Jimmy Bilsbury
James Robert Bilsbury (2 November 1942 – 10 March 2003) was an English singer and songwriter from Liverpool, known as lead vocalist for the pop groups the Magic Lanterns and the Les Humphries Singers. After appearing with the Ray Johnson Skiffle Group, the Nightboppers, the Beat Boys, the Sabres and the Hammers, and singing and writing for the Magic Lanterns, Bilsbury co-founded the Les Humphries Singers in 1969 in Munich, with fellow Briton Humphries. He was a member when they represented Germany in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Sing Sang Song".
Also recorded as Jimmy Pilsbury
Jimmy Bilsbury
- Name
- Jimmy Bilsbury
- Birth Name
- James Robert Bilsbury
- Born
- 2 November 1942
- Birthplace
- Liverpool, England
- Died
- 10 March 2003
- Place of death
- Bonn, Germany
- Occupation
- Singer, songwriter
- Full name
- James Robert Bilsbury.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q1689313 · wikipedia · Jimmy Bilsbury
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Biography
Biography
Bilsbury also performed with Megaton. Bilsbury also co-wrote "Belfast" in 1971 with singer songwriter Drafi Deutscher and Joe Menke for Marcia Barrett, later a part of Frank Farian's disco formation, Boney M. Farian also recorded a German version of "Belfast" with Gilla in 1976 before the Boney M. version in 1977 that became a hit. Bilsbury, who according to Neue Revue had been living on social welfare, was found dead in his 8 sqm apartment in Bonn on 13 March 2003, and the post mortem established that he had died three days earlier from heart failure. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in Gauting Waldfriedhof near Munich, at a ceremony attended by his 16-year-old son.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jimmy Bilsbury • Birth Name — James Robert Bilsbury • Alias — Jimmy Pilsbury • Born — 2 November 1942 • Birthplace — Liverpool, England • Died — 10 March 2003 • Place of death — Bonn, Germany • Occupation — Singer, songwriter • Past Member Of — The Magic Lanterns Les Humphries Singers • Associated Acts — The Magic Lanterns Les Humphries Singers
Documentary record
Jimmy Bilsbury was a composer and singer, born on 2 November 1942 in Liverpool and died on 10 March 2003 in Bonn. Both events are recorded by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
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Liverpool.
Birth place
Bonn.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jimmy Bilsbury, revision 1371019028 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 25 August 2026.
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