Rachel Fury
{{short description|English singer/songwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Rachel Fury
| image =
| alt =
| caption = Fury Performing with Pink Floyd in 1988 at the Nassau Coliseum, New York.
| image_size =
| birth_name = Rachel Brennock
| alias =
| birth_place = Islington, London, England
| birth_date = {{birth year and age |1961}}
| death_place =
| death_date =
| origin =
| instrument = Vocalist
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|actor|songwriter}}
| genre =
| years_active = 1971–1990
| label =
| associated_acts = Pink Floyd, Howard Devoto, The Lover Speaks
| website =
}}
Rachel Fury is the stage name of Rachel Brennock, an English singer, songwriter and actress known for performing with Pink Floyd on tour from 1987 to 1989.
Career
Brennock attended the Barbara Speake Stage School{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} and began her acting career at aged ten appearing in TV commercials, shows and films, such as Mr Horatio Knibbles (1971),{{Cite web |title=Children's Film and Television Foundation - Film Catalogue - M |url=http://www.cftf.org.uk/catalogue/m.html#mrhoratioknibbles |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.cftf.org.uk}} Anoop and the Elephant (1972){{Cite web |title=Children's Film and Television Foundation - Film Catalogue - A |url=http://www.cftf.org.uk/catalogue/a.html#anoopandtheelephant |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.cftf.org.uk}} and Robin Hood Junior (1975).{{cite book |last1=Mould |first1=Paul |title=Mould's movie careers : actresses |date=1999 |publisher=[Boston] : P. Mould |isbn=978-0-9528708-1-4 |page=131 |url=https://archive.org/details/mouldsmoviecaree0000moul/page/130/mode/2up?q=%22Rachel+Brennock%22 |access-date=22 April 2022}}
At the same time Brennock was building a career as a singer and in 1972, under the name Weeny Bopper; she recorded the single "David, Donny and Michael", a Pye Records release intended to capitalise on teenybopper enthusiasm for David Cassidy, Donny Osmond, and Michael Jackson.{{cite book|author=|title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Rw8EAAAAMBAJ|date=23 December 1972|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Rw8EAAAAMBAJ/page/n11 10]–|issn=0006-2510}}{{cite web|quote=Song co-writer Laurie Marshall commented, "Weeny Bopper was the most professional singer I ever worked with. She was 10 years old, she walked into the studio cool as a cucumber. She was very accommodating and so sweet."|title=Interview with Laurice (Laurie) Marshall|date=29 May 2009|url=http://purepop1uk.blogspot.com/2009/05/weeny-boppers-flying-saucers-spivs-and.html|accessdate=December 27, 2010}} By 1978, Brennock was an established London session singer, known for a "sassy 'Ronettes' sound."{{cite web|title=Interview with Geraint Hughes|date=September 14, 2009|url=http://popjunkietv.posterous.com/woah-were-talking-to-geraint-hughes-woah-the|accessdate=December 27, 2010|quote=Hughes credits Brennock with the vocal on Video Killed the Radio Star|publisher=Popjunkietv.posterous.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715105944/http://popjunkietv.posterous.com/woah-were-talking-to-geraint-hughes-woah-the|archivedate=15 July 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Buggles-Video-Killed-The-Radio-Star/master/80390 |title=Buggles, The - Video Killed The Radio Star at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |date= |accessdate=2014-06-30}}
In the 1980s Brennock adopted the stage name Rachel Fury and toured as a backing singer with Howard Devoto and The Lover Speaks.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pinkfloydz.com/a_momentary_lapse_part_5.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602092451/http://www.pinkfloydz.com/a_momentary_lapse_part_5.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2004|title=A Momentary Lapse Part 5|date=June 2, 2004}} She co-wrote the song "When We Dream" with Phil Saatchi for his 1987 album Wheel of Fortune, and performed vocals on several Saatchi songs.{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Rachel+Fury |title=Rachel Fury Discography at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |date= |accessdate=2014-06-30}} Fury signed on as a backing singer for Pink Floyd's 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour' (1987–88) and the 'Another Lapse Tour' (1989) after being introduced to the band by her former boyfriend James Guthrie, Pink Floyd's longtime recording engineer.
{{Citation | last = Mason | first = Nick | title = Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd | publisher = Phoenix | edition = Paperback | editor = Philip Dodd | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-7538-1906-6| title-link = Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd }}
She performed on tour with Pink Floyd from 1987 to 1989 and appears in the concert film and on the live album Delicate Sound of Thunder, the Italian TV broadcast of the 1989 concert in Venice, and the MTV recording of the 1987 concert at the Omni in Atlanta. In these live performances, Fury is noted for the opening vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky", first performed on the A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in Tokyo{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/7393825-Pink-Floyd-The-Great-Gig-In-The-Budokan|title = Pink Floyd - the Great Gig in the Budokan|website = Discogs}} and for harmonising with David Gilmour on "Comfortably Numb". Fury also appears on recordings included in The Later Years boxset (2019) where she appears in a remastered Delicate Sound of Thunder film, the Venice canal show film as well as on the expanded version of the Delicate Sound of Thunder album.
After 1989 Fury retired from the stage. She did, however, perform with fellow Pink Floyd touring member, Durga McBroom's band, Blue Pearl live in 1990.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Rachel+Fury Rachel Fury entry at discogs.com]
- {{IMDb name|nm0107535}} (as Rachel Brennock)
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATrC5VDfWsA Rachel Fury performing in 1990 for Blue Pearl band as a backing vocalist]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fury, Rachel}}