Indian restaurant goes viral for mistaking ‘lookalike’ fan for Paul Weller ahead of Wolverhampton gig

An Indian restaurant went viral for mistaking a fan for Paul Weller ahead of the musician’s show in Wolverhampton.

• READ MORE: Paul Weller: “I try as many different things as possible – time is of the essence, man”

Last Tuesday (October 22), the owners of Khans Restaurant shared on their official Facebook page a photo they took with a man who looked uncannily similar to the singer, songwriter and former frontman of The Jam as they dined at the establishment. Weller was in town that evening for a performance at the Civic Hall.

‘The legend Paul Weller is dining here tonight just before he performs in the halls. Such a wonderful gentleman. Thank you #paulweller for choosing us for your dining experience,” read the caption of their post.

News of the alleged musician eating at the Indian restaurant was picked up by the local newspaper Express & Star but has since been removed after realizing Weller was not the person dining at the establishment.

“That’s not Weller…. It’s Iggy Pop,” one Facebook user wrote in the comments of the post, while two others shared: “If you order Paul Weller from Wish” and “I’m not sure if that’s MOD Father, to be honest.”

The Facebook group Angry People in Local Newspapers shared the post Express & Star‘s post of the article wrote about Weller allegedly dining at the establishment and captioned it: “Only one major problem with this story. It’s not Weller – he was in the tube station at the time,” referring to The Jam’s 1978 ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’.

Fans have also taken advantage of the comments in Khan’s Restaurant’s original post to speculate whether mistaking a customer for Weller was a genuine mistake or simply a marketing scheme to gain press and attention while the musician was in town.

“Khans Restaurant – kudos for your marketing idea, look how many people are talking about it,” one user commented while the establishment’s owners replied with the 100 percent emoji. Another user shared: “How to get loads of free advertising on national radio stations, TV and social media! Well done!”

In other news, Steve McQueen recently revealed how he persuaded Weller to appear in ‘Blitz’, saying the musician was ‘hesitant’ about starring in his new World War II drama but ultimately ‘trusted’ the director.