Ricky Valance (born 10 April 1939) is a Welsh singer. He is best known for the number one single Tell Laura I Love Her, which sold over a million copies in 1960. Born David Spencer in Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, near Wattsville, South Wales, he is the eldest of seven children. He joined the RAF at the age of 17. He started his musical career after leaving the military.[1] He performed in local clubs for a couple of years before he was discovered by an A&R representative from EMI, placed with the record producer Norrie Paramor and signed to EMIs Columbia label. At the first recording session, Valance was given the chance to cover Ray Petersons American hit, Tell Laura I Love Her. He was rewarded with a number 1 hit in September 1960, thanks to airplay on Radio Luxembourg. The BBC refused to play teenage tragedy songs like Tell Laura I Love Her. Many American death rock records were simply never released in the United Kingdom. Ray Petersons original version of Tell Laura I Love Her, which was co-written by Jeff Barry, was not released in the United Kingdom, because Decca Records considered it in bad taste. EMI subsequently arranged for Valance to cover the song. Valance thus became the first Welshman to reach the top spot - Shirley Bassey being the first Welsh female. After topping the UK Singles Chart, Valance appeared in the 1961 A Song For Europe competition, hoping to represent the UK in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. His song, Why Cant We?, placed third out of the nine entries; the winner was Are You Sure? performed by the Allisons. Further singles included Movin Away, Jimmys Girl and Six Boys. Over 100,000 copies sold of Jimmy´s Girl, and Moving Away made it to number one in Australia and Scandinavia, with 150,000 copies sold. In being unable to replicate his initial UK chart success, he thus remains a one-hit wonder. 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. He also has a home in Blaenau Gwent in Wales.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 22:01:13 +0000
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