The world-famous Purple Helmets have decided to hang up their army greatcoats and park their Honda 90s, but not before a farewell ‘tour’ this summer.

The group of motorcycle stunt-performing friends came together at TT 1995, when it was suggested that some of them – who already had the now infamous coats and bikes in preparation for a trip to Poland for the International Six-Day Enduro (long-distance race) – should put on a performance to give Steve Colley a break from his stunt show raising funds for Southern Motor Cycle Club.

Since then the popularity of the Purple Helmets has only grown, with them performing at every TT, including a private performance for Prince William at Government House, as well as at various other big events locally and much further afield.

Their only planned performance over this year’s TT fortnight will be on Mad Sunday, June 5, at Peel Promenade, and while this will be their final outing of entertaining at the world-famous road races, they do have three final performances planned over the summer months before the Purple Helmets will officially end.

Jim Davidson, a long-time member of the Purple Helmets, said the decision for this year to be the final one was made due to a number of different factors.

‘One or two of the guys have got other interests and aren’t as keen, one of us is sadly quite ill. We all got together and thought that maybe it’s the right time to go out while we are still popular. Some of these things go on too long, so we said let’s call it a day this year.’

Different venues across the island have hosted the Purple Helmets over the years, but Mr Davidson believes some suit the performances better than others.

He said: ‘We used to do Onchan stadium as part of TT, and it was great but such a big stadium to fill in terms of our stunts. Our stunts are quite small, and we used to have to work for months beforehand to make new contraptions and things like that.’

He added that the shows with the best atmosphere and excitement were at Bushy’s beer tent, when it used to be erected for the TT fortnight at its previous location of the Bottleneck car park on Loch Promenade.

‘Our best shows, in my opinion, have always been down at Bushy’s on the Promenade. You can’t get a better atmosphere than that and can’t replicate it in any other place. You’ve got people drinking beers, and chucking beer on us.’

‘It’s where you have the crowd right next to you that it really was quite amazing. Places with a big open field are just not the same.’

Despite all the fun and laughs the group have had, there have been low moments throughout their time, with the death of some members throughout the years. Mr Davidson said: ‘An obvious low point is losing people in the team, because not only are they your team mates but they’re your friends.

‘We’ve lost three or four of our guys over the years, obviously away from the shows, and it’s always a sad point, but three died shortly before the start of the TT. It’s hard because you’ve got to lift yourself and carry on, but I’m sure they’d have wanted us to continue.’

One of the many standout performances was in the last show the Purple Helmets performed at Onchan’s Nivison Stadium in 2017, welcoming the White Helmets to the island. Officially the Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team, the serving soldiers had travelled from Yorkshire to do a final joint act before disbanding. Mr Davidson said it was an ‘honour’ to perform with them given their 90-year history.

The final show before the Purple Helmets disband will be at the Laxey duck races on August 20.