Career
He is best known for the number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960. Born David Spencer in Ynysddu, Monmouthshire, near Wattsville, South Wales, he is the eldest of seven children. He joined the Royal Air Force 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 Electric and Music Industries, placed with the record producer Norrie Paramor and signed to Electric and Music Industries"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 British Broadcasting Corporation 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.
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. Electric and Music Industries subsequently arranged for Valance to cover the song. After topping the United Kingdom Singles Chart, Valance appeared in the 1961 A Song Foreign Europe competition, hoping to represent the United Kingdom in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
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. In being unable to replicate his initial United Kingdom chart success, he thus remains a one-hit wonder.
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.
Columbia
DB4493 - "Tell Laura I Love Her" / "Once Upon a Time" (1960)
DB4543 - "Movin" Away" / "Lipstick on Your Lips" (1960)
DB4586 - "Jimmy"s Girl" / "Only the Young" (1961)
DB4592 - "Why Can"t We" / "Fisherboy" (1961)
DB4680 - "Bobby" / "I Want to Fall in Love" (1961)
DB4725 - "I Never Had a Chance" / "lieutenant"s Not True" (1961)
DB4787 - "Try to Forget Her" / "At Times Like These" (1962)
DB4864 - "Don"t Play Number.9" / "Till the Final Curtain Falls" (1962)
Decca
F12129 - "Six Boys" / "A Face in the Crowd" (1965)
Crystal
CR7004 - "Abigail" / "My Summer Love" (1969) (as Jason Merryweather)
Tank
BSS313 - "Hello Mary Lou" / "Walking in the Sunshine" (1978)
Umbrella
UMO111 - "Daddy"s Little Girl" / "Ticket to Dream" (1988)
His Master"s Voice
CLP1497 - The Two Sides of John Leyton (1961)
CLP1664 - Always Yours (1963).