12 Facts About Ricky Valance

David Spencer, known professionally as Ricky Valance, was a Welsh pop singer.

Ricky Valance was best known for the UK number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold more than a million copies in 1960.

Ricky Valance was the first male Welsh singer to have a UK number one single hit.

Ricky Valance started his musical career after leaving the armed forces.

Ricky Valance claimed he selected the stage name Ricky Valance because he liked the name Ricky, and took the name Valance from that of a trainer at a horse racing meeting; it was not a tribute to Ritchie Valens as sometimes reported.

At his first recording session, Paramor suggested that Valance cover Ray Peterson's American hit, "Tell Laura I Love Her", co-written by Jeff Barry.

The BBC refused to play teenage tragedy songs like "Tell Laura I Love Her", but, thanks to airplay on Radio Luxembourg, Ricky Valance was rewarded with a number 1 hit in September 1960.

Ricky Valance sang in Ireland with a showband, the Chessmen, in 1967, and undertook work as an actor, and performed country music.

Ricky Valance released a single, "Welcome Home", in 2017, to raise funds for the Royal Air Force Museum.

Ricky Valance lived in Cabo Roig on the outskirts of Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca in Spain, where he performed regularly.

Ricky Valance was 84, and had been hospitalised for dementia in the months leading up to his death.

Ricky Valance's funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Goldington, Bedfordshire on 13 July 2020.