We are delighted to be able to have the man, the myth, the legend (only kidding Ricky), contributing to the site here at Costa Blanca TV.
Ricky Valance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ricky Valance (born David Spencer, 10 April 1939, Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, near Wattsville, South Wales) is best known for the number one single, "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960.
Life and career
He was the eldest of seven children. Times were tough, and upon leaving school he tried various jobs before joining the RAF aged 17.
After being discharged, he decided to pursue a career in singing.[1] After singing in local clubs for a couple of years, Valance was discovered by an A&R representative from EMI Records and placed in the hands of record producer Norrie Paramor. At the first recording session, Valance was given the chance of covering Ray Peterson's U.S. hit, "Tell Laura I Love Her". He was rewarded with a number 1 hit in September 1960, thanks to airplay on Radio Luxembourg.
In a move as cynical as the decision to record the song in the first place, his name was changed to Ricky Valance, to remind fans of Ritchie Valens, who died with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper in the Iowa snow a year and a half earlier.
He bucked the trend, in that the 1950s, and early 1960s 'death rock' songs were almost automatically denied airplay by the BBC. Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" had already sunk without a trace, whilst other American death rock records were simply not released in the United Kingdom.
Tell Laura I Love Her
Ray Peterson's original version of "Tell Laura I Love Her" was considered for release in the United Kingdom; in fact, thousands of copies had been pressed, but someone at Decca Records decided that the song was in "bad taste", and the records were ordered destroyed. EMI subsequently arranged for Valence to cover the banned song, co-written by Jeff Barry.
Shortly after topping the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1960 with "Tell Laura I Love Her", Valance appeared in the 1961 A Song For Europe competition, attempting to represent the UK in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. His song, "Why Can't We?", placed third out of the nine entries, behind the winner "Are You Sure?" performed by The Allisons.
"Tell Laura I Love Her" has been a hit in 14 countries, and has sold over seven million copies.
He released several follow-ups, including "Movin' Away", "Jimmy's Girl" and "Six Boys", but none of them were hits.
Valance carved out a career singing on the cabaret and nostalgia circuit.Then, following a bout of severe depression and a nervous breakdown he became a born-again Christian.
First Welshman at Number One
Valance was the first Welshman to reach the top spot - Shirley Bassey being the first Welsh person - but he was unable to replicate this feat.
Today
Valance now lives in Cabo Roig, on the outskirts of Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca in Spain, where he still performs on a regular basis.
UK Singles
Columbia
- DB4493 - "Tell Laura I Love Her" / "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" / "Face in the Crowd" (1965)
Crystal
- CR7004 - "My Summer Love" / "Abigail" (1969) (as Jason Merryweather)