Rachel Fury is the stage name of Rachel Brennock, an English singer, songwriter, and actress best known for performing with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

on tour from 1987 to 1989.

Career

Brennock attended the

Barbara Speake Stage School The Barbara Speake Stage School was opened on 10 February 1945 as an independent school, and was initially set up as a dancing school, by the founding principal Miss Barbara Speake, MBE, and was located in East Acton, London. The school was fee ...

and began her acting career at aged ten appearing in TV commercials, shows and films, such as ''Mr Horatio Knibbles'' (1971), ''Anoop and the Elephant'' (1972) and ''Robin Hood Junior'' (1975). 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 Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...

release intended to capitalise on

teenybopper A teenybopper is an early teenage girl who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion, and culture. The term may have been coined by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term was introduced i ...

enthusiasm for

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in ...

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. By 1978, Brennock was an established London session singer, known for a "sassy ' Ronettes' sound." In the 1980s Brennock adopted the stage name Rachel Fury and toured as a backing singer with

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is a retired English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands. After ...

and The Lover Speaks. 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. Fury signed on as a backing singer for Pink Floyd's '

A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the British rock band Pink Floyd. The ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour'' ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the ''Another Lapse tour'' ran from May–July 1989. Both ...

' (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. 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 ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' is a live album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in August 1988 and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in September 1988. It wa ...

'', 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 "The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track on ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', the 1973 album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by Richard Wright and non-lexical vocals by Clare Torry, being one of only ...

", first performed on the

A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the British rock band Pink Floyd. The ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour'' ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the ''Another Lapse tour'' ran from May–July 1989. Both ...

in Tokyo and for harmonising with David Gilmour on "

Comfortably Numb "Comfortably Numb" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd from their eleventh album, ''The Wall'' (1979). It was released as a single in 1980, with " Hey You" as the B-side. The music was composed by guitarist David Gilmour. The lyrics were ...

". Fury also appears on recordings included in ''

The Later Years ''The Later Years'' is a box set by British rock band Pink Floyd released on 13 December 2019 by Pink Floyd Records. It follows the 2016 box set ''The Early Years 1965–1972'', and compiles Pink Floyd's work under the leadership of David Gilmo ...

'' 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 Blue Pearl are an English electronic music duo consisting of American female singer Durga McBroom and British musician Youth (Martin Glover). They charted six times on the UK singles chart and had two songs reach the US '' Billboard'' Hot Danc ...

live in 1990.

References

External links

Rachel Fury entry at discogs.com
* (as Rachel Brennock)
Rachel Fury performing in 1990 for Blue Pearl band as a backing vocalist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fury, Rachel Living people English women singers 1961 births