I think this may have been the first single I bought, certainly among the first few. Billy Fury, like Bobby Darin whom I mentioned a few days ago, had rheumatic fever as a child which damaged his heart, and he died at the age of 42.
Like I’ve Never Been Gone – Billy Fury
He released this in 1963, one of many great numbers he recorded such as Halfway to Paradise, It’s Only Make Believe (a cover of Conway Twitty, but better) and Run to My Lovin’ Arms, to name only a few.
Like I’ve Never Been Gone was written by Camille Monte, about whom I can discover nothing, and Paul Hampton, who co-wrote Don Gibson’s Sea of Heartbreak. It was first recorded by Chase Webster in 1962. Webster’s voice was similar to Fury’s but the arrangement of the song was not as good.