Birth name David Spencer Role Singer Occupation(s) Singer Genres Pop music | Years active Late 1950s–present Albums Sings Country Name Ricky Valance | |
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Similar People Ray Peterson, Craig Douglas, Adam Faith, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, Johnny Preston | ||
Tell Laura i love her - Ricky Valance ( 1960 )
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.
Contents
- Tell Laura i love her Ricky Valance 1960
- Ricky valance tell laura i love her 1960 mpg
- Life and career
- First Welshman at number one
- Columbia
- Decca
- Crystal
- Tank
- Umbrella
- One Media iP
- His Masters Voice
- References
Ricky valance tell laura i love her 1960 mpg
Life and career
Born David Spencer in Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, 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. 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 EMI's Columbia label. At the first recording session, Valance was given the chance to cover Ray Peterson's 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.
First Welshman at number one
Ray Peterson's 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 Can't We?", placed third out of the nine entries; the winner was "Are You Sure?" performed by the Allisons.
Further singles included "Movin' Away", "Jimmy's 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.
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.