His Special Years

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Doonican notched up a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s including Walk Tall, The Special Years, Elusive Butterfly and What Would I Be.

In 1963 he was booked to appear on Sunday Night at the Palladium, which led to him being offered his own show on BBC TV which ran for more than 20 years. He went on to have five hits in the top 10: Walk Tall, The Special Years, Elusive Butterfly, What Would I Be and If The Whole World Stopped Loving. The singer, who was born Michael Valentine Doonican, often joked that it took him 17 years to gain overnight success.Programming" (PDF). Broadcasting. 29 March 1971. p.76 . Retrieved 24 July 2014. [ permanent dead link] ( PDF) Behind the scenes, Doonican was described as "a perfectionist who knew his limitations but always aimed to be 'the best Val Doonican possible.'" [2] He was sometimes compared to American singer Perry Como, though he claimed his main influence was Bing Crosby. [19] He appeared in three Royal Variety Performances. [2] On 31 December 1976, Doonican performed his hit song "Walk Tall” on BBC One's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee. Since 2006, his name has also been used by the Barnsley comedy-folk band The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican, who celebrate Val's image, wearing loud-knitwear as part of their larger-than-life stage personas. [28] [29] In the late 1950s, Doonican became one of the artists managed by Eve Taylor, the self-described "Queen Bee" of show business, who remained his manager until her death. [10] His time with the Four Ramblers introduced Val to the joys of golf, honed his professional singing skills and arrangements, and led to the tour that was to revolutionise his life…

He appears as himself in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's " The Intro and the Outro", saying "hello there" over the general hubbub. [27] Webber, Richard (21 December 2013). "Val Doonican, Irish singer and TV favourite retired, had two daughters". Daily Express. London, UK . Retrieved 4 July 2015. Val Doonican Biography". Valdoonican.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015 . Retrieved 4 July 2015. Doonican won the BBC Television Personality of the Year award in 1966. [2] He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1970. Eamonn Andrews, a fellow Irishman met him at the 18th green of the South Herts Golf Club as Doonican played a round of golf. [ citation needed] He wrote two volumes of autobiography, The Special Years (1980) and Walking Tall (1985)

Tracklist

Doonican moved to England in 1951 and joined the Four Ramblers who, in addition to touring the variety stages, were featured on the BBC radio serial the Riders of the Range. [5] In the radio serial, Doonican played one of a number of bunk-house boys who were heard crooning cowboy songs in the gaps between the action. The serial ended in September 1953, and the Ramblers continued to tour the variety theatres, being billed as Ireland's Ambassadors of Song. They also began performing at United States Air Force bases. [2] The Ramblers kept busy for most of the 1950s and in 1960 they supported Anthony Newley on his tour. [3] [6] Recognising Doonican's talent and potential as a solo act, Newley persuaded him to leave the singing group and go solo.