The Paul Weller ‘lookalike’ who was snapped in a curry house has broken his cover – and insists that he was forced to deny being the Modfather.
Accounts sales manager Martin Carroll, a Weller fan from Stratford-upon-Avon, says he was the centre of a bizarre case of mistaken identity. On Friday (September 25) your Daily Star told how staff at The Khans Restaurant in Wolverhampton were convinced the real former The Jam frontman had been eating at their curry house. The real Modfather was in the city to play a gig, and other customers claimed his band had been in the eatery earlier.
But Martin, who says he was asked for his autograph eight times during the meal, insists he repeatedly told staff he wasn’t the real Paul Weller. “One member of staff came over and asked for a picture when we got out starters and I told him that I wasn’t Paul Weller but they weren’t listening,” he said.
“I even got out my phone to show them a picture of me with Paul Weller to show them what he really looked like.”
He says he’s now been inundated with messages about the saga. He said: “My teenage son said, ‘Dad, that is embarrassing’ and I have deactivated my Facebook because so many people were messaging me about it and I am mortified.
“They find it funny but it’s not funny for me. It makes it look like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not, like I’ve gone looking for a freebie.
“The truth is that he’s 66 and I’m 56. Anyone who is a real fan knows I’m not him. I have met him a number of times and I hope he would know that I’d never try to pass myself off as him.”
A spokesman for The Khans Restaurant said: “He should not have allowed the picture to be taken if he wasn’t Paul Weller. We thought he was. I took the picture. It was like Paul Weller here I am. They knew we were going to share it.
“They took our business card and said they’d recommend us. I just took a picture but if it’s not the right man, I’ll take it down.”
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