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FOLK singer John Wright, who died in February at the age of 60, is to have a music shop opened and named after him - because that was one of his dreams.

His widow Barbara announced this week that she would put his name above a shop she has just taken over near the home they shared in Barnard Castle.

It will open on Sunday, June 22 - which would have been his 61st birthday.

The show will sell copies of his records and CDs, as well as those of singers and bands he admired.

A fascia sign painted with the words John Wright Music Shop will be placed over the premises in Market Place.

Mrs Wright said: "One of John's dreams was to have his own high street music shop. He often talked about it. Now I mean to make his dream come true as a tribute to him. I'm sure his many fans will be delighted."

She has arranged to retain the John Wright Band which will carry on with a 50-gig tour Mr Wright had planned to make in Britain and Europe.

His recording of Windy Harbour, which he made with his band a few weeks before he died, has just been voted into the number one spot for three weeks in succession on Friesian Television in Holland.

Mrs Wright said: "His fans in Holland love the song. So they emailed copies to friends in Britain and all over Europe, asking them to contact the TV station and vote for it.

"They helped to put it into the top spot for three weeks, and as a result he has appeared on screen singing it twice every day. That is a wonderful tribute to him and I am absolutely delighted."

Tickets for a tribute concert at the Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle on September 5 are selling well.

Since the singer's death, his 12 CDs, which always sold steadily, but become even more popular as messages about him have passed between fans around the world.

His own website received more than 60,000 hits in the few days after he died.

The band, with another musician singing in his place, performs at the Spa Hotel, Saltburn, tonight, and at Ingram Village Hall in Northumberland tomorrow.

Mr Wright, who served as a soldier and was a shepherd before becoming a full-time singer, settled in Barnard Castle because he loved the surrounding countryside and it offered him easy access to motorways and airports when setting off on tour.

6:27am Friday 16th May 2008

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