A FUNDRAISING campaign and search for relatives of a group of musicians who died in a car crash 50 years ago is underway.

On May 6, 1971, popular 1950s singer Dickie Valentine, his pianist Sidney Boatman and drummer Dave Pearson were killed in a car crash in Glangrwyney near Abergavenny. They were travelling along the bridge to a gig at the Diamond Club in Caerphilly when it happened.

There will be a plaque installed on Glangrwyney bridge to mark the spot where the trio died. It will be unveiled by Mr Valentine’s son Richard and attended by the singer’s family, friends and former colleagues.

Ian Woolley is organising the day and is hosting a fundraising campaign to help pay for the plaque. He is also looking for relatives of Mr Boatman and Mr Pearson to get in touch and hopefully be involved.

The fundraising campaign will run until May 6, 2021, but there is scope to extend it to July 1 if the target is not reached.

The unveiling of the plaque is expected to be in August subject to the Covid-19 restrictions.

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Born Richard Maxwell on November 4, 1929 in London, he also went by the name Richard Bryce but was best known under the stage name Dickie Valentine. At the age of three, he appeared in Jack’s the Boy, making his acting debut alongside Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneige. He was known to be able to impersonate a number of other singers and while a young boy, was encouraged to take singing lessons by Bill O’Connor – who paid for the lessons himself.

While in his late teens, he was performing at the Panama Club and was spotted by music publisher Sid Green who introduced him to Ted Heath – leader of hit British swing band Ted Heath Orchestra. He signed with the band on February 14, which gave him the surname Valentine.

After five years with the band, he went solo and had number one singles with Finger of Suspicion and Christmas Alphabet in 1955 (the latter, a cover in itself, being covered by Cliff Richard in 1991). Christmas Alphabet was the first single written about Christmas to reach number one. His live shows were well-known for his singing, dancing, jokes and celebrity impersonations.

Visit the fundraising page here https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/dickie-valentine-plaque?tk=f741b22d99dd1e406815487b1c5d5bf21c787f29