Rock icon Steve Harley fell head over heels with his doting wife Dorothy while the pair were flying thousands of feed up in the air.
The Cockney Rebel frontman, who died at the age of 73 from a short battle with cancer, first met the former air hostess on a plane. It appears as though one of Cupid’s arrow hit the couple after a passenger asked Dorothy if she could get Steve’s autograph for him.
At the time, the brunette beauty had no idea who he was and initially asked the wrong person, Steve’s assistant. During an appearance on the Consciously Coupling podcast that she knew a few of Steve’s songs but hadn’t been a huge fan of his music.
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Although it wasn’t first sight for Dorothy, Steve soon fell head over heels for her and made numerous attempts to get in touch with her after the flight through the airline. Eventually, he succeeded and took her out to dinner in the heart of London, which was her first time visiting the capital.
(Image: 2015 Harry Herd)
Steve said: “I very much wanted to see Dorothy. I was overwhelmed to be honest, I really was.” He went on to reveal that ‘their song’ was Sailing By – the Shipping Forecast theme tune from Radio 4 which they used to listen to while reading in bed.
The love birds spent lots of time apart in the early days of their romance because Steve was on the road while Dorothy was jetting across the globe. But his jaw-dropping fame never worried her, with the hostess even joking that Steve was with her for the airfare concessions.
The self-declared romantic said he had plans of popping the question to Dorothy from the moment he met her on the plane. At the time, he said: “I’ve often said to Dorothy I think I was put on this earth to look after you, to protect you. And I truly, deeply mean it.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Dorothy insisted she kept Steve grounded and never enjoyed the restraints of fame, especially the paparazzi attention on quiet date nights. The happy couple tied the know in 1981 Marylebone Register Office and went on to welcome two children together: Kerr and Greta.
The family were sat by Steve’s side when he passed away at his Suffolk home on Sunday morning (March 17). The family later released a statement confirming the news to his legion of fans.
It read: “We are devastated to announce that our wonderful husband and father has passed away at home, with his family by his side. The birdsong from his woodland that he loved so much was singing for him.
(Image: Getty Images)
“His home has been filled with the sounds and laughter of his four grandchildren. Stephen. Steve. Dad. Grandad. Steve Harley. Whoever you know him as, his heart exuded only core elements.
“Passion, kindness, generosity. And much more in abundance. We know he will be desperately missed by people all over the world, and we ask that you respectfully allow us privacy to grieve.”
Steve, who contracted polio at the age of three and had a childhood plagued by hospital visits, admitted that he never had much luck with girls growing up. When he was 12 years old, he had to have an operation on his leg to even his limbs out which led to a painful year-long stay in hospital.
(Image: 2017 Lorne Thomson)
Recalling his difficult teenage experiences with the opposite sex, he said: “I had a real problem. Despite surgery, I wore a built-up show, which made me self-conscious.
“I finally had to accept that people don’t give a s**t, the guy limps. It doesn’t affect anything else at all.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
