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David Spencer (10 April 193612 June 2020), known professionally as Ricky Valance, was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
pop singer. He was best known for the UK
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
single "
Tell Laura I Love Her "Tell Laura I Love Her" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Later th ...
", which sold over a million copies in 1960. He was the first male Welsh singer to have a UK number one single hit.


Early life

Born as David Spencer in
Ynysddu Ynysddu is a small village and community in the Sirhowy valley of south-east Wales. It is part of the district of Caerphilly within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It lies between to Cwmfelinfach and Wyllie, north of the town of ...
,
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, the eldest of seven children, he sang in his church choir and worked in a coal mine and a factory before joining the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
at the age of 17. "First Person: Ricky Valance", ''South Wales Argus'', 19 December 2012
retrieved 12 June 2020.


Music career

He started his musical career after leaving the armed forces. He performed in local
clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
in the
north of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
as a
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
singer for a couple of years, before he was discovered by an A&R representative from
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
, signed to EMI's Columbia label, and placed with the record producer
Norrie Paramor Norman William Paramor (15 May 1914 – 9 September 1979), known professionally as Norrie Paramor, was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff Ri ...
. He claimed he selected the
stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Ricky Valance because he liked the name Ricky, and took the name Valance from that of a trainer at a
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
meeting; it was not a tribute to
Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...
as sometimes reported. At his first
recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...
session, Paramor suggested that Valance
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
Ray Peterson Ray Peterson (April 23, 1935 – January 25, 2005) was an American pop music, pop singing, singer who is best remembered for singing "Tell Laura I Love Her". He also scored numerous other hits, including "Corrine, Corrina" which was compose ...
's American
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
, "Tell Laura I Love Her", co-written by
Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...
. The recording was
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...
by Frank Barber. Peterson's original version of the song had never been released in the United Kingdom, as
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
considered a rock song about death and tragedy to be in bad taste. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
refused to play
teenage tragedy song A teenage tragedy song is a style of ballad in popular music that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Examples of the style are also known as "tear jerkers", "death discs" or "splatter platters", among other colorful sobriquet ...
s like "Tell Laura I Love Her", but, thanks to
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
on
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
, Valance was rewarded with a number 1 hit in September 1960. Valance thus became the first Welsh man to reach the top spot –
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
being the first Welsh female with " As I Love You" in February 1959. The record was his only chart hit in the UK. After topping the UK Singles Chart, Valance appeared in the 1961 ''
A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' competition, hoping to represent the UK in the upcoming
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. His song, "Why Can't We?", placed third out of the nine entries; the winner was "Are You Sure?" performed by
the Allisons The Allisons were an English pop duo consisting of Bob Day (born Bernard Colin Day; 2 February 1941 – 25 November 2013) and John Alford (born Brian Henry John Alford, 31 December 1939). They were marketed as being brothers, using the surname o ...
. Further singles included "Movin' Away" and "Jimmy's Girl". Over 100,000 copies were sold of "Jimmy's Girl", and "Movin' Away" made it to number one in Australia and Scandinavia. While Valance continued to have some international success, changes in musical taste in the mid 1960s resulted in the ending of his Columbia contract. He sang in Ireland with a
showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...
, the Chessmen, in 1967, and also undertook work as an actor, and performed
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
. In later years, he featured in 1960s revival festivals in Britain, and on
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
s. In 1989, he visited
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
where he appeared on the show ''Nashville Now'', and he returned there in 2001 to record an album, ''One of the Best''. Later, he continued to perform, when living in Spain, and hosted a local golf-based chat show on television, ''Play a Round with Ricky''. In 2015, he was given an award at the
Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...
, as the first Welsh man to have a UK number one hit. He released a single, "Welcome Home", in 2017, to raise funds for the
Royal Air Force Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * ...
.


Personal life and death

Valance lived in Cabo Roig on the outskirts of
Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevieja l ...
on the
Costa Blanca The Costa Blanca (, , literally meaning "White Coast") is over of Mediterranean coastline in the Alicante province, on the southeastern coast of Spain. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north, beyond which lies the Costa del Azahar (or ...
in Spain, where he performed regularly. In 2015 he and his wife moved to
Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
, Lincolnshire. He died in Skegness on 12 June 2020. He was 84, and had been hospitalised for dementia in the months leading up to his death. His funeral was held at St. Mary's Church in
Goldington Goldington is an electoral ward within the town of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It encompasses much of the historic village and parish of Goldington that was merged with Bedford in 1934, although some parts of the old village are within the ne ...
,
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
on 13 July 2020.


UK singles


Columbia

*DB4493 – "
Tell Laura I Love Her "Tell Laura I Love Her" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Later th ...
" / "Once Upon a Time" (1960) *DB4543 – "Movin' Away" / "Lipstick on Your Lips" (1960) *DB4586 – "Jimmy's Girl" / "Only the Young" (1961) *DB4592 – "Why Can't We" / "Fisherboy" (1961) *DB4680 – "Bobby" / "I Want to Fall in Love" (1961) *DB4725 – "I Never Had a Chance" / "It's Not True" (1961) *DB4787 – "Try to Forget Her" / "At Times Like These" (1962) *DB4864 – "Don't Play No.9" / "Till the Final Curtain Falls" (1962)


Decca

*F12129 – "Six Boys" / "A Face in the Crowd" (1965)


Crystal

*CR7004 – "Abigail" / "My Summer Love" (1969) (as Jason Merryweather)


Tank

*BSS313 – "Hello Mary Lou" / "Walking in the Sunshine" (1978)


Umbrella

*UMO111 – "Daddy's Little Girl" / "Ticket to Dream" (1988)


One Media iP

* " Welcome Home" / "Tell Laura I Love Her" (55th Anniversary Edition) (2016)


See also

*
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart This is a list of artists who have reached number one on the UK Singles Chart as recorded by the Official Charts Company. Artists are listed alphabetically, solo artists are listed by surname and groups are listed by full names excluding "the" o ...
* List of Eurovision: Your Decision contestants


References


External links


Banned Rock and Roll Records website
*
Entry at 45cat.com

Ricky Valance
on BBC Radio 4's '' Saturday Live'' in April 2018 (48:32 minutes in) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valance, Ricky 1936 births 2020 deaths Welsh expatriates in Spain People from Ynysddu Welsh male singers Royal Air Force airmen Columbia Records artists Decca Records artists