Billy’s songs were played in the background. After the welcoming speech I handed back the stage to Jiving Jim who played the interview Billy did with Stuart Coleman back in 1982. The floor began to fill as Jim played the best of Billy’s rockers and other rock'n'roll artistes.

At 8.15pm the Persuaders and myself took to the stage for over an hour of classic Billy fury songs. As well as all the hits including ‘Wondrous Place' ‘I’m Lost Without You', ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ etc. It was a pleasure to perform such great songs as ‘All I Wanna Do Is Cry', ‘Running Around', ‘Forget Him', ‘Get On The Right Track Baby' and ‘Just Because’. More hits including ‘Colette', ‘Cross My Heart', ‘I’d Never Find Another You', ‘Once Upon A Dream’ and ‘Halfway To Paradise’ amongst others. The set was well received and was the highlight of my weekend.

After a brief break with Jim keeping the dance floor full, a good friend of mine from Bristol, Tony Graham took to the stage. Tony has great powerful voice and sings from the heart, sounds of Roy Orbison' Del Shannon, Gene Pitney and of course Billy. Tony went down a storm. It was his first time at the Metropole and won’t be his last; he has been invited back next November. After Tony the raffle tickets were called, loads of Billy prizes and loads of winners. All monies went to the Billy Fury student music fund.

The Persuaders and I were then back on stage with a rock'n'roll set including more rocking Billy Fury numbers', ‘Don’t Knock Upon My Door', ‘Nothin’ Shakin’’ and ‘Turn Your Lamp Down Low' plus ‘A Thousand Stars’ and ‘It’s Only Make Believe’. Other great rock‘n’roll songs including ‘Jailhouse Rock', ‘Summertime Blues' and ‘Walk The Line’ revisited, a great rocking set for everyone. Jim was back on stage until the early hours, a great night was had by all.

Saturday morning and at 11am Sarahlea's jiving class started and what a great turnout. By the end of the morning everybody was jiving to Billy’s greatest rockers. This is a great addition to the Billy wkd and it’s free to learn. Sarahlea is a great dance teacher and makes it very easy for all who attend. The rest of the day as always was free, to roam around Blackpool, have a rest or sit in the concert room with your newspapers/magazines and listen to Billy. It was very very windy outside and at 2.30 Jim was back on the decks playing the best of Billy and his contemporaries from the 60's.

On Saturday evening after dinner we were back on stage paying tribute to the greats of the sixties including the Righteous Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Elvis, The Drifters, Sam Cooke and of course Billy. At 9.30 there was a welcome return to the stage of Billy Dean. Billy is a great performer and sang some fantastic songs by Billy Fury, Cliff Richard, Elvis and finishing with the great show stopper from Jay and the Americans, ‘Cara Mia’. Again, this great performer will be back.

At 11pm the sounds of ‘Wondrous Place’ filled the room as Billy’s brother Albie took to the stage to a standing ovation. Albie has not been well of late but promised no matter what. he would be on that stage. Great versions of ‘Once Upon A Dream', ‘My Babe', ‘Like I’ve Never Been Gone’ and many more were greatly received by the fans. Albie thanked everybody for being there and invited his and Billy’s mum Jean to the stage for the finale, both Jean and Albie sang ‘Halfway To Paradise’, along with the audience, who moved close to the stage. Albie is a great performer and pays the perfect tribute to his brother.

After Jim playing the best in rock 'n' roll myself and the guys were back on stage to persuade all to rock into the early hours. These guys must be one of the hardest working bands in the country. Special thanks to Dave Lea, Pete Bardsley, Ray Walmsley and Paul Attwell. We, Jim Killey and Diane Wardle, the host for the Billy wkds, paid very many tributes to Neil Hiley over the weekend. His poster was placed on the wall near the seats where he and his wife Kath always sat. Neil was a big part of the Billy Fury wkds and he will be missed greatly, (thanks for all the great memories Neil).

Sunday morning and at 11.30am the jive competition was under way and the floor was packed. Three winners were chosen including one couple from Sarahlea’s dance class, well done to all who took part. All wkd the ‘Billy Fury In Thoughts Of You’ fan club were busy with their memorabilia stalls and Mo Cooper’s gear stall also proved very successful. Quiz sheets were on hand all wkd and the winners were announced on Sunday morning. Three winners with three CD/DVD prizes.

I took to the stage for the final time this weekend with songs such as ‘A Million Miles From Nowhere', ‘Lady', ‘I'll Never Quite Get Over You,' ‘Run To My Loving Arms’ and rockers such as ‘Ain’t Giving Up’, ‘Nothing' Butterfly', ‘King Of The Whole Wide World’ and one of my fave songs by PJ Proby, 'Somewhere’. At 12.30, I invited several people from the audience to the stage to sing their favourite Billy song; we have some great singers out there including Chris Parsons who sang a fantastic version of ‘I'll Show You' amongst others. Also thanks to Mark and John from Liverpool, Stuart, Dave, Rick and everyone else who did a fantastic job.

Diane Wardle took to the stage and presented Jean and Albie with some flowers and thanked everybody for making it one of the best Billy Fury tribute wkds ever. A special thanks to the management and staff at the Metropole Hotel. I would personally like to thank all Billy fury fans for being the best.

On a rather funny note I would like to say hello to the couple who wanted to report us to the Trading Standards for advertising a Billy Fury [tribute] weekend and then storming out on Friday evening saying ‘he hasn’t even turned up’. I think they need educating.

A fantastic weekend so thanks to all of you. Next February will be a very special weekend with it being Billy’s 25th anniversary year. Lots of surprises are planned as well as big screens at the side of the stage with Billy DVD’s playing and the lovely Passionettes will be providing backing vocals for a full Billy Fury tribute show. More surprise guests as well as the media being involved … watch this space.