David John Perry (born 9 April 1942), commonly known as the Puppet Man, is a street entertainer from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

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. The American now resides in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

, whose

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

consists of dancing with a range of

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

s while singing along to

pop song Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

s played on a portable

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

machine. Attracting fans and

hatred Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

alike, he has been repeatedly featured in the local news media of

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such as the ''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily ...

'' and the ''

Norwich Evening News The ''Norwich Evening News'' is a daily local newspaper published in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It covers the city and the surrounding suburbs, and is published by Archant. It is the best-selling newspaper in Norwich. As of 28 February 2011 the ...

''. Lately he has also found fans on internet sites such as the

video-sharing An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...

platform

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

or the

social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

.Results for "Norwich Puppet Man"
on Facebook via

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, access date 30 November 2010.

Style

Using a karaoke machine, the puppets dance while Perry sings his own interpretations over songs by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

.Norwich Evening News Monday, 2 July 2007 p.3. For a PDF of the article, se
here
/ref> He first started performing as the Norwich Puppet Man in the mid-1990s,Norwich Evening News Friday, 29 August 2008, p.18. For a PDF of the article, se
here
/ref> but in 1997 was forced to quit when his

incapacity benefit Incapacity Benefit was a British social security benefit that was paid to people facing extra barriers to work because of their long-term illness or their disability. It replaced Invalidity Benefit in 1995. The government began to phase out Inc ...

was stopped because he was earning money through

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

. He returned to busking on Gentleman's Walk in late 2005 or early 2006,www.norwichpuppetman.co.uk
An online tribute to the Puppet Man, access date 30 November 2010 by which time internet sites had begun to spread his fame. He does not hold, nor does he require a buskers licence to busk in either

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. He usually performs in

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

s located in the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

and town centre of

, typically two or three times a week and mainly in the afternoons and on weekends. In Norwich, the Puppet Man can mostly be found on Gentleman's Walk off

St Peter Mancroft St Peter Mancroft is a parish church in the Church of England, in the centre of Norwich, Norfolk. After the two cathedrals, it is the largest church in Norwich. It was originally established by the then Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael between ...

and the old Haymarket around the bottom of Hay Hill. In

he is usually found on Regent Road, close to the entrance to the

Market Gates Shopping Centre Market Gates Shopping Centre is based in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. It was first opened in 1976. The Centre The shopping centre currently houses 40 stores over of gross leasable area. It comprises a mostly high street ...

.www.norwichpuppetman.co.uk
An online tribute to the Puppet Man, access date 30 November 2010 Over the years, Perry's

eccentric Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-center, in geometry * Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...

style of “''dancing in the city centre behind his ghetto blaster and waving his puppets in time to an eclectic range of music''”Norwich Evening News Friday, 16 February 2007 p.3. For a PDF of the article, se
here
/ref> has made the Puppet Man a

cult figure A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...

in Norwich and Great Yarmouth. In a competition organised by the Castle Quarter

Shopping Centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

in June 2007 titled “The faces that sum up why Norwich is such a fine city”, he was named as one of the “25 Faces of Norwich”.Norwich Evening News Monday, 18 June 2007, p. 19. For a PDF of the article, se
here
/ref> In summer 2008, Perry was hired by a nightclub in Norwich to perform some live action in front of 2,000 people for a student based event. In August 2008, the Puppet Man publicly announced that he was going to stop busking in

and move his activities to

, but has since continued to appear in

on a regular basis.

Puppets

The puppets David Perry has used since appearing as the Norwich Puppet Man are: * “Swearing Geordie Man” (after Swearing Geordie Michael Rice) * “Dougal” (a purple dog, on string) * “

Roy Waller Roy Waller (17 September 1940 – 6 July 2010) was a regular radio presenter on BBC Radio Norfolk and was the main football match commentator for the station until 2007. He died in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on 6 July 2010, aft ...

” (a snake

hand puppet A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hand or hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppetee ...

made out of an old worn sock) * “Billy McDog” (a canine hand puppet) * “Gary” (a banana eating gorilla, named after

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

) * “Mick” (a dog puppet, named after

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

) * “Big Brenda” (named after David Perry's wife) * “Big Tom” (named after local Tom Hickman) * “Basil” (a cunning fox) * “Suzy” (a sassy squirrel) * “Franny” (named after local Mattishall man, Adam Francis) * “Slug head” (a shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc that resembles Martin Emms) * “Gary Lemon” (named after his best friend Gary who likes lemons) While the

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

of the first six puppets is unknown, “Basil” and “Suzy” were donated in June 2007 by the owners of “Langley's”, a Norwich toy shop located in

Royal Arcade Royal Arcade can refer to a number of structures: * Royal Arcade, Boscombe * Royal Arcade, Cardiff * Royal Arcade, Charters Towers * Royal Arcade, London * Royal Arcade, Melbourne The Royal Arcade is a historic shopping arcade in the centra ...

on Gentleman's Walk. Commenting on the puppets, Perry said about the gifts: "Some people don’t like my singing. I was pleased to get the new puppets. I’ve named the fox Basil and the squirrel is his girlfriend Suzy. Basil likes to dance to the Beatles and Suzy sometimes makes an appearance. Basil was a relation to

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has f ...

and now he’s been made to work on the street he’s not happy about it."

Public perception

Over the years, the Norwich Puppet Man has built up a cult following. As a local original, he has even appeared in a series of

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s of Norfolk, claiming to capture unappreciated parts of the county. A group set up in his honour on the social network website Facebook gained more than 4,000 members, and tens of thousands of viewers have watched clips of him that were posted on the video website YouTube. While Perry's peculiar brand of entertainment has undoubtedly made him locally famous, the quality of the Puppet Man's performances remains controversial. Some describe him as a "legend" and a "great favourite with many shoppers in Gentleman’s Walk", others find him to be "a noisy obstruction totally bereft of any skill or creativity"., and others still describe him as falling simultaneously into both categories. Whilst others just describe him as "The Yarco Noncey Puppet Man". When Perry was named one of the “25 Faces of Norwich”, a local shop manager said about the Puppet Man that he "adds fun to the streets of Norwich, he puts a smile on hundreds of people’s faces every day" while an angry letter from an anonymous reader of the

branded him a "dullard, in a backwater of

inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

". In line with his varied public

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

, Perry has not only been featured in local newspapers and on the internet but also become subject to

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

by some people and sometimes even violence. In September 2010, he was reported to have been attacked in Great Yarmouth by an unhappy shop owner causing county-wide outrage. In January 2015, the announcement of Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich, Perry was featured as a cult figure in the city on the BBC Newsbeat website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich Puppet Man People from Norwich English puppeteers 1942 births Living people English buskers

Style

Puppets

Public perception

See also

References