A popular and eccentric hippy who refused to wear shoes for 50 years and kept one mummified little finger on his mantelpiece and the other in his pocket has died at 73.
Pete 'The Feet' McKenzie became something of a legend in Moseley village, Birmingham and locals have paid tribute to the 'lovely gent' who stopped wearing footwear in the 1960s because they made his feet sweat.
A telephone exchange engineer from Cumbria who moved to Moseley in the 60s, Pete passed away in his sleep last night.
He was a well-known figure in several local pubs and took advantage of his popularity by creating his own twin-foot logo, which he used on merchandise including stickers and cigarette lighter covers.
Pete even went barefoot when he married wife Jennifer in 1970 and, speaking in 2014, said that neither his daughter or granddaughters had ever seen him in shoes.
Pete 'The Feet' McKenzie has died at 73 after being a regular fixture in Moseley village, Birmingham for 50 years
He said: 'I don’t like shoes, or in fact anything on my feet.
'Even when I got married, I didn’t wear shoes - and that was in a church.
'My wife has maybe seen me wearing shoes once or twice, but my daughter hasn’t and my granddaughters definitely haven’t.
'They just don’t suit me, they don’t suit my feet. Ever since taking my shoes off permanently, I’ve been called called Pete the Feet. I won’t put the buggers back on until the day I die.'
He added: 'In the sixties it wasn’t uncommon to see people not wearing shoes around Moseley, it was very hippy place back then.
'I find my notoriety a bit silly, I don’t think people should be so bothered - I find it amusing really.
'I do get nasty comments but it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I’ll go to the pub and they say sorry I can’t serve you, you haven’t got shoes on.
The hippy was popular in pubs in the area because he never wore shoes, having given them up in the 60s because they made his feet sweat
He even got married barefoot to his wife Jennifer in 1970. He claimed that his daughter and granddaughters had never seen him in shoes
'One time I was told that staff couldn’t serve me because they sold food, but as I was being taken out there was woman with a dog, feeding it at the table.
'I’ve been into pubs where there’s dog muck on the floor in the pub, and they say I’ll bring dirt in. It’s their fault, not mine.'
In recent years, he would be seen on a customised mobility scooter which had PTF1 on the licence plate.
He has been a local celebrity for years with Birmingham band Katlama writing a song about him and The Bulls Head pub in Moseley having a painting of him on the wall.
Local artist Rose Fraser even won prizes for her portrait of Pete.
Several pubs have mementos of Pete, pictured here in 1969. Speaking in 2014 about shoes, he said: 'They just don’t suit me, they don’t suit my feet'
Pete, pictured in 1981, also once said: 'I won’t put the buggers back on until the day I die'
After the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) joined forces with the charity Changing Faces for a portrait competition, she won both a Changing Faces Commission Prize and the Maguire Jackson People's Choice Prize.
Rose tweeted: 'A few years ago I had the honour of meeting a very special gentleman from Moseley.
'He was one of the most interesting people I've ever met and it was an honour to paint him. A true legend, Pete the Feet thank you for your stories, Rest In Peace.'
And tributes flooded in after news of death became public.
Tom Carroll said: 'The mighty Pete the Feet has died. True Moseley legend.
'Pete is the person who helped to make Moseley the kind of place it is today.'
Writer and stand up poet Rachel Sambrooks tweeted: 'Remembering Pete the Feet who was a legend from my teen days, serving him at the Traf (now Pat Kav) he was a lovely gent.
'I had to serve him in a special pint glass with feet on (it was a bit larger than a pint, genius) and he always remembered me even 20 years on.'
He has been celebrated by several local artists, including a song by a Birmingham band and an award-winning portrait
Speaking about his fame, Pete said: 'I find my notoriety a bit silly, I don’t think people should be so bothered - I find it amusing really'
Local Jane said: 'Moseley legend Pete The Feet passed away last night, in his sleep. Absolute gent, shoeless throughout the 25-plus years I'd had the pleasure of meeting him.'
She added: 'Nothing will ever replace the joy of running into Pete The Feet in the street, and if you were lucky, scoring one of his handmade, signature lighter covers.'
Ali Jones tweeted: 'Pete the Feet was a lovely man and a legend in the Moseley area. Always had time for a smile and a chat. RIP Pete. Moseley wont be the same without you mate.'
Now living in London, Keith Marsden, the recently retired award-winning licensee of the Prince of Wales pub in Moseley, which is now run by his son Joe, said: 'Everybody knew Pete, he was a great character.'
Tara Sparkes, publican at the Patrick Kavanagh pub which was restored in 2017, told BirminghamLive: 'Pete made some decorative leather straps for us about three years ago to replace some he'd made previously.
'I don't know if someone told him years ago he could not come in with bare feet, but I'd have let him in.
'I used to see him about and he was a character.'
Friends and pub regulars from Moseley have paid tribute to the beloved hippy, who died in his sleep
One well-wisher tweeted: 'Pete the Feet was a lovely man and a legend in the Moseley area. Always had time for a smile and a chat. RIP Pete. Moseley wont be the same without you mate'
A duty manager at the Elizabeth of York JD Wetherspoon pub on St Mary's Row had only just started work at the pub and had not met Pete.
But he said: 'Some of our regulars here knew him and they've put a tribute photograph up to him behind the bar.'
In 2003, Pete told the Sunday Mercury: 'I could get through a pair of leather shoes in three months.
'Back in the 1960s you could do what you wanted, so I took my shoes off - and I couldn't be bothered to put them back on.
'I'm not going to do it now just so that I can get into a pub. I've travelled all around the world over the years without wearing any shoes and I've never had any hassle in any other country.
'I first came to Moseley in the 1960s. As soon as I arrived, I met my wife Jen and knew it was the place where I wanted to spend the rest of my life.'
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https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/17/much-loved-birmingham-hippy-pete-the-feet-who-went-barefoot-for-50-years-dies-aged-73/
Main photo article A popular and eccentric hippy who refused to wear shoes for 50 years and kept one mummified little finger on his mantelpiece and the other in his pocket has died at 73.
Pete ‘The Feet’ McKenzie became something of a legend in Moseley village, Birmingham and locals have paid tribute...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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