Val Doonican RIP
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:03 pmI have put this on this page as the news isn't steel guitar related. Really sad news about Val, who died today aged 88. A good age. Val died peacefully in his sleep, and you can ask of no better way to go. I had the pleasure of doing one gig with him in his heyday in the 1970's. It was a live gig on Southampton common in front of probably 5,000 people. Just a 40 minute set. I played lead guitar and pedal steel, and Val was very chatty backstage about the pedal steel. He loved the Nashville records of the day and especially the steel guitar parts. (Lloyd Green was one of his guests in the early 80's playing Feelings). He was as easy going of-stage as he was on, and he was very witty with the audience.
My wife and I saw him many years later at a small theatre in Fareham, and he must have been close to 80 at the time. He looked no different, and put on a great show. It's easy to forget just how big he was at one time, and was almost a permanent fixture on British TV. RIP Val.
My wife and I saw him many years later at a small theatre in Fareham, and he must have been close to 80 at the time. He looked no different, and put on a great show. It's easy to forget just how big he was at one time, and was almost a permanent fixture on British TV. RIP Val.