With his thick-rimmed glasses and fifties-style suit, Grant Bushell raised a smile from those who spotted him outside the Grand Theatre.

The Buddy Holly lookalike is part of a campaign by the theatre to find fans that saw the rocker when he visited Wolverhampton in 1958.

The Lichfield Street theatre is hoping to find people in time for the show The Buddy Holly Story, which is on from April 11 to 16.

There is still plenty of affection for Buddy Holly from people in the Black Country.

Louise Bent, education officer at the Grand Theatre, says she wants to tap into that enthusiasm.

She said: “Buddy Holly was a legend and so we would love to speak to people who went to his concert with The Crickets in Wolverhampton.

“For a lot of people they remember his music as a turning point in their lives so it will be great to hear those first-hand accounts of what he was like.”

When Buddy Holly came to Wolverhampton on March 7 he performed at The Gaumont Cinema and stayed at the Victoria Hotel, now the Britannia next to the Grand Theatre.

There are few accounts from those who met him, and no known pictures of his visit to Wolverhampton.

Joe Mauldin, who was bassist in The Crickets with Buddy Holly, says he remembers the bedrooms in the Victoria Hotel were large with high ceilings, and so were quite cold.

He said: “We were continually putting coins into the gas meters for the fires.

“Eventually we found out that the massive log fire in the hotel lounge was still burning so we went downstairs and stretched out on the big armchairs in front of the fire to keep warm.

We ordered drinks and sandwiches and sat talking to the night staff.”

Among Buddy’s legion of fans is Ian Payne, from Walsall, who wrote a book on the legend’s visit to Wolverhampton, called The Day that Buddy Came to Town. He said the singer and his band came to The Gaumont Cinema in Wolverhampton on March 7 and Birmingham Town Hall on March 10, adding: “He was on stage in Wolverhampton with Gary Miller, Ronnie Keene, the Tanner Sisters and Des O’Connor.” Over the next few weeks lookalike Grant will be pictured at 10 different locations around Wolverhampton on the Grand Theatre’s Facebook page, with a “Where’s Buddy?” competition for people to guess where he is.

The theatre is also handing out cardboard thick-rimmed glasses so people can send in their best Buddy Holly pictures.

Grant, aged 26, from Bradmore, who works at the Grand Theatre in front of house, said he was pleased when he was told he looked like Buddy as he is a fan of his music.

He said: “It is great to get dressed up as Buddy Holly, and you certainly get a few stares when you are out in the street. But the reaction is great because I am bringing back a few happy memories for people.

“Doing the ‘Where’s Buddy?’ photos was really good fun and it is great that we are not only looking for his fans from 1958 but also including his new ones as Buddy’s popularity really does span the generations.”