Hairy Biker and proud Barrovian, Dave Myers
New exhibition celebrates life of Hairy Biker and proud Barrovian, Dave Myers
The Dock Museum in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, hometown of Dave Myers, is set to become the ‘Dave Museum’ when it launches a new exhibition in June 2025 to celebrate the life of the Hairy Biker.
The exhibition at the museum, which is operated by Westmorland and Furness Council, is set to initially run for three months from 20th June – 5th October 2025 and will honour the life of the popular and colourful TV personality with a showcase of personal items from throughout his life.
It will launch to coincide with the ‘Dave Day 2’ weekend on 21st and 22nd June, when thousands of bikers are expected to ride from London to Barrow as part of a weekend of events.
On show are some of Dave’s most personal and loved possessions including recognisable and well-known pieces such as his helmet, his shirts, Strictly Come Dancing dance shoes, his mums pie dish and much more – the exhibit will tell the story of Dave, the Barrow lad, from living in a council flat to becoming one half of TV personalities ‘The Hairy Bikers’.
Much of the exhibition will showcase never before seen items, donated by Dave’s widow Lilliana Myers, with his motorcycle kit being amongst the most prized items.
Lili said: “I can’t think of a better place to have donated some of Dave’s most loved possessions to be on show to the public. There are areas of Dave’s life that are unknown beyond his family and friends so it will be interesting to make this public. He had a long career as a make-up artists before becoming a ‘Hairy Biker’ and we have many photographs from this period. I’ve also donated some of his personal clothing – much of it stained by food! You could read a manual of his life from his shirts!”
Although Dave Myers was best known as one half of cookery duo, the Hairy Bikers, alongside his friend and co-host Si King, his previous and well-established career as a make-up artist specialising in prosthetics is something that may come as a surprise.
The exhibit will delve into this with photos of Dave from his days as a make-up artist plus signed programmes and scripts. It will also take a journey from his earlier life including photos of him as a youngster in Barrow – the town he called home for much of his life.
Dave worked for the BBC and also freelance doing shows such as Top of the Pops where he painted the iconic white stripe on Adam Ants face!
He worked on other programmes such as The Generation Game, Spooks and The life and times of a she devil. He first met Si King on the Gambling man, a Catherine Cookson TV drama.
The carefully curated exhibition will take visitors on a journey through Dave’s life from his early days in Barrow, stopping off for highlights such as Strictly Come Dancing before ending with his final ride.
Commenting on the exhibition, Dock Museum manager, John Irving said: “I’ve known Dave for years, and his story is fascinating. I’m both honoured and excited to have collected all these much oved items from Lili and cannot wait to share his story with the wider public. Everyone knew Dave as a Hairy Biker, but there is so much to tell from his life, especially around Barrow.
In honour of the great man, and to celebrate Dave Day 2, we are re-naming the Museum to “The Dave Museum” from 18th – 23rd June 25”.
Charlotte Hawley, Collections and Exhibitions manager for Westmorland and Furness Council said “It is both an honour and a pleasure to collaborate with Lili Myers in bringing this exhibition, celebrating the life of Dave Myers, to the Dock Museum and his hometown of Barrow. I am thrilled to share not only previously unseen objects related to Dave’s personal journey but also some truly iconic items from his time on television”.
The Dave Myers exhibition will be open from Friday 20th June to 05th October 2025 and is free to enter, although donations are welcome.
Prior to the exhibition opening the team at the Museum will be taking a digital photo-booth around the Furness area for members of the public to record a message for Lilli or leave a memory of Dave using green screen technology.
This exhibition will be forming part of the Dave Day 2 celebrations to be held in Barrow, further details about all of the events can be found at Dave Day - Visit Barrow
The Dock Museum is Barrow’s premier attraction, offering an insight into life in Barrow-in-Furness from the town’s early years to becoming a forefront of defence owing to the shipbuilding industry and much more.
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