Ricky Valance (born David Spencer in Ynysddu, south Wales, on 10 April 1939; died 12 June 2020) was a Welsh singer best remembered for the UK number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960. Valance, the eldest of seven siblings, joined the RAF aged 17. After his discharge from service, he decided to pursue a career singing. He was signed up by EMI and recorded his hit song Tell Laura I Love Her. It sold over a million copies and went to number one in 1960. W...
Ricky Valance (born David Spencer in Ynysddu, south Wales, on 10 April 1939; died 12 June 2020) was a Welsh singer best remembered for the UK number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960.
Valance, the eldest of seven siblings, joined the RAF aged 17. After his discharge from service, he decided to pursue a career singing. He was signed up by EMI and recorded his hit song Tell Laura I Love Her. It sold over a million copies and went to number one in 1960. With this song, Valance became the first Welshman to reach the top spot (Shirley Bassey being the first Welsh female with "As I Love You" in February 1959).
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, with 150,000 copies sold.
He continued to perform on a regular basis. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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