Comments on: DICKIE VALENTINE - “Christmas Alphabet”

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:17:49 +0000

Oh yes, it was front page news at the time; he was obviously well past his commercial peak - since otherwise the poor bugger wouldn’t have had to race from nightclub to nightclub in order to make a living - but was still loved by a certain demographic (though I guess, as with Alma Cogan, the memory didn’t last). If he’d died now, approaching eighty, he’d have got as much attention as poor Lita Roza.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:58:15 +0000

I had no idea his death had any impact at the time, I’d never heard of him til I got my first Guinness book. My friend Pete’s mum then pointed out she loved him, and sang us Finger Of Suspicion. We upset her by laughing, callous youths that we were.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:46:07 +0000

Oh I’ve heard worse; when I was at school in the seventies it was noticeable how all the Dickie Valentine gags turned into Marc Bolan gags…

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:39:28 +0000

That’s quite astonishing, DJP. It must have been one of those comments that got swallowed by technology. Doing 150 mph on winding Welsh lanes, driving from gig to gig - JG could have called the book My Bloody Valentine.

Sorry, that was rather poor wasn’t it?

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:54:53 +0000

I’m sure I said this in the other DV entry but his car crash was the inspiration for Crash by his Shepperton next door neighbour JG Ballard. Apparently he was going at 150 mph at the time.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:42:15 +0000

A no.1 that only spent 7 weeks on the chart - four decades ahead of its time, kinda. Dickie’s take on Mr Sandman from the Xmas before is far less clunky. His unforced schmoovness, with a slight glint of music hall cheek, makes him one of the best UK Pre Rock stars.

Also Dickie died young in a car crash - though, tellingly, when he died 41 didn’t seem as young as it would now (meaning if B Gillespie, J Cocker, T Yorke etc died tomoro they would be mourned like B Jones, J Hendrix et al).

Quite odd this never makes it onto Now! Xmas! type comps. There are far worse.