You can usually hear him first - the distant rumble of a portable speaker slowly moving down Manchester’s cycle lanes.

Once you’ve seen him, he’s unmistakeable - wearing his iconic bucket hat and glasses, riding a rickety old mountain bike with an old blue Ikea bag swinging from the handlebar.

Rave tunes, rap and 80s post-punk blasts out of it as he passes. Manchester’s famous ‘boom box cyclist’ has been a cheering up the city for years.

He’s popular. Pedestrians nod and wave as he rides past and fellow bikers ring their bells in respect, while online he’s become a cult sensation.

But, despite his local fame, ‘boom box Barry’ is a bit of a mystery.

Speaking to the M.E.N., though, he was able to lay some of those mysteries to rest, confirming his real name as Barrington, that he’s in his 50’s (he wouldn’t give his exact age but pointed to the greying hairs on his beard) and that he lives by himself in the town centre.

Barrington discussed his music taste, personal life, and why he sometimes feels a little lonely in Manchester.

“I just like music, you know,” he told the M.E.N.

“I am a person who likes a diversity of music. I’ve got various collections of music. Every week I’m finding new music on the internet.

“I play [music] at home, but I found a way where I can put my speaker on and travel around on my bike.”

Strangely enough, Barrington burns his favourite tracks onto DVD and then plays them through a portable DVD player which is connected to a small speaker inside his bag.

“It’s loud,” he said with a grin.

“John Peel [the former Radio 1 DJ] is my inspiration. He used to play music on the radio. [He] got me into music way back in the 80s and I love that music. I want to travel with his music.

“I was playing him at the beginning, but now I’m playing everything!”

Barrington said that his other musical inspirations include the Chameleons and the Fall, both post-punk bands who performed on the Peel Sessions.

“You’ve probably heard [them] through my speaker!” he said, adding, “Today I’m just playing a little bit of rap.”

He added that he has no idea how long he’s been riding up and down the city centre on his bike.

“I actually don’t know, you’re the one that’s making me think now! It’s been years,” he said.

Some on social media claim that they’ve seen him over the last decade cycling across the city.

But Barrington says his journeys on his bike always have a purpose.

“I’m just going to see my mum, I like music and going from A to B.

“Music makes me happy, that’s the main thing. It’s the music. The music!”

However, despite his cheerful demeanour, Barrington told the M.E.N that his personal life sometimes takes its toll.

“My mum’s been sick for years now, so I just concentrate on [her].

“I live in the town centre and my mum lives near Moss Side, so I travel from Moss Side to the town centre often. You’ve probably seen me there.”

He said that while he probably has a lot of fans around the city, he doesn’t have many close friends.

“They appreciate it from a distance. It’s nice. They say hello. No problem. From a distance, that’s great.”

“But as for…”, he paused and motioned to our conversation.

“I’ve got a friend. His name is Louis. I meet him every Thursday in the library to talk about music and things,” he said.

“So, other than him… yeah.”

“I actually worked doing community work years ago,” Barrington added, but said that due to his mother’s health he no longer gets out that much.

“[I’ve got] a big family, but they’re always busy. Everybody’s busy, aren’t they? Some of them live in London, some live in town, one’s a teacher in Longsight, one’s working in the metal work industry,” he said.

Barrington said he’s hoping to go on holiday to Wales soon, as he enjoys escaping the city.

“All I know is that I want to go and live in the country. That’s my ultimate aim,” he said.

“[But] I look after my mum four days a week. That’s the main thing right now.

“I can’t leave my mum. But I wanna do something. If I can’t leave my mum, [I’ll] do something that I can love.

“I just love my music, that’s it. Simple innit.”

And with that, Barrington the boom box cyclist picked up his bike and rode off into the distance.