Ricky Valance, the first Welshman to have a solo UK Number One single, has died aged 84.
Valance, whose birth name was David Spencer, topped the charts with Tell Laura I Love Her in 1960.
His agent told the BBC on Friday: “[Ricky] had been diagnosed with dementia and had been in hospital since before the start of lockdown.”
Valance was born in Wales in 1936 and began a music career after serving in the RAF.
He carried on releasing music throughout his life, but Tell Laura I Love Her remained his greatest hit.
The song, about a young man named Tommy who dies in a stock car race while trying to win money to buy his girlfriend Laura a wedding ring, spent sixteen weeks in the charts and three in the number one spot.
Valance released his final song, Welcome Home, in 2017, to raise money for the RAF Association and Royal Air Force museum.
He spent the final years of his life in Skegness, Lincolnshire, and is survived by his wife Evelyn.
Fans took to Twitter to share their sadness about Mr Valance's death.
One user said: I"’d be a rich lady if I had £1 for every time I’ve had Tell Laura I love her sang to me", while another recalled meeting the singer, calling him "a lovely chap".
