You thought yesterday was a bit populist, perhaps? Well, prepare yourself for Day 2.
'Christmas Alphabet' was not only a massive No: 1 hit but, providing you don't count the previous year's No: 1, Winifred Attwell's 'Let's Have Another Party,' as a Christmas Record - and I don't think we should - then Dickie scored the UK's first ever Christmas themed chart topper.
Topping the chart for 3 weeks in 1955, Valentine - or Richard Maxwell as his mum probably called him - was a singing sensation and won the NME poll as best male vocalist that year; in fact he won the title consecutively from 1953 to 1957.
Although the rock 'n' roll and Beatlemania tide inevitably caught up with his career during the 60s, Valentine was still a popular club singer when he was tragically killed, along with his pianist and drummer, on a single-lane bridge travelling home after performing in Caerphilly in 1971.
The bridge in Crickhowell - later replaced with a new bridge - had a commemorative plaque unveiled there in 2021. An honour surely due a man who had every Cliff, Slade, Shaky and Geldof trailing in his wake.
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