Best of British: Meet Ken Fox
The head of the family keeping the spectacle of the Wall of Death alive and kicking
Aseaside staple for almost a century and a regular fixture at the Devitt MCN Festival of Motorcycling, the Wall of Death is the original immersive experience. Devised in the 1920s as an offshoot from the once-popular sport of board track racing, it is one of the most enduring features of motorcycle culture. Little has changed since its inception - the wall is still made of wood, the bikes are often the exact same machines first used almost one hundred years ago, and the skill of the riders is just as likely to knock your socks off now as it did to folk back in the day. Head of the current Wall of Death fraternity is Ken Fox, a selfdescribed travelling showman who has been wowing crowds for some 45 years. Skegness born and bred, Ken was just 15 when he first rode the wall at the Lincolnshire town’s famous amusement park.
“All my family are involved with the business,” Ken tells MCN. “Both my sons ride - Luke, my eldest, has been riding since he was 11 as has my youngest son, Alex. My daughter-in-laws also ride, both doing tricks and stunts, and we’ve been all over the world with it. My father rode, as did my uncle and my grandfather - we’re a family of Wall of Death riders.”
Ken’s ‘grandfather’ (as he refers to him) was Roy Cripsey, who started his riding career in 1931. Together with his sons Graham and Gary, he operated a permanent wall in Skegness and gave young Ken a job as ticket collector. The Cripseys treated him as part of the family and set about mentoring the teenager in the art of showmanship. Ken performed with the Cripseys for six years, but when Roy passed away in 1981 they decided to close the show. In search of adventure, Ken answered an advert for a Wall of Death rider to tour Nigeria, the Middle East and Australia with entrepreneur Peter Catchpoole. “Going from Skegness to Africa was a big thing for a lad of 19,” says
‘We were beating off snakes to set up in school yards’
Ken. “We were beating off snakes to set up in school yards or outside churches.” The tour lasted three years, but the partnership remained right up until Peter’s death in 2001. During that time they continued to tour and built three new walls, one of which Ken still operates today. When it comes to the mechanics of staying on the wall, Ken is quite blunt. “It comes down to two things - the friction of your rubber on the wood and centripetal force,” he says. “Unfortunately there are 500 other things trying to bring you down and one of them often wins. I’ve come off too many times to
‘The Wall isn’t a stunt show, it is motorcycle theatre’
count - my last big crash was a fast one and involved me being airlifted to hospital. The frame cracked and the footplate snapped off while I was stood on the side of the bike with my hands off the bars, sending me crashing into the wall.” Despite the risks involved safety gear appears minimal, with crash helmets particularly conspicuous by their absence. “We’re pulling about 2.5g when we’re on the wall and the weight of a helmet would wreck your neck,” explains Ken. “We steer the bikes up and down just through head movements, and you simply couldn’t do that with a helmet on. “It’s not a stunt show, it’s motorcycle theatre. When you’re getting ready to ride your thoughts focus on one thing and that’s how many people are upstairs. If there’s a good crowd then your heart’s going, the adrenaline’s pumping. As you get up on the wall and into that motion, everything slows down - I can pick out people, faces and smiles, maybe a £5 note being held out. If you’ve got a screamer in the house you’ll aim for them every time and if you can get them going it’s an incredible feeling. “Each show lasts 15 minutes and on average we do 15-20 shows a day. The most I’ve done in one day is 43 - that’s starting riding at 11am and finishing at 2am. Covid aside, it’s as popular today as it ever has been.”