ROCK and roll legend Buddy Holly's lead guitarist is to play an intimate show in a Whalley pub.

Tommy Allsup will be appearing at the Aspinall Arms, in June.

As well as playing on some of Buddy Holly's best known recordings including Heartbeat and It's So Easy, Tommy will always be remembered as the man who tossed a coin with chart topper Richie Valens for a seat on the aeroplane which crashed when taking off from an airport in Iowa killing Buddy Holly, Valens, and a third rock and roller the Big Bopper.

Now almost 50 years after the accident - immort-alised in Don McLean's American Pie lyrics The Day the Music Died' - Tommy is heading to East Lancashire.

Simon Forster, landlord of the Aspinall Arms, said: "We have been putting on some shows with American artists for the past couple of years but this has to be the biggest thing we've done.

"Tommy will be playing with Kevin Montgomery who is a hugely popular singer-songwriter in the States.

"One of our regulars, Dave Pinder, who also maintains the pub's website is a massive Kevin Montgomery fan and after a show he suggested to Kevin that he should play here next time he was touring and things sort of developed from there.

"Kevin's dad Bob Mont-gomery wrote songs with Buddy Holly so that's how he knows Tommy and the two of them have been doing some intimate shows in the States in which Tommy tells a few stories and then they play some of Buddy Holly's songs.

"I've got to be honest I wasn't a Buddy Holly fan and it's not until you start looking do you realise how many Buddy Holly songs you know.

"It's amazing to think that the man who played guitar on so many of them will be playing at the Aspinall Arms."

After Buddy Holly's death, Tommy went on to become one of the most in-demand guitarists and producers working with the likes of country stars Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

He also joined the Texas Playboys, one of the leading western swing bands in America with whom he still plays regular concerts at the age of 76.

Tickets for an evening with Tommy Allsup on Sunday, June 8, are available from the Aspinall Arms on 01254 826223 or Carol on 0791 902 7281.