How American singer-songwriter Roy Orbison was linked to Worthing

It was a great picture, taken by the Worthing Herald in the 1960s, and its appearance was billed as 'Mystery of The Big O in town' in the paper on August 17, 2006.

Before long, the story behind the photograph had been uncovered and the musical great's connection with a back-street Worthing garage was revealed in the following week's paper.

The picture had been taken in 1967 and it showed Roy Orbison surrounded by admiring fans as he signed autographs in London Street. Locals past and present contacted us to tell their memories and some were taken back to the scene for a new photograph, 40 years on.

The tales they told revealed that Orbison’s 1967 visit was far from a one-off. Chris Jones, who owned the house visible behind Orbison in the photograph and the garage next door, known as C.J. Car Body Refinishers, told the Herald about the previous owner.

London Street resident Peter Gray was an American military vehicle enthusiast, and he became close friends with the singer, known globally as The Big O. Peter supplied films like The Bridge on the River Kwai with military vehicles – he even had a tank. He had the two shops on the corner and he used his workshop to work on bikes and cars.

Orbison shared Mr Gray’s passion for wartime Harley-Davidson motorbikes and the singer would ship over his bikes for his English friend to work on, often joining him in the workshop. On one occasion, Orbison wandered into The Clifton pub looking for Mr Gray. With his hair its natural dark brown, rather than the dyed black he was known for, it was only after drinkers recognised his unmistakable voice and accent they realised who he was.

Mr Jones said: "They would drink together. Roy Orbison was seen around here on quite a few occasions. He liked it here, because no-one would bother him. He wasn’t a flash man. He was a very quiet man. But he would spend time with kids if they recognised him and would chat to them. No-one believes me when I tell them Roy Orbison used to be here working on his bikes."

Darlene Haigh put the visit in the spotlight again this week, writing in to the Herald because she knew some of the people in the photograph.

She said: "Two friends of mine worked for Peter Gray and helped in restoring Roy’s cars. When the cars were done, they would drive the cars to Southampton docks to go to the USA. He remembers them all going to the pub round the corner for a few beers. One of the men who worked on Roy’s cars now lives in the same town as me in Canada, continuing in his profession here, though of course he’s retired now.

"Eddie, the fella I know that got me interested in this story, told me about the kids in the photo of Roy signing autographs. Seems his in-law saw the picture on the table and said 'that’s me, I was there when they took the photo'. So you see why this whole scenario of events interested me."

Steve Buckler also came forward in 2006 when he saw the original photograph in the paper. He was a boy of about ten at the time and can be seen looking over his shoulder towards the camera.

Steve said: "I heard about him arriving in town. I was into his music so I thought I would go and see the guy. I remember thinking what a big, big man he was. The dark glasses scared me."

Frances Jackson recalled hearing about Orbison’s visit in an off-hand comment by her mother. She said: "Me and my sister lived in Orme Road. Our mum went down the shop, came back and said ‘Roy Orbison is round the corner’. He was in a garage in London Street. He gave us lots of autographs."

Lyn Buckland was around 17 at the time and said it was Grand National day: "My mum and I were taking my little nephew for a walk and we were walking down London Street to Tarring Road and he was talking to one of the men at the big US bike shop there.

"I said to my mum, ‘That’s Roy Orbison’, and she said, ‘Don’t be stupid. What would he be doing here?’. I ran round to get my sister and by then, everyone else was there. I got his autograph but I just wish I had spoken to him first."

Olive Swain remembered meeting the singer on another occasion, when it was just her and Peter Gray with him. "The time I met him I was 13 or 14 years old and a bit dumbstruck. We didn’t have a big conversation but he did an autograph for me. He was very quiet, softly spoken, a nice bloke. You don’t expect a big megastar to be just standing there."