Letter: Johnny Tillotson obituary
While still at school in the early 1960s, I worked weekends and holidays at the Grill & Griddle at Newport Pagnell services on the M1. One day I served four Americans for lunch: they all ordered steaks. There were three handsome young men and an older, dark-haired one, all discussing recording contracts and appearance venues.
As a pop fan I used to read NME, and recognised Johnny Tillotson and Del Shannon. When I asked the older man for an autograph, he laughed and said 'You don't want mine' – clearly he was an agent. He passed Trust House Forte napkins to the other three, Tillotson and Shannon providing them happily, and the third slightly grumpily. His signature revealed him to be Roy Orbison, and I have them all still.
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