Val Doonican
Michael Valentine "Val" Doonican (born February 3, 1927 in Waterford , Ireland , † July 1, 2015 in Buckinghamshire , England ) was an Irish singer and entertainer .
Life
Val Doonican was the eighth and youngest child in the family. His father died when he was 14 years old. Doonican then had to leave school and start working. Doonican began playing in his school band when he was six. Even after finishing school he remained loyal to music. He performed professionally for the first time with his friend Bruce Clarke in Waterford in 1947. An application to Irish radio quickly made both of them regular guests on radio shows. In 1951 Doonican left Ireland and joined the Four Ramblers group in England. The group appeared on the BBC radio show Riders of the Range and on air bases of the US Air Force in Great Britain . Doonican remained a member of the Four Ramblers until 1961 ; However, he also had his first solo appearances since the late 1950s, to which Anthony Newley had persuaded him, who accompanied the Four Ramblers on tour. His appearances were initially only 15 minutes long, but he was soon receiving 13 30-minute shows from the BBC that enabled him to begin his solo career.
In 1963, he first appeared on the ITV television show Sunday Night at the London Palladium . However, the BBC offered him his own Saturday evening show in 1964, which was broadcast regularly from 1965 under the name The Val Doonican Show until 1986 and which helped comedian Dave Allen to break through. In addition to his work as a television entertainer, he continued to make music and had five top ten hits in the 1960s. His album Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently was the first album by an Irish musician to hit the UK charts, where it was also a number one hit at the turn of the year 1967/68 . Val Doonican has released over 50 albums during his career.
Doonican's trademarks were sweaters and cardigans, which he wore in the 1960s before switching to suits in the 1970s. At the end of his show, he sang a song himself, sitting in a rocking chair, which was also considered typical of him.
Even after his television show was canceled, Val Doonican continued to perform until 2009. Val Doonican was a keen golfer and painted watercolors that were also on public display.
Val Doonican was married for 54 years and had two daughters.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 IE
|
 UK
|
|||
| 1964 | Lucky 13 Shades Of Val Doonican | - |
UK2 (27 weeks) UK |
First published: 1964
|
| 1966 | Gentle Shades Of Val Doonican | - |
UK5 (40 weeks) UK |
First published: 1966
|
| 1967 | Val Doonican Rocks But Gently | - |
UK1 (23 weeks) UK |
First published: 1967
|
| 1968 | Val | - |
UK6 (11 weeks) UK |
First published: 1968
|
| 1969 | The World Of Val Doonican | - |
UK2 (31 weeks) UK |
First published: 1969
|
| Sounds gentle | - |
UK21 (10 weeks) UK |
First published: 1969
|
|
| 1970 | The Magic Of Val Doonican | - |
UK34 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: 1970
|
| 1971 | This Is Val Doonican | - |
UK40 (1 week) UK |
First published: 1971
|
| 1975 | I love country music | - |
UK37 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: 1975
|
| 1977 | Some Of My Best Friends Are Songs | - |
UK29  (5 weeks)UK |
First published: 1977
|
| 1990 | Songs From My Sketch Book | - |
UK33  (6 weeks)UK |
First published: 1990
|
| 2008 | The very best of |
IE63 (1 week) IE |
UK33 (3 weeks) UK |
First published: 2008
|
| 2019 | The Gold Collection | - |
UK65 (4 weeks) UK |
First published: 2019
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IE
|
UK
|
|||
| 1964 | Walk Tall |
IE2 (15 weeks) IE |
UK3 (21 weeks) UK |
First published: 1964
|
| 1965 | The Special Years |
IE2 (5 weeks) IE |
UK7 (13 weeks) UK |
First published: 1965
|
| I'm gonna get there somehow | - |
UK25 (5 weeks) UK |
First published: 1965
|
|
| 1966 | Elusive Butterfly |
IE3 (9 weeks) IE |
UK5 (12 weeks) UK |
First published: 1966
|
| What would I be | - |
UK2 (17 weeks) UK |
First published: 1966
|
|
| Memories Are Made Of This |
IE14 (5 weeks) IE |
UK11 (12 weeks) UK |
First published: 1966
|
|
| 1967 | Two streets | - |
UK39 (4 weeks) UK |
First published: 1967
|
| If The Whole World Stopped Loving |
IE2 (13 weeks) IE |
UK3 (19 weeks) UK |
First published: 1967
|
|
| 1968 | You're The Only One | - |
UK37 (4 weeks) UK |
First published: 1968
|
| Now | - |
UK43 (2 weeks) UK |
First published: 1968
|
|
| If I Knew Then What I Know Now | - |
UK14 (13 weeks) UK |
First published: 1968
|
|
| 1969 | Ring Of Bright Water | - |
UK48 (1 week) UK |
First published: 1969
|
| 1971 | Morning |
IE5 (4 weeks) IE |
UK12 (13 weeks) UK |
First published: 1971
|
| 1973 | Heaven is My Woman's Love | - |
UK34 (7 weeks) UK |
First published: 1973
|
swell
Web links
- Val Doonican in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dennis Barker: Val Doonican Obituary. In: The Guardian , July 2, 2015 (English)
- Singer Val Doonican dies aged 88. In: The Guardian, July 2, 2015
- Obituary: Val Doonican. BBC News , July 2, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Doonican, Val |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Doonican, Michael Valentine |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish singer and entertainer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Waterford , Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1, 2015 |
| Place of death | Buckinghamshire , England |