Dave Edmunds is 80 this week.

Almost an unsung hero of pop, Dave was born in Cardiff and began at the age of 10 when he performed with his older brother Geoff in a band called Edmunds Bros Duo. Several small bands followed including the Human Beans who evolved into Love Sculpture and gave them their only hit when Sabre Dance reached number five in 1968.

A solo career followed kicking off with the Christmas chart-topping hit I Hear You Knocking. He had further top 10 hits with a cover of The Ronettes’ Baby I Love You, the Chordettes’ Born To Be With You, Nick Lowe’s I Knew The Bride, Elvis Costello’s Girls Talk and Graham Parker’s Crawling From the Wreckage.

He also produced all his own hits and then went on to produce songs for other artists including the rockabilly bands The Stray Cats and Polecats as well as King Kurt  and, famously, the Everly Brothers’ 1984 comeback song On the Wings of a Nightingale. Every year, he is back in the chart as the producer of Shakin Stevens’ festive offing of Merry Christmas Everyone.

In 1981, he teamed up with Stray Cats to perform the song The Race Is On, let’s remember that hit.