Adrian Street (5 December 1940 – 24 July 2023) was a Welsh professional wrestler and author who came to prominance in the 1970s and 1980s. During his career, Street was best known for his androgynous and flamboyant wrestling persona. Street was often accompanied to the ring by his long-time manager and wife Miss Linda, and the two worked primarily as heels.
Early life
Street was born on 5 December 1940[4] in Brynmawr in South Wales.[5] His family was in the coal mining business;[1] his father was a miner for 51 years.[6] Street began bodybuilding as a teenager, and in 1957 – at age 16 – he left home to begin his career in professional wrestling.[5][1]
Street was trained as a professional wrestler by Chic Osmond and Mike Demitre.[3] His first professional wrestling match took place on 8 August 1957.[3] Using the name Kid Tarzan Jonathan, Street defeated Geoff Moran.[3]
Later in his career, he developed his "Exotic" Adrian Street image, an outrageously-attired, effeminate character who was implied–but never explicitly stated–to be gay.[6][7] Street has explained that this gimmick was born by accident as a result of him playing up to taunting from an audience one evening.[7] In his words: "I was getting far more reaction than I'd ever got just playing this poof. My costumes started getting wilder".[6] His wrestling attire evolved to include pastel colours and glitter makeup, and he clipped his bleached hair into mini- hipigtails.[6] As "The Exotic One", his signature move in the ring was to kiss opponents to escape being pinned down, and to put makeup on his opponents when they were disabled. He also sang several glam rock songs, such as "Sweet Transvestite with a Broken Nose" and "Imagine What I Could Do To You", the latter being his entrance music.[8]
In 1971, he was booked in a match with the TV presenter Jimmy Savile. Due to disagreements with booking as well as disliking Savile due to his openly bragging about sleeping with underage girls,[9] Street legitimately attacked Savile during the match and tore out Savile's hair. When the true nature of Savile’s sexual abuse towards underage girls became more apparent after his death, Street stated in an interview; “Had I known then what I know about him now, I’d have given him an even bigger hiding.” [8][10]
Street (left) and his valet Miss Linda (right)
Working primarily as a heel, Street travelled all over the world; locations where he wrestled included Germany,[11] Canada, and Mexico.[12] In the UK, he formed a tag partnership with fellow heel Bobby Barnes, naming themselves the Hells Angels.[6]
In 1969 Street met his future manager/valet and real-life wife, Miss Linda (Linda Gunthorpe Hawker).[12] During the 1970s, Linda wrestled in Britain as Blackfoot Sue. Later in America, the two formed a double-act, Miss Linda becoming one of professional wrestling's first female valets[6] and frequently participating as an accomplice to Street's in-ring shenanigans.[12]
After retiring from full-time in-ring work, Street ran the Skull Krushers Wrestling School in Gulf Breeze, Florida, until being forced to close doors following severe damage from Hurricane Ivan.[15] Street and Linda also went into business designing and selling professional wrestling gear and other sundries via their website.[16] He created the ring gear worn by Mick Foley as Dude Love during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin.[17]
Street estimated that he had wrestled between 12,000 and 15,000 matches during his career,[18] which ended with a final match held in Birmingham, Alabama, in June 2014.[19]
Street survived a bout of cancer.[1] In 2018, Street and wife Linda returned to Wales, citing the weather in Florida and the destruction of Street's wrestling academy by Hurricane Ivan.[20] Street died at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, on 24 July 2023,[16] at age 82. The cause of death was sepsis that had developed from a bout of colitis.[16]
Ad for the album "Shake, Wrestle 'N' Roll", circa 1987
Street and his band, The Pile Drivers, released the LP Shake, Wrestle and Roll in 1986. It compiled two earlier singles (from 1977 and 1980) with a selection of new songs.[23]
A photo of Street in full regalia posing at the mine his father worked at features as the front cover of Black Box Recorder's debut album England Made Me.[24]
Street is the subject of a documentary by visual artist Jeremy Deller, entitled The Life and Times of Adrian Street.[10] A feature length documentary of Street's life story by film producer and director Joann Randles was released in 2019 under the title You May Be Pretty, But I Am Beautiful: The Adrian Street Story.[10]
^Street, Adrian (15 April 2010). "Pedigree of Champions". Adrian & Linda Street. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
