BARRY Steele wasn’t a professional singer, although he sang around the house all the time and had a penchant for Roy Orbison songs.

Then, secretly, during a family holiday in Cornwall, Barry’s wife Lynne and daughter Leonie entered him into a singing competition for dads. One of his fellow competitors remarked that he sounded like the Big O singing Robbie Williams and the seed was sown.

Today Barry presents a theatre show with a multi media big screen showing moments from Roy Orbison’s life, with music from a live band and his own take on the life of the super star, but the singer says it didn’t all immediately fall into place.

“It was a matter of work, work and more work. Nothing is easy and it is sheer hard work from both myself and my wife. We have developed our own show from scratch. It is not another show by another name it really has been our baby,’’ said Barry.

The current show takes the audience on a musical journey from Roy Orbison’s early years at Sun Records, through to the 1980s when he worked with Bono from U2, Bruce Springsteen and then joined the supergroup, The Travelling Wilburys, with former Beatle George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

Barry, a former RAF serviceman, says that he has two huge highlights so far that happened while he was creating the show.

“One was performing as Roy, and duetting with Bill Dees, the co-writer of Pretty Woman. The other was having Wesley Orbison, Roy’s son, filming me singing on his phone,’’ he said.

He admits that all of Roy’s huge back catalogue, his own favourites are Leah and California Blue. The show includes many of The Big O’s solid gold 1960s hits such as Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman, In Dreams, Crying and It’s Over. Also included in the production will be some original material written, but never sung, by Roy Orbison. There are songs made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis, Jeff Lynne, ELO, Geoge Harrison, Del Shannon,and The Travelling Wilburys.

Barry Steele & Friends present The Roy Orbison Story - 30 Year Special at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre on Friday, June 8 from 7.30pm. Tickets are £25.50 from 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk - Flicky Harrison