A heavy rock legend came close to tears as he met the music fan he helped bring back to life 20 years ago.

Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan last saw Paul Newman as a 17-year-old, critically ill in hospital following a car crash in 1982.

Paul's life hung in the balance as he slipped into a coma but he defied medical predictions and came round five weeks later.

His family have always believed it was the music of Deep Purple which did the trick and credit Gillan's hospital visit with inspiring Paul through his long and tortuous recovery.

So it was a moving occasion when the rock star and his number one fan came face to face again after The Argus arranged for them to meet backstage before the band's gig at The Brighton Centre.

Paul, now 37, from Hill Crest Road, Newhaven, who suffered irreversible brain damage in the accident, had been looking forward to the meeting for weeks and turned up clutching a copy of Gillan's autobiography, which makes a brief mention of the hospital visit.

Accompanied by his younger brothers Sean, 35, and Daren, 33, Paul fulfilled his ambition to shake hands with his idol and thank him for his support two decades ago.

Paul had been nervous he would fail to remember what he wanted to say but Gillan sat beside him, put him at ease and before long the two were deep in conversation.

The first thing Paul asked the rock star was if he remembered those moments in the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton when they originally met.

Gillan told him: "I remember it well. I remember holding your hand and sitting at your bedside.

"I remember being aware of you having an awareness of something. We were holding hands for ages and I could feel it, it was something amazing. It's just incredible."

Paul then showed the singer the passage in his autobiography referring to the visit and thanked him for the words he had written.

The star read it and said: "That is amazing. It's great to see you again mate.

"I was aware I had written about it but I didn't know it had gone in the book. I wrote so much stuff, there was enough for about five books."

Paul then asked the star the question that had been on his mind for so many years: What did Gillan whisper in his ear as he lay critically ill in hospital?

Unable to remember precisely, Gillan said: "It would have been something like, we'll get you along to a gig soon. Or like you say, it could just have been cheers mate!"

As starstruck Paul thanked his hero for providing tickets to the evening's concert, a clearly touched Gillan said: "It's a real pleasure. I find this all quite moving."

He then offered to sign Paul's copy of the autobiography for him, writing the message: "It's great to see you again after all these years. Keep it up mate."

The rock legend spent more than 15 minutes with Paul, telling him about his career and travels round the world.

Gillan said he spent much of his time touring abroad. Deep Purple's current tour began in Australia last year and ends in Brazil in November.

He said: "After this we are going to Russia, China, Indonesia, Thailand. Deep Purple is amazing, we still average crowds of 20-25,000 in the States and play to 36,000 on cricket pitches in India."

Joker Paul made the rock star laugh by instantly replying: "What do you do in your spare time then?"

Gillan told him: "Just as well you woke up mate, I like your sense of humour."

After the meeting, Paul said: "I was starstruck but that was better than I even thought it would be. It speaks for itself. He is a top man."

And with that, a smiling Paul went off to enjoy the gig his family thought he would never live to see.