Sixties singing star Ricky Valance laid to rest in Bedfordshire
Watch a report on Ricky Valance's funeral by Dani Crawshaw
Family and friends of 1960s Welsh singing star Ricky Valance have paid tribute at his funeral in Bedfordshire.
Valance was famous for his number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her" which stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks in summer 1960 and sold more than a million copies.
The 84-year-old performed throughout his life, his last single in 2017 was to raise money for the RAF museum. Before he became a performer, he joined the RAF for 3 years at the age 17.
He died with dementia and he'd been in hospital since before the beginning of lockdown
Ricky Valance, whose real name was David Spencer, was the first male solo singer from Wales to have a top-selling record and it stayed in the charts for four months.
The pop historian Phil Davies said Ricky Valance has secured his place in music history with a song that will live forever.
The record reached number one despite restricted airplay on the BBC because the song was about the death of a stock-car driver.
The funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Goldington and was attended by Ricky's wife of 60 years, Evelyn and his two children who live in Bedford.