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Valerie Russell married John Dalton on 11 February 1967. She has kindly agreed to answer some questions about being married to a Kink :
KOK : Did you meet John while he was in The Kinks?
Val : It was before that. I was going out with a guy called Doug Kircaldy (I say going out, but I was only fifteen and we walked out together.} My friends Anne and June Game decided we needed a night out on our own, minus boyfriends - even at that age we had a look into the future. There was a band playing at the Cambridge pub in Edmonton, called The Mark Four, and the three of us took a bus there. We had no money to get home but, being teenagers, we never thought of that. As far as I remember, I had a brilliant night but as it got towards the end of the evening we realised we had no transport home.
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“Life is about people and we have met the beST”
The Val dalton InTerview
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John’s best friend, Johnny Nutt, was at the gig and I was telling him we had no transport to get home. He said ask John if he would drop us off in his old Commer van. I sat in the front on the way home next to John who was driving the band home.
I lived in Goffs Oak at that time, which was miles away from anywhere, but John happily agreed. I had my first kiss and the rest is history.
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KOK : Were the other members of The Kinks at your wedding?
Val : No, not sure why, but the band was not at the wedding, I think it was probably because we hadn’t seen any of them for several months. |
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KOK : Were you a fan of the Kinks music?
Val : Not at all, I was a Beatles fan true and true!
KOK : Do you have any musical abilities yourself?
Val : My dad, bless him, played piano when I was little and I remember him playing at my auntie Maureen and uncle Keith’s wedding, things like "Show me the way to home, I’m tired and I want to go to bed". It was a medley with "Who’s sorry now", "Lambeth walk" and many more.
Those days were magical and I have beautiful memories of life as a child. We had a piano at that time and I was always up on the keys tinkering about but sadly never went any further. I know all the chords but for some unknown reason cannot play with two hands. I do have an ear for music and can spot it anything that is out of key. Perhaps that is the only thing I inherited from my dad. |
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KOK : Were you treated well by the other members of the band?
Val : Absolutely. All the guys in the band were fabulous and I never stopped laughing. When my Matthew was ill with Leukaemia and the diagnosis’ was terminal, Dave took me and Matthew to a faith healer he knew in Fulham Road. It was our last resort : he sat with Matthew while he had his treatment. I will always love him for that.
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KOK : Did you socialise with the other wives and girlfriends?
Val : I adore all the girls and keep in touch with them all. When we were young and the men were on tour, I remember going to Biba’s in Kensington with Rasa and buying children’s clothes and things for the home.
Also Ray at that time played football with John and Rasa used to come over on a Saturday with Louisa and Victoria while the boys played football, we used to cook things like Beef Stroganoff.
I stayed with Lisbet when she was expecting Simon and I was expecting Aaron. Lisbet went into Labour on June 10th and gave birth to Simon. The funny thing is that I had my driving test that same day. I had a phone call at her house in the morning which said she had a little boy and I had to phone Dave in America and Lisbet's mum in Copenhagen to tell them the good news. I had my test in the afternoon and managed to pass, I don’t know how!
Dave flew home within hours and walked through the front door and bought home with him a suede tasselled waistcoat for Martin. He scooped him up and took him upstairs to Lisbet who was in the bedroom with Simon. He asked me to make some toast and tea and I never saw him after that. He stayed upstairs with Lisbet and their boys.
Teresa and I are great friends and she and Baptist often come over our house for a Sunny Afternoon, drink with the rest of the Kast off Kinks. I always used to pick up Teresa and the boys to meet the men from the airport after a long tour. We used to meet at Lisbet’s house and I used to follow Lisbet in my car with my two boys, Jason and Aaron and Teresa’s two Simon and Aldron, I swear we got there in 10 minutes. |
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KOK : Did you enjoy the lifestyle?
Val : What lifestyle? In those days the wives and children stayed in the background. I do remember taking all three of my boys to Drury Lane, dressing them up in blue velvet jeans and going backstage afterwards. My Aaron was about 5 and Ray picked him up for a cuddle and said he was cute - little Azz stroked Ray's cheek, Jason and Matt were taken off by the fans.
(Val asks if anyone has any photos of that night, or any others of her boys –she would love copies.)
KOK : How did you feel about John leaving the Kinks?
Val : All I remember is money was tight at the time, John was hoping there was a tour coming up before Christmas to bring in extra money but nothing materialised and so he was forced to quit the band. Matthew was diagnosed with Leukaemia not long after that so, in a strange twist of fate, John was meant to be with his family.
But John is a born entertainer as you all know - it’s in his blood. If truth were told, we both miss it. |
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KOK : Am I right in thinking that, in the public arena, you enjoyed being the wife of a Kast Off Kink more than being the wife of a Kink?
Val : Most certainly, John and I have made so many friends since the Kast Off Kinks did their first gig at the Civic Hall in Broxbourne. Life is about people and we have met the best.
Photos : John and Val Dalton’s own collection Olga Ruocco, Brigitte Jeffs, Dave Davies
© Kast Off Kinks Website 2009
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Commer van |
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We think Val may be being a bit modest about her musical abilities—here she is singing with Rasa Davies |
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Teresa Gosling with Val at Dave Clarke’s wedding. |
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Lisbet Davies. |
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The big day! |
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Val and John - obviously still as happy a couple as ever. |