Plymouth’s Birdman, John Allin, has been a familiar face around the city for decades. In our latest interview, he shows us some of his skills and singing on Plymouth Hoe, and looks back on his life in the city.
John grew up in Cheltenham Place, near Greenbank Fire Station. He went to Salisbury Road School before moving on to Plympton Secondary School.
After leaving school, he learned his trade as a butcher in The Ridgeway, Plympton. He then worked as a butcher on Old Laira Road before moving on to a meat factory in Ham.
John once thought about becoming a strippergram, but it was later, while out on the town, that he stripped at a Union Street nightclub. The venue filled with women who had come to see him perform, and they loved the show.
He has never married and has chosen to stay single, saying he does not want to feel tied down. Staying fit, healthy and active has also been important to him.
Asked to choose his favourite era for a night out in Plymouth, John settled on the 1980s. But as he talked about the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, it became clear he loved the whole lot. He would head from one venue to another and stay out into the early hours, enjoying every era for what it had to offer. So the 1980s may have edged it, but John couldn’t leave the other decades behind.
Meet John Allin in our latest Plymouth People feature.
Photographs © Wayne Perry / Plymouth Post