SCOOP of the century… Buddy Holly didn’t die in that plane crash back in 1959, he’s fine and living in Herefordshire.

All right, he calls himself Edward Handoll these days, but I’m sure it’s him. You see, it must be him – the chords, those Latino guitar licks, the fancy footwork and the trademark horn-rimmed glasses.

Well, maybe baby... but if this isn’t Charles Hardin Holly, then this guy must be the nearest thing.

As you will have gathered by now, this was a fabulous show packed with dead stars from the first generation of rock. And the award for the top ghost must surely go to actor/musician Handoll, probably Herefordshire’s greatest current musical export.

Not only that, but he also doubles as 50s teen sensation Ricky Nelson, like Holly also the victim of a plane crash. Come to think of it, those early rockers should have avoided petrol-propelled transport like the plague, for Eddie Cochran – impersonated with a wonderful vulnerability by Jonny Labey – was definitely something else, to borrow from the title of one of the doomed star’s greatest songs.

However, Damien Edwards as Del Shannon and Roy Orbison was also a tour de force to be reckoned with, his chiselled features perfectly conveying the brooding menace of the first wave of rock rebellion.

Now, this show is subtitled ‘If you believe in forever,’ and after seeing the improbably named Lee Memphis King’s hysterically magnificent take on Elvis Presley, I can appreciate the complete irrelevance of such concepts as time.

Had they lived, all these legends would now be in their middle to late 70s. They would almost certainly be wearing slippers instead of blue suede shoes, trousers with elastic waists instead of drainpipes… and who knows what might have happened to all those glorious coiffures.

But no one cares. For tonight, time stands still as the first two rows of the stalls shake to a swaying girls’ night out contingent, drooling at the sight of men who – if they were the real thing – would be old enough to be their grandfathers.

Except of course, they’re not. For Edward Handoll of Herefordshire – not Lubbock, Texas – IS Buddy Holly. And oh boy, you’d better believe it!

Rock n’ Roll Heaven runs until Saturday (August 30). Not to be missed.