The name 'Cockney Reds' stuck in the early seventies, by which time hundreds of youths from the South were following Manchester United. Robert 'Banana Bob' Cleur emerged as their leader, working on building sites to fund his drinking and brawlers trips around the country, backed by a formidable army of fighters. COCKNEY REDS is a candid account of a period of terrace history that will never be repeated, and of the camaraderie and chaos of a hooligan gang based on enemy turf.
Manchester United's Red Army was the most notorious hooligan mob British football has ever seen. Thousands strong, this huge tribe of disaffected youths laid siege to town centrees and soccer grounds across the country and became a byword for violent disorder. Tony O'Neill was there from the beginning and became its most prominent face. Barely in his teens when he set out from the largest council estate in Europe to follow the Red Devils, his ferocity in street combat and his force of personality soon made him a leader. Running trips in his infamous War Wagon, he became so renowned that he was invited to a sit-down meeting with the Government to discuss the hooligan problem. After serving a jail term, O'Neill emerged to lead the 'casuals' of the 1980s against an even tougher generation of opponents: West Ham's ICF, the Chelsea Headhunters, the Leeds Service Crew and the scally armies of Merseyside. Police intelligence files labelled him a 'prime mover' and he became the target of a huge undercover investigation. Red Army General is the most authoritative account ever written of the wild years when terrace terror reached its peak. "BRITAIN'S No.1 FOOTBALL THUG" Daily Mirror "BRITAIN'S WORST SOCCER YOB" The Sun
Would you Adam and Eve it? Over a hundred years after it was first heard on the streets of Ye Olde London Towne, Cockney rhyming slang is still going strong, and this book contains the most comprehensive and entertaining guide yet. Presented in an easy-to-read A to Z format, it explains the meaning of hundreds of terms, from old favourites such as apples and pears (stairs) and plates of meat (feet) to the more obscure band of hope (soap) and cuts and scratches (matches) through to modern classics such as Anthea Turner (earner) and Ashley Cole (own goal), as well as providing fascinating background info and curious Cockney facts throughout. Also included are a series of language tests so that readers can brush up on their newfound knowledge on their way to becoming a true Cockney Geezer. All in all, The Ultimate Cockney Geezer's Guide to Rhyming Slang is well worth your bread and honey to have a butcher's.
Jeff Turner was raised in Custom House in the East End of London, with seven siblings to share a three-bedroom council house. When the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen hit, his brother Mickey picked up a guitar and Jeff picked up a microphone, and together they stormed the music scene as The Cockney Rejects. The Rejects stood for being young, working class, and not taking anything from anyone, resulting in aggression and violence being the main staple at their shows. However, the madness couldn't last forever, and as chaos at the gigs spiraled out of control, so did the band. Jeff was left dazed and penniless, and here tells his story.
In the mid-1980s, one young man from a tough Manchester estate exploded onto the soccer hooligan scene. Known to all as Hotshot, he had been introduced to drugs and violence at an early age, joining a teenage gang at just ten years old. By the age of fifteen he was attending drug-fuelled all-night raves and committing serious crimes to finance his partying. But not even ecstasy or acid compared to the buzz that he got from fighting. He became addicted to terrace violence and was determined to follow in the footsteps of the older United thugs of the notorious Red Army. Hotshot soon put together a gang of his own, leading them into battles up and down the country and taking them abroad on organised looting and shoplifting sprees. This was the heyday of hooliganism, and his crew clashed with the likes of West Ham’s Inter City Firm, the Chelsea Headhunters, the ‘Yids’ of Tottenham and the Service Crew from Leeds. They also fought repeatedly with their derby foes from Manchester City, meeting in city centre pubs and nightclubs in a long-running battle for supremacy. As the years went by, the hectic lifestyle took its toll. Hotshot was arrested in a massive police operation against United’s gang, became addicted to alcohol and cocaine and saw his best friend develop a heroin habit. The days of wanton violence were replaced by a battle for survival. With contributions from fellow United hooligans from the early days up to the current Moston Rats, Hotshot reveals the highs and lows of a rollercoaster race in the fast lane.
THE INTER CITY JIBBERS. WHERE UNITED WENT, THEY FOLLOWED. MAYHEM WAS NEVER FAR BEHIND.The Inter City Jibbers were the most notorious Manchester United hooligan crew of the last thirty years, and Colin 'Beaner' Blaney was up to his neck in it. His years as an ICJ and Wide Awake Firm (WAF) footsoldier saw him blacklisted as an 'Undesirable' by Interpol for smuggling Ecstasy, tearing through gangland warfare with rival crooks, and carrying out daring jewellery thefts as far afield as Taiwan and South Korea.Spurred on by the overwhelming acclaim for his first book, Grafters, Blaney's latest account includes stories originally deemed too risky to tell. This shocking, searingly honest new work from the core of the Inter City Jibbers tells of four attempted jailbreaks, and describes members of the ICJ's experiences in numerous hellish overseas jails. These include the gang rape of one WAF member in a Pakistani prison, a brutal time spent in a county lock-up in Virginia and a stint in a Yakuza-filled Japanese jail, as well as run-ins with gun-wielding foreign thugs. Above all, this is a chronicle of twenty-five years of life as an Undesirable, stealing anything that wasn't nailed down.
'Susie Dent is a national treasure' RICHARD OSMAN 'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' PAM AYRES __________________________________________ Would you be bewildered if someone described you as radgy? Do you know how to recognise a tittamatorter? And would you understand if someone called you a culchie? How to Talk Like a Local gathers together hundreds of words from all over the country and digs down to uncover their origins. From dardledumdue, which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through forkin robbins, the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to clemt, a Lancashire word that means hungry, it investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides a fascinating insight into the history of the English language. If you're intrigued by colourful words and phrases, if you're interested in how English is really spoken, or if you simply want to find out a bit more about the development of our language, How to Talk Like a Local is irresistible - and enlightening - reading. __________________________________________________ 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent and nobody writes about it more entertainingly' GYLES BRANDRETH 'It's an interesting and, at times, hilarious read. One for word-lovers' THE SUN
From football hooligan to opera singer, from the Cockney Reds to Catullus, from a hectic household to tranquility of spirit, Mark Glanville has travelled many paths, been many people – this is his remarkable story.
'The real history of soccer violence.' LOADED 'A comprehensive look at some of Britain's most notorious hooligan factions.' LADS MAG From the authors of the acclaimed "HOOLIGANS: The A-L" comes the final part of the only comprehensive guide ever written to the darker side of modern football history. Here are the stories of every soccer hooligan gang, from the Cool Cats of Manchester City to the Subway Army of Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Nomad Society of York City. Authors Andy Nicholls and Nick Lowles interviewed scores of current and former hooligans to compile a definitive encyclopedia of the firms. Each club has an entry listing the names of its gangs, how they formed, their worst fights, their bitterest rivals and police operations against them. Read the histories of the Naughty Forty, the Drunk and Disorderly Firm, the Affray Team, the 6.57 Crew, the Fine Young Casuals, the Inside Crew, the Goon Squad and many more. "HOOLIGANS 2" is the ultimate guide to a fascinating but much misunderstood subject.
