During 1958/59 Rikki was the vocalist with the Denny Boyce Orchestra and he entered a talent contest, organized by the teenage magazine Mirabelle, and won a recording contract as a prize with Woolworth's 'Embassy' record label.
He recorded cover versions of songs by Perry Como ("Catch A Falling Star"), Cliff Richard ("High Class Baby" and "Dynamite"), Ricky Nelson ("Never Be Anyone Else But You"), Dion ("A Teenager In Love"), Sam Cooke ("Only Sixteen"), Jim Reeves ("Welcome To My World"), Eddie Cochran ("Three Steps To Heaven"), Del Shannon ("Runaway"), Lloyd Price ("Personality"), Dion ("Teenager In Love") and Chubby Checker ("Let's Twist Again")" to name a few.