[1][2] Born in Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), England, Allcock studied music at Huddersfield and Leeds.

[citation needed] On returning to Manchester he studied and qualified to become a chef, working in the Shetland Islands in 1980.

In 2018, he announced on his web-site that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer and would make his final live performance at the year's Cropredy Festival before retirement.

[5] Allcock's session career included more than 200 albums, including Robert Plant, Beverley Craven, Judith Durham, Breton guitarist Dan Ar Braz (six albums), Ralph McTell, Dave Swarbrick, Cat Stevens, and Dafydd Iwan.

He was UK bass guitarist and tour manager for Nashville songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman.