The day I lunched with Roy Orbison in Paris

Driving to Reading to cover London Irish vs Northampton Saints, and Graham Norton’s voice told me that today would have been Roy Orbison’s 75^th birthday.

It brought back memories of a trip to Paris in 1988 when we lunched with him just a few days before his death.  We were there on a business trip – well, it was really a jolly disguised as business – and our host took us to a lovely little restaurant for Saturday lunch.  It was one of those places with bench seating, so it was more than likely that you’d end up sitting next to a stranger.  In our case the strangers were Roy Orbison and his wife, Barbara – a lovely lady wearing a fantastic poncho made from, she told us, a Native American blanket.

Like most Americans you meet in Paris, they had no French, so the menu was a mystery to them.  We were glad to help and it was one of those strange conversations that you have with celebs when you meet them in an off-duty setting.  They guessed that we knew, and we knew but wouldn’t have dreamt of ruining their lunch by mentioning it!  We talked about everything and nothing; Paris, their ranch, the food, but not a word about his career which had just been revived by The Travelling Wilburys.  We bade them farewell and set off into the sunshine – it was one of those brilliantly bright, cold December days that make Paris look utterly wonderful – to climb the little spiral staircase leading to the roof of the Samaritaine department store which had one of the very best views of the city.  I remember we joked that he didn't look a well man - his clearly dyed jet-black hair contrasted with his pallor.

Not so long afterwards I was walking through Basingstoke town centre and in a television shop there was a set carrying the news of his death.  We’d only spent a couple of hours with him and it was on most levels utterly unmemorable, had it not been for the fact that he was the world-famous Roy Orbison!  I popped into Virgin Records and bought his Greatest Hits album.  Bizarrely, the news of his death upset me despite the fact that I didn’t, on any normal level, actually know the man!

Subsequently, what upset me even more was that we got hammered and I could never recall the name of the restaurant!  I think it was on Ile St Louis but I’ve tried several times to find it, but with no success.  I do recall, however, that the steak and chips were great and the crème brulee even better!