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He was very Irish and often dressed informally. He could sing in tune, though he adopted American phonemes. He strummed an acoustic guitar better than anyone I've met. He occasionally mutilated songs that didn't necessarily deserve it - though to his credit he consistently took on very heavy-duty lyrics. He sometimes popularized songs that decent folk would have buried on sight. He made a lot of television viewers very happy even if he never got to the top of a hit parade[1].

You might have heard my footsteps echo softly through the distance in the canyons of your mind. I might have even called your name as I ran searching after something to believe in. You might have seen me running through the long-abandoned ruins of someone I used to be.











eta [1]: a singles hit parade. The BBC News mentioned an album that displaced the Beatles at number one. I suspect he died a wealthy man.

A nice ordinary sort of fellow, who could sing.

Goodbye Val, you were amongst my very favourite singers - you gave me many happy hours of listening to your very listenable, gentle Irish voice. Bless you........R.I.P. XXX P.S. I wonder what happened to that Val rocking chair he sat on during his TV shows !



And a special song that I sang in my band, after I had heard Val's version (made a good 'last waltz' )



And THE rocking chair at 2.04 mins in the following video.

I was going to just C & P this recorded eulogy, but the man who read it was dreadful I'm afraid. He kept saying 'Val Doon (eye) can' instead of Doonican (i as in it), and all sorts of other ridiculous mistakes in pronunciation, and pauses in the wrong places. It was obvious that man never heard of Val, so who the heck got him to read these words ? :-5



Irish singer and TV entertainer Val Doonican has died aged 88.

His family said he died "peacefully" at a nursing home in Buckinghamshire. He had not been ill, but his daughter said his "batteries had just run out".

The performer was a regular fixture on TV with The Val Doonican show which ran on the BBC from 1965 to 1986, featuring his own performances and guest artists.

He was also rarely out of the UK charts in the 1960s and '70s with songs like Walk Tall and Elusive Butterfly.

In the album chart, he had five successive top 10 records and even knocked The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band off the top spot in 1967 with Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently.

In a statement, his family said: "He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and will be greatly missed by family, friends and his many fans."

Sir Bruce Forsyth paid tribute to Doonican saying: "I'm very, very shocked because Val was, in his day, one of the biggest ever stars on British television."

"With his famous sweater and his lovely relaxed style... there was nobody bigger than Val," he told ITV News.

Irish entertainer Roy Walker also paid tribute, saying: "You were a joy to work with. A real 'star'. Love you man."

Irish comic Adrian Walsh tweeted: "Spent four years as opening act for Val Doonican. He was one of the greats on and of [sic] stage. Thank you for your friendship."

Born in Waterford, Ireland, Doonican's career took off after he was booked to appear on Sunday Night at the Palladium in 1963.

It led him to be offered his own BBC show - for which he became known for his trademark rocking chair, colourful jumpers and cardigans - and kick-started his recording career.

He filmed some 25 Christmas specials, which Doonican told The Express in 2013 he "couldn't bear to watch".

"They became something of a national institution, attracting audiences of up to 19 million. It felt embarrassing seeing myself. We'd sit as a family enjoying ourselves but as soon as my show started, I'd nip off to another room," he said.

His other hits included The Special Years, What Would I Be and If The Whole World Stopped Loving. He also sang the theme song for the film Ring of Bright Water.

Doonican stopped performing in 2009 after more than 60 years in showbusiness.

He is survived by his wife Lynn, daughters Sarah and Fiona and grandchildren Bethany and Scott.

spot;1481780 wrote: He was very Irish and often dressed informally. He could sing in tune, though he adopted American phonemes. He strummed an acoustic guitar better than anyone I've met. He occasionally mutilated songs that didn't necessarily deserve it - though to his credit he consistently took on very heavy-duty lyrics. He sometimes popularized songs that decent folk would have buried on sight. He made a lot of television viewers very happy even if he never got to the top of a hit parade[1].

You might have heard my footsteps echo softly through the distance in the canyons of your mind. I might have even called your name as I ran searching after something to believe in. You might have seen me running through the long-abandoned ruins of someone I used to be.





eta [1]: a singles hit parade. The BBC News mentioned an album that displaced the Beatles at number one. I suspect he died a wealthy man.


What do you mean he never made it to the top he may never nave had a niumber one but he had several top ten hits andwas one of the best selling artists of all time it was him that knocked the beatles off the number one spot. He also played with led zppelin (one of the most overrated bands of all time) unlike most of his contemporaries he wrote and kept the rights to his own songs - unusual for the time.

gmc;1481796 wrote: What do you mean he never made it to the top he may never nave had a niumber one but he had several top ten hits andwas one of the best selling artists of all time it was him that knocked the beatles off the number one spot. He also played with led zppelin (one of the most overrated bands of all time) unlike most of his contemporaries he wrote and kept the rights to his own songs - unusual for the time.


I was merely observing a peculiar fact, that he didn't have a number one single during his entire career. The only reason it's a peculiar fact is that he was such a popular performer over such a very long period of time. Had he not been such a popular performer over such a very long period of time, the lack of a number one single wouldn't have been peculiar at all. I did mention the top-selling album, if you look. You quoted me saying it.

spot;1481800 wrote: I was merely observing a peculiar fact, that he didn't have a number one single during his entire career. The only reason it's a peculiar fact is that he was such a popular performer over such a very long period of time. Had he not been such a popular performer over such a very long period of time, the lack of a number one single wouldn't have been peculiar at all. I did mention the top-selling album, if you look. You quoted me saying it.


I know you did. Quite a few popular bands, singers entertainers have never had a number one even led zep only had one. ac/dc haven't had one in the UK queen have had four (ithink) the spice girls had loads so did take that, I don't think it really means that much how many number one you had as a measure of success it's only one such measure.