Frank Evans, seen here with is parents in their butcher's shop in Manchester, achieved the feat, rare for an Englishman, of being granted full matador status.
His career, which spanned more than 40 years, began in 1967. Evans is believed to have killed more than 300 bulls.
Evans saw his first bullgfight in 1963 while in Granada for a wedding. "I loved the emotion that was involved in what I was watching - the atmosphere of the place, the smell, the people."
Nicknamed El Ingles, he was inspired to fight bulls after reading about the British matador Vincent Charles Hitchcock, who fought in the 1940s and 1950s.
Bullfighting is notoriously dangerous - moments after this picture was taken, in 1979, he was gored in the buttocks
"The greatest moment came in 1991 when I became a fully-fledged matador," says Evans. Manolo Montoliu, pictured here before the ceremony, was killed by a bull in Seville nine months later.
'The public has always been sort of very kind and understanding with me,' he says. 'I've seen them be more cruel toward Spanish matadors, probably because they expect them to be better.'
Unlike most bullfighters, who hit their prime in their 20s and 30s, Evans remained a matador into his 60s
Frank Evans retired from bullfighting in 2005 but returned to the ring following a quadruple heart bypass and knee surgery.
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