Tributes to 'Jarrow Elvis' after singer Joe Allen dies aged 86
Club singer Joe Allen who shot to national fame as ‘Jarrow Elvis’ has died at the age of 86.
The legendary entertainer was put on television screens across the UK in the BBC’s controversial Forty Minutes documentary. It was first broadcast in March 1992 and was called Elvis in Jarrow. It featured Joe performing to a packed Victoria Park in Hebburn.
Joe had been discovered around 10 years earlier singing along to Elvis Presley songs on a pub jukebox. This was before the days of karaoke machines in bars. Audiences would later flock to see him in and other tribute acts as part of the Jarrow Elvis Roadshow.
Other self-styled artists included Pelaw Geno, Hebburn Cliff and Junior Elvis.
He appeared in the BBC documentary with his wife Maureen. The Gazette understands she passed away some time ago.
After fading from the limelight, Joe is understood to have lived out his days still in Jarrow, retiring from the entertainment business many years ago.
One concert-goer who saw Jarrow Elvis perform several times in the early 1990s paid tribute to the singer.
He said: “I thought ‘Wow! What’s this all about?’ He loved it too and he certainly filled the bars.
“I met him a few times and you couldn’t knock him really, he was a great entertainer. It wasn’t just him, it was the whole of the roadshow: Geordie Skelly, Pelaw Geno. They’re all gone now, but they certainly entertained.”
Mr Allen’s family did not want to make any comment.