in Meek's flat, further disagreements over royalties saw him move out, leaving some possessions behind including a shotgun. It was this shotgun with which Meek killed his landlady and then himself in 1967, and although Heinz was questioned by police, they concluded he had nothing to do with their deaths. Meek's death ended Heinz's recording career as a solo artist, and he worked outside the music industry including in advertising at a local newspaper, The Dagenham Post. Although often dismissed as a mediocre talent pushed into the spotlight by Meek, Heinz was an enthusiastic performer, and worked in pantomime and theatre in the 1970s, including a role in David Hare's Teeth 'n' Smiles in 1976, as a dim-witted would-be rock star. In later years, he appeared in 1960s revival shows and continued performing until the end; his last set was from a wheelchair at a social club two weeks before his death. Backing groups He was initially backed by the Saints, a band that included Roy Phillips, guitar, and Tab Martin, bass. His later backing groups (the Wild Ones or the Wild Boys) featured Ritchie Blackmore and others. Mick Underwood, Chas Hodges, Blackmore, and others performed on "Just Like Eddie" as members of the Outlaws. Heinz performed at the London Rock and Roll Show in 1972, with Wilko Johnson of Dr Feelgood in his backing band, as shown in the documentary Oil City Confidential. Sexuality He was portrayed by JJ Feild in Telstar, a film about the life of Joe Meek, which was released in 2009. The film depicts him as Meek's gay lover at a time when homosexual acts were illegal in the United Kingdom. His family have denied that he was homosexual and have stated that the film is a slur on his life. His former wife, Della Burke, who was married to Heinz at the height of his success said "It is completely and utterly untrue. Heinz was definitely heterosexual." In the 1991 BBC documentary, The Very Strange Story of... the Legendary Joe Meek, when asked if Meek was in love with him, Heinz replied "Yes. It's an infatuation ... that was the thing with him, where I told him to get off, that I wasn't into that sort of thing ... if there's something you can't have you want it even more". Death Crippled by motor neurone disease, Heinz died in 2000, aged 57 following a