And so, farewell to one of the greatest purveyors of the musical genre known as "Easy Listening".
For a quarter of a century - all the way from the Beatles to Madonna - Val Doonican held pride of place on our prime-time Saturday night TV screens. With his comfy jumpers, his "Perry Como-esque" reassuring lightness of touch, and of course his "trademark" rocking chair, he sang classic standards and Irish comic songs with consummate ease, solo or in duets with his myriad range of guests from both sides of the pond.
Such as Rosie Clooney...
Val was incredibly popular in his day, recorded more than 50 albums, and was rarely out of the UK charts in the 60s and 70s. Among his big hits were Walk Tall, Elusive Butterfly, What Would I Be, and this one:
Facts:
- A popular touring musician, his "big break" was in 1963 when he was booked to appear on Sunday Night at the Palladium - which led to the offer of his own television show.
- Val surprisingly provided Gaelic-influenced backing harmonies for Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore.
- His 1967 album Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently knocked the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band off the top of the album chart.
- Apparently, Val was a member of the fictional "orchestra" backing The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
- He only stopped performing in 2009, after six decades in showbiz.
RIP Michael Valentine "Val" Doonican (3rd February 1927 – 1st July 2015)
