How the 'crazy' Red Barrows took flight

The founder of a wheelbarrow performance group inspired by the routines of the RAF Red Arrows said it took him 17 years to find enough “crazy people” to join him.

Once he enlisted a full troupe, David Johnston led the Barlow Red Barrows to carnivals across the East Midlands, nine different county shows, and to the Britain’s Got Talent stage, gaining the seal of approval from all four judges.

The group, based in Derbyshire, has raised about £100,000 for charity in the process, and is on the lookout for new recruits as it launches into a busy summer of performances.

“If you like making a fool of yourself and you've got a heartbeat, you're in,” said David.

“We’re just trying to make people laugh, at a time when sometimes laughter is hard to find,” he added.

Three decades ago, David spotted people pushing wheelbarrows at a Lake District carnival, which gave him an idea.

“This could be made into something really, really crazy and different and I think people are searching for that kind of thing - something a little bit special,” he said.

He wanted to create a wheelbarrow display team that was “lower and slower” than its RAF counterpart, clumsily coordinated to music and live commentary.

Recruitment was slow, but in August 2013 nine “pilots”, all aged over 50, darted around a field in a scatty formation at Barlow carnival.

“Most of the pilots can't remember the moves from one week to the next, but it creates laughter and that’s what entertains audiences,” David said.

The group's performance was also a hit with the judges, scooping a £350 first prize, which they donated to a local hospice and family whose son had cancer.

“We thought, we can make money by being a little bit silly, and the rest is history,” David said.

The group grew in numbers and continued performing at rural events, raising tens of thousands of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support, Ashgate Hospice and other local charities and causes.

Steve Knowles signed up in 2019 and praised the group for its social and fitness benefits, even if some members are not typically athletic.

“If you've got a potbelly or something like that, running around then pushing a wheelbarrow just looks ridiculous - that's part of the fun,” he said.

“The thrill and the joy of the crowd, you can't not be moved by it."

Their biggest audience and highest-profile performance came in Blackpool, for the filming of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Aleesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli all voted yes to see the troupe into the next round.

“The experience was fantastic and it'll live in my memory forever - a classic,” said David.

The Barlow Red Barrows will next be in carnival action in Duffield on 27 June, Newton on 11 July and Ambergate on 18 July, before landing back where it all began at Barlow carnival on 15 August.

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