Life and Career
Born David Spencer in Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, near Wattsville, South Wales, he is the eldest of seven children. After leaving school he held various jobs, before electing to join the RAF at the age of 17.
After being discharged, he decided to try to pursue a career in singing. After performing in local clubs for a couple of years, Valance 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 Guinness Book of Hit Singles stated that his name was changed to Ricky Valance to remind fans of Ritchie Valens, who had died with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper in the Iowa snow a year and a half earlier. However, this information is incorrect, and the author who wrote the listing for the GBHS did not do research into his submission, nor contact Valance directly about the connection. Valance chose the name himself, after hearing a racehorse trainer's name, and there is no connection to any other artist. At the launch party of the 20th edition of The Guinness Book of Hit Singles, Valance confronted David Roberts about this matter, but it has yet to be changed in future editions.
He bucked the trend prevailing at the time by the BBC to deny airplay to teenage tragedy songs like "Tell Laura I Love Her" almost automatically. Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" had already sunk without a trace, whilst other American death rock records were simply never released in the United Kingdom.
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