GERRY GRANTRemembering Gerry Grant, who died on 18 February, 2010, from cancer.
Mr Grant was a former welder who found fame and fortune due to his uncanny similarity to the legendary Roy Orbison.
Friend and fellow singer Pete Conway - father of Robbie Williams - paid tribute saying Mr Grant was a tribute act before they were fashionable.
When Mr Grant finally saw the Big O perform on television, he was blown away by the singer’s voice – and then discovered he could sing exactly like the star.
His talent took him from Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, to cities across Europe. He performed as Gerry ‘Orbison’ Grant – often with backing band The Show Stoppers – and was one of the very first tribute acts as well as one of the best.
Mr Conway, who worked with Mr Grant many times, said: “He lived, slept and breathed Roy Orbison. I remember going round to his place one morning and as I approached I thought, ‘I know where he is’, because I could hear Roy Orbison playing. When I knocked on the door, the record stopped – it was Gerry playing guitar and singing. That’s how close he got to the real thing.
“He was a tribute act before tributes were fashionable.”
Music promoter Mike Lloyd said: “He was a fantastic singer. There are lots of look-a-likes, but there are very few that can replicate Roy Orbison’s voice because it was so unusual.
“Tribute acts were not big in those days, it is only in the last 15 years they have taken off. If Gerry was current now he would have been massive.”
Pat Leyland, former press officer at the Theatre Royal in Hanley, was friends with Mr Grant for many years. She said: “Gerry was a gentleman, a lovely, lovely man.
“He was one of those artists that everyone liked. I’m so sorry for his loss.”
Mr Grant’s similarity to Roy Orbison was first noticed when he was an 18-year-old welder in Kidsgrove who wore dark prescription glasses.
He learned to play guitar and would practice Orbison songs in a garden shed.
He was discovered on a night out in Stoke-on-Trent. A club compere asked if anyone in the audience could sing or tell jokes and a friend shouted: “We’ve got Roy Orbison here”. Mr Grant got up on stage, sang three songs and brought the house down.
He was offered a job on the spot and six months later had quit welding and was performing six nights a week as Roy Orbison in the pubs and clubs.
TV appearances – including on Stars In Their Eyes – followed, along with bookings all over Europe.
The former Clough Hall School pupil would often get mistaken for Roy Orbison on the streets and even won the approval of the man himself after meeting him at a Manchester nightclub.
School friend Doug Viles said: “Nothing was serious with Gerry, everything was a joke to him, even when he knew he was dying of cancer he would still make a joke of it. He was a very brave guy.
“He was such a popular person in Stoke-on-Trent, lots of people knew him.”
After living in Kidsgrove, Newcastle and Biddulph, Mr Grant retired to Northern Ireland five years ago with his wife Annette.
He died in his home in County Down, aged 64, after a battle with stomach cancer.
Annette, said: “He was happy in Ireland.
“We met when he was on tour in Ireland and I lived in Biddulph with him for 15 years. He was great fun. I loved his music, his personality. He was brilliant.”
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