Fans flock to see Wot Slade's Don has Dun

Don spent around an hour chatting to fans during his visit to the Wolverhampton branch of Waterstones, to launch his new book Look Wot I Dun: Don Powell – My Life In Slade.

The 67-year-old was joined by Danish author Lise Lyng Falkenberg, who put the book together, for the visit, and said he was thrilled by the turnout.

The book lifts the lid on Don's battle to cope with amnesia following a severe car crash in 1973, in which his girlfriend Angela Morris was killed. He also speaks frankly about his descent into alcoholism and drug misuse following the crash, and how X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne once pointed a gun at him after a drinking session with her husband Ozzy.

Don briefly took time out from signing copies of the book to exchange a hug with his older sister Carol Watts, who surprised him by turning up to the session. "I thought I would give him a shock," said 72-year-old Carol, who lives in Ashmore Park, Wednesfield.

"Lise came over from Denmark to see me while she was writing the book, as I could fill her in about some of the things that Don cannot remember because of his memory loss."

Don also revealed that the book was based on diaries which Carol had bought him as presents over the years.

"It was a bit of a family tradition that she would buy me a diary every Christmas," said Don.

"It was important to keep the diaries to remind me of things because of my memory loss, and they give day-by-day details about what I was doing, what was on television at the time, and things like that."

One of Don's youngest fans was 24-year-old schoolteacher Claire Gibbons, from Woodsetton, Dudley, who said she had been introduced to the glam rockers by her father Dave.

"They write their own songs and they play their own instruments and they're a Black Country band, there isn't much around like that nowadays, it's all done by computer," said Claire, who works at Rood End School in Oldbury.