John Taylor from Liverpool jumped from one tower block to another on Caldway Drive, Netherley leaving him in hospital and with a Liverpool City Council fine for £590
Former stunt rider John Taylor whose life story has been made into a documentary film called The Bravest Stuntman in the World
A Liverpool man who famously leapt from one tower block to another and through blazing walls of fire is now sharing the harrowing account of his childhood abuse, his campaign to reform legislation, and his mission to support fellow survivors.
John Taylor’s death-defying life story is featured in a new documentary, The Bravest Stuntman in the World. He explained: “People still remember me from what I did in the 1980s, but those stunts weren’t about fame and fortune. I was just trying to tell people what happened to me.”
He hopes the film will help change child protection laws. Presently, there exists no legal obligation to take action when a child faces danger.
John said: “If it had been in place when I was little it would have prevented what happened to me. I want to use my story to make a change. I’m fighting for other kids.”
Father-of-four John, 62, from Liverpool, was just seven when family circumstances led to his placement in care for two years at Knolle Park children’s home, at St Gabriel’s Convent in Woolton, reports the Mirror.
John Taylor’s high rise flats stunt about to go horribly wrong as he jumps from one high rise block over a second and landing on a third – Caldway Drive, Netherley, Liverpool, Merseyside. 14th October 1985.
He recalls: “I broke out of the home once, found an old Silver Cross pram and whizzed down the hill on it. I got my first bike, a Chopper, when I was eleven. It gave me such a sense of freedom – it felt like magic, like flying.”
He progressed to a Grifter bike, convincing his friends to lie on the ground so he could leap over them.
However, it was witnessing motorbike stuntman Evel Knievel’s attempt to jump 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in 1975 that sparked his ambition to become a stuntman – with the hope that one day he could use his fame to address the abuse he had suffered while in care.
He recalls: “I was in the home for two years. When the abuse happened I felt nobody would listen; there was never anywhere to go with it. But when I was eleven or 12 I saw Evel Knievel on the telly and realised he commanded respect – people listened to him. I thought, ‘I want them to listen to me the way they listen to him – and they’ll get a shock about what I have to say’.”
Stunt rider John Taylor is catapulted off his bike before a death-defying world record attempt. He was due to have ridden more than 300 feet through a tunnel of fire on his Yamaha motorbike. But he was thrown off in a spectacular 60mph crash as he made a trial run, and broke his collar bone. Netherley, Liverpool, Merseyside. 14th June 1987.(Image: Mirrorpix)
By 1982, at the age of 18 and employed in a carpet shop, John bought his first motorbike, a Suzuki 250 RM – executing his first jump later that year at a local community show.
“That bike cost me £2,000 and it was on HP. I loved it. It was a jump over a block of fire of about 30 feet. Then a week later I did another jump over about 50ft of fire. There was no health and safety. I remember seeing someone being pushed in a wheelchair across my path as I came into land!”.
John, a grandfather to 21 grandchildren, said: “The idea was to get popular by doing different jumps. The ultimate aim was to do the biggest jump in the world over buses, attract attention and then tell my story.”
His dangerous pursuits helped him manage the trauma of abuse he suffered at the hands of John Christian, an odd job man employed at the convent.
A high-rise motorbike stunt by 21 year old John Taylor goes horribly wrong
Christian received an 11-year prison sentence in 1998 for the sexual abuse of young boys spanning two decades. However, John’s death-defying feats – which served as an outlet for his rage – took their toll.
During one training John suffered a severe landing, resulting in hospitalisation with fractures to both wrists and his ankle.
He recalls: “Nobody was teaching me – it was all trial and error. I was using a short ramp and I was going fast and suddenly I was faced with 200 feet of fresh air. It was a bad accident. If you look at photos of me after the crash you can see it in my eyes.”
Despite his injuries, several months on, he achieved a world record-breaking leap involving a 125-foot wall of flames – further cementing his growing nationwide fame.
John was only prevented from falling to his death when he smashed into a low wall on top of a block of flats after coming off his bike
He then executed a breathtaking stunt over three separate high-rise derelict tower blocks, capturing global attention – launching from one building, soaring over another and touching down on a third.
He remembers: “I was initially scoping out another jump I had in mind across the lanes of the M62, but somehow I turned off the motorway, got lost and came across these high rise flats. I remember thinking ‘this is perfect’.
“I spotted these three blocks where I could take off from one, jump over a second and land on a third – although the third was thirty feet lower than the others.”
John Taylor today(Image: Colin Lane/Reach PLC)
An initial attempt was halted by police who said it was unlawful without council permission. However, on a dull autumn afternoon in 1985, John, accompanied by several mates providing support, tried again,
Just 21 at the time, he wasn’t sure he’d survive the stunt. He said: “I was on a mission and I didn’t want to let myself down.”
He successfully landed, though the sheer force of hitting solid concrete wreaked havoc on his body, resulting in numerous injuries. A protective wall at the rooftop’s edge prevented him from falling off the building to his death.
Liverpool stuntman John Taylor pictured with a bill for £590 issued to him by Liverpool City Council for a stunt where he jumped across a derelict block of high rise flats on his motorbike. The council’s housing department sent the bill for removing scaffolding and other equipment from the flats
He required hospital treatment but pulled through, discharging himself within days and recuperating at home ‘to get ready again’ for future stunts. He later received a fine for £590 from Liverpool City Council for repairs to the building.
In 1987, he completed a 300-foot ride through a blazing tunnel, though sustained injuries during rehearsal. He experienced another back injury following a subsequent jump on a beach in 1999.
Throughout his career, he’s fractured numerous bones – some on multiple occasions – including those in his ankles, ribs, collarbone, breast bone and back. By the early 2000s, he accepted that his desired bus jump wouldn’t materialise and he focused on raising his family.
He also eventually summoned the courage to report his abuser to authorities and attended court to witness his abuser being sentenced to prison. However, the absence of accountability amongst other adults responsible for his care, who he claims were aware of Christian’s predatory conduct, continues to cause him distress.
John Taylor in action(Image: Supplied)
He explains: “If a child is abused there is no legal duty on staff to report that. It was like that six decades ago and it’s the same now and that bothers me. I can’t sit by and do nothing. If we had this law people couldn’t turn a blind eye.”
As a dedicated supporter of Mandate Now, a campaign group pushing for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse by staff in settings including schools, sporting organisations and faith-based institutions, he reveals: “I even rode from Liverpool to London to deliver a letter to then PM Rishi Sunak to demand a law change, but received no reply.”
When approached about participating in the documentary, he seized the opportunity without hesitation. He reflects: “People still remember what I did on my bike – and now they know why.”
Liverpool stuntman John Taylor pictured after riding his motorbike through a quarter inch thick sheet of plate glass at Dwerryhouse Lane playing fields in Norris Green, Liverpool, in order to raise money for the Hungerford appeal fund. 14th October 1987.
With support secured from Liberal Democrat MPs, the film is set to be shown to a cross-party group of parliamentarians in March, with plans for wider public release later this year.
Asked what he would tell his younger self, who risked everything in pursuit of justice, he responds: “I’d say carry on. Just carry on.”
*The Bravest Stuntman In The World was produced through Eight Trick Pony Productions. The company is now seeking a broadcast partner for the documentary.