MUSIC

A rock fan has had the entire lyrics of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven tattooed on his back in a tribute to a dead friend.

Bike-mad Gordon Roy, 38, lost his pal five years ago in an accident in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, when he was run over by a bus. He has been racking his brains since to come up with a fitting way to pay tribute to the man he knew for many years.

Divorced Gordon, from near Wishaw, has come up with the perfect reminder after having the lyrics of the 70s favourite tattooed on his back.

In a three-hour session costing £65, all the words and images that accompany the song were tattooed in black ink by tattoo artist Dave McGowan of Motherwell.

Now unemployed Gordon has become a local celebrity. He said: "It may sound mad but it was not a spur of the moment thing. I've been wondering how to pay tribute to Donald since he died. "Donald and I loved this song. It is soulful and apt for a friend who died. "People have told me it is amazing and keep asking to look at it. Dave McGowan said he'd had strange requests before, but Gordon's was the most bizarre. Mr McGowan, who runs Davy's Tattoo Parlour in New Stevenston, Motherwell, said: "I couldn't believe it when he said he wanted the entire lyrics done."