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Ricky Valance

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (April 10, 1936-June 12, 2020)
    Born in Ynysddu, Wales, United Kingdom
    Birth name was David Spencer
    Recorded the single ‘Tell Laura I Love Her’ (1960)

Why he might be annoying:

    He denied that he chose his stage name to honor Ritchie Valens, instead explaining that he got ‘Valence’ from a horse trainer he saw on television and just happened to like ‘Ricky.’
    He got a hit with ‘Tell Laura I Love Her’ largely because Decca Records refused to release the original version, by American singer Ray Peterson, in Britain, declaring the song ‘tasteless and vulgar.’ (Inevitably, Decca had a change of heart after Valance got a hit with the song and belatedly released Peterson’s recording.)
    He auditioned unsuccessfully to represent Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest (1961).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was a coal miner before becoming a singer.
    Despite ‘Tell Laura I Love Her’ being banned by the BBC, his recording of the song became a Number One hit in Britain and sold over a million copies.
    He was honored by the Wales Millennium Center (2015) for being the first male Welsh singer to have a #1 hit in the UK.
    He was married to his wife Evelyn for 64 years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 86.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 106 Votes: 42.45% Annoying