Mystery artist leaves work at Black Country cafe

The artist, who signs their work with the initials 'AJW', draws pictures of 1950s opera singer and actor Mario Lanza and leaves them in pubs and cafes around the country.

His true identify has remained a mystery for almost half a century making his work become collector's items.

The Station Cafe, in Stourbridge, has become the latest location where the artist has visited, which left owner Abdul Quadas delightfully surprised.

"The first artwork was left a couple of months ago," said Abdul.

"I didn't take any notice until one of my customers said 'do you know who this person is?'.

"They said this artist is famous. He goes around the country leaving beer mats (with illustrations)."

Abdul believed the ghost writer, a man, first visited his cafe in April.

But he got to know the artist after he left a signed beer mat in June, which featured a drawing of Mario Lanza and the signature 'AJW'.

But Abdul has sworn to keep the artist's identity a secret.

"I have to respect his wishes to reveal his identity," he said.

Alongside leaving an illustrated beer mat, the artist also left Abdul an aerial photograph of Stourbridge bus station, which was taken by the Express & Star in 2012.

It also featured a drawing of Mario Lanza.

The artist is a fan of the food at Station Grill, Abdul said.

"He has fish and chips and mushy peas and steak and kidney pies" he said.

"Every time he leaves, he leaves his plate clean and says 'Abdul, it is absolutely delicious'."

The first image of Lanza first appeared in the region more than 40 years ago.

The mystery of the artist has led to a documentary being made, called 'Some Day I'll Find You', which follows a retired police inspector on the trial of the mystery man.

A web-page has been set up in tribute to the artist on Facebook, which can be found by searching for 'Mario Lanza AJW'.