In December 1998, on the 10th anniversary of Roy's passing, Roy's widow Barbara gave an interview to Johnny Walker on BBC Radio 2. Here is a transcript of that interview.

JW          Even Bruce Springsteen said that his ambition was to sing like the
                Big O and to coincide with the 10th  Anniversary of Roy's
                passing, Barbara Orbison, Roy's German born Widow has been
                paying a visit to the UK. And I asked her what made Roy so
                special.Was it his voice, his songs or something else?

BO          I think it was a combination of all of those- the songs, the voice,
                but mainly I think it was because Roy was  just Roy, you know,
                He just wrote a song that he FELT and he sang it always like he
                sang it for the first time. You know he had an incredible voice,
                but lots of people have really incredible voices, but he had a
                really rare gift that was he could put the note or the voice to an
                emotion, you know, and each song he sang it was the same voice
                but his style was so different. His approach because he came from
                that feeling side.

JW          So how did you come to meet Roy?

BO          I met him in Leeds up the Road in Yorkshire

JW          I thought you met him in Germany or somewhere

BO         We met in a called the InTime. Roy had played a show and came
               to the club and I happened to be at the club. Roy saw me and
                wanted to meet me.

JW           And did you know anything about him?

BO         I knew the song Pretty Woman and It's Over that's all. We said
               hello and didn’t really say goodbye again  until 21 years later. We
               fell in love.

JW          'cos I've heard it said that you were both confirmed bachelors as
                it were.

BO         I was 17 I don't Know if you are confirmed anything at that age
                (she laughs) you know, and Roy,I don’t know how you can call
                someone who was widowed 2 years before with 3 kids a confirmed
                bachelor.

JW          Yeah

BO           So I don’t know We were bachelors but he was a widow, and I
                was really young.

JW          Did he make you happy?

BO          I think I made him happy, I think he made me happy. I don’t
                think you stick together 21 years if something doesn’t work.

             # She Wears My Ring Plays

JW          Do you have a fondest memory of Roy, of your time together.
                Is there anything in particular?

BO         Well you know when I think about Roy he was so different, you
               know. He was so different in raising his sons, you know, he was
               such a constant influence and he tried to be so open with them.
              Whether it was in talks or showing them his fears, and his
              feelings, and he always called them his Broncs, bronco's you know,
              and he always called them his young lads too. And so lots of times,
              of course now, when I remember Roy in a private  way is around
              my kids.

JW           He had to face a lot of tragedy in his life

BO           Yeah

JW           How did he deal with that, I mean you have been around him
                 some of those awful moments: Claudette was killed, there was a
                house fire, which killed two of his sons.

BO         He lost two of his sons indeed in 1968 -He was touring here in
                England, and his house inTennessee caught fire and it takes 3
                minutes for a wooden house to burn and it was a huge house.
                And it burned in three minutes  and it took the lives of 2 sons, the
                lives of 2 of his kids, putting his parents and youngest son Wesley
                out into the street. You know Roy was always a man of Faith and
                he was very quiet in the way he absorbed his feelings. But he did
                talk about it and he said 'It makes you wonder when you first
                follow 1 hearse with 1 coffin and 2 years  later 2 hearse in front of
                you.' but he never felt singled out. He expected life to have ups
                and downs. He was  raised in West Texas and lots of his early
                memories are of America in wartime. There were comings and
                goings and people actually dying and he was a man of all seasons.
                He sort of said you dont reach the peaks of mountains without
                going through valleys. and he said God has given me lots of high
                tops on mountains and I have had my valleys, you know, and he
                said that he never felt singled out.

             # Only the Lonely plays

JW          I mean it was so sad that he died 10 years ago when his career
                had definitely gone into a new phase...

BO          Yeah... Roy had decided in 1984 - he started writing with a young
                lad Will Jennings. You know he just had that Celine hit, and he
                wrote "Up Where We Belong" and "Higher Love" with Stevie
                Winwood. And he wrote a song "Wild Hearts Run Out Of Time"
                for a British director Nick Rook and then all of a sudden he
                started working with Jeff Lynne. And we moved to Malibu,
                California where Roy decided in '85 that he was 1 year shy of
                being fifty. You know he was born in 1936 and '86 would have
                been his fiftieth birthday and he said he really wanted to chart
                another record He really wanted to have a run of the charts just
                one more time. So he started Writing Mystery Girl.

JW          And it all started happening again, were you with Roy when he
                died

BO          No I wasn't physically with Roy, Roy was of course in Nashville
                Tennessee it was before Christmas and he had flown there on
                business matters and to see his mother and our oldest son Wesley.
                I was in Germany and I had said goodbye to him in England

JW          and what happened

BO         You know he died it was all of a sudden I talked with him maybe
                one hour before he died no sickness,  nothing you know there is a
                wonderful saying that says Man makes plans and God smiles...

          # California Blue Plays

JW          what is your favorite Roy Orbison song

BO         It changes from moment to moment it really does I have been
               listening lots to Blue Bayou lately because we had to get it ready,
               its in a new Adam Sandler movie Waterboy where Henry Winkler
               talks to Adam about going against all odds. Living your dreams,
               because Adam is just a waterboy and he wants to play football,
               you know he has to give the water to the football players, and
               Henry says that his biggest dream as a kid was to have a Roy
               OrbisonTattoo but his mum never allowed him so he says watch
               me and he drops his pants and guess where he has a Huge Roy
               OrbisonTattoo Everyone is talking about it it has just opened in
                America -so Blue Bayou is a favourite lately.

             # Blue Bayou plays

JW         Listen when he was in bed with you and you were having a cuddle
               and a nice hug and everything was  feeling good he'd have his
               glasses off then would he?

BO        yes sometimes - No I'm just joking - actually he could drive
              without his glasses and so lots of times we would go out at night
              driving with  his specs on when he would pull them off.

JW         Now the Dark Glasses I am talking about

BO        Yeah He would pull off the Dark glasses

JW         At night? When he was driving would that be a good idea?

BO         Yeah

JW         Were his eyes affected or was it just a trademark

BO         He was Far-sighted, you know, whatever that means. He could
                drive without the glasses, he could see trains, he could see me like
                ten feet away but he couldn’t read up close so that’s why he wore
                those glasses.

JW           Did Roy ever say how he would like to be remembered?

BO         He actually did, erm, in the last interview that he did with Rolling
                Stone he was asked the same question. He said I just would like to
                be remembered

JW          Aah then Barbara good to see you

BO          Nice talking with you

           # I'd be a Legend in my time plays

JW         Roy Orbison He'll be a legend for ever and don’t forget the Roy
               Orbison Special with John Peel on Saturday.