HE was the Beatles-loving teenager with ambitions to become a pop star in swinging sixties.
Fatherhood at 17, marriage and the theft of his guitar put paid to his dreams, and instead he became a workaholic postman. He needed the steady job, and the overtime, to pay for his family.
Delivering letters would, instead, lead to an interest in trade unionism, politics and, say some, becoming one of the greatest Labour leaders the country never had.
On Sunday evening, former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson will be in New Brighton to talk about his roller-coaster life from extreme poverty in London’s Notting Hill, before the likes of Kate Moss and Richard Branson moved in to gentrify the area, to becoming one of the biggest names in the political world.
Johnson, 65, is bringing his whistle-stop tour to the Floral Pavilion to talk about his memoir, Please, Mister Postman.
The evening will be hosted by Liverpool Confidential’s very own Larry Neild who will also be question master for a Q & A session with the audience.
Alan an his sister, Linda, fended for themselves after their mother died in 1962In 1962, aged 12, Alan Johnson and his older sister, Linda ,were orphaned when their mum Lily died at just 42. Instead of being whisked away to a foster home or an orphanage, a kindly social worker arranged for Linda, aged 16, to be given the keys to a house so she could bring up her younger brother.
Five years later Johnson became a father and moved to a notorious council estate in Slough, living with his wife and child in a house with no washing machine, fridge, vacuum or other household essentials. Still, it was their dream home.
Johnson would eventually become head of the postal workers’ union, leading to a new career as an MP and a front bencher taking on a variety of Cabinet positions in the Blair/Brown governments.
Larry says: “Alan has an amazing story to tell, and if he had responded to pressures for him to stand as Labour leader there may well never have been Corbynmania.
“We may never see the likes of Alan Johnson in politics again, a working class hero who in the 1960s experienced the kind of poverty once again creeping into 21st century Britain with harsh welfare reforms.”
An Evening with Alan Johnson, Sunday 1st November 2015, 7:30pm. Tickets £17.00* (£15.00* conc)
Special Offer - Get a copy of the book 'Please, Mister Postman' by Alan Johnson with your ticket, £24.00* (£22.00* conc) Ask at the box office - 0151 666 0000
• Details of the event: https://www.floralpavilion.com/en-GB/shows/an%20evening%20with%20alan%20johnson/info
