He handed out jail sentences of 10 years for use of a razor and 7 years for carrying one. Half is set in glasgow, half in the glaswegian hell of. A glasgow gang observed by patrick james goodreads. They had their own rules, dress code and even collected fees for a shared fund to pay police and court fines hence their name. The glasgow razor gangs were violent gangs that existed in the east end and south side of. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In the 30s the name had evolved to san toi with another calton razor gang the calton entry also appearing on the scene. The notorious razor gangs who ruled glasgows streets in the 1920s and 1930s are to feature in the next series of peaky blinders series creator steven knight reveals the hardmen will appear. Weapons included golf clubs, metal poles, razors and knives.
The penny mob came out of the east end of the city. Feb 24, 2017 documentary filmed in 1968 about glasgow s infamous razor gangs subscribe for more documentaries you wont find anywhere else. Nov 12, 2018 in the 30s the name had evolved to san toi with another calton razor gang the calton entry also appearing on the scene. Members of glasgows notorious razor gangs were recruited by. In the 1920s and 30s, glasgow was undoubtedly the murder capital of europe. Their enemy was the catholic tim malloys slang for bhoys. Jun 08, 2015 alasdair grays most famous novel is a postmodern rendering of the divine comedy and a curious mix of social realism and dark fantasy. Two in particular were the most known the bridgeton billy boys and the norman conks. But rikki who has worked for bbc shows including chewin the fat and. Gangs and gang culture city of gangs is a history of glasgows gangs, but also a study of britains gang culture. A glasgow gang observed by james patrick overdrive rakuten. Pages in category gangs in scotland the following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. Documentary filmed in 1968 about glasgows infamous razor gangs subscribe for more documentaries you wont find anywhere else. At soccer matches, in the streets and at train stations.
He managed to conceal his identity and motives and during the course of a fourmonth assignation in 1966 he observed closely the gang members and. In 1982, the bbc documentary department went on safari in glasgow, reporting on the citys gangs. Aug 18, 20 scottish hoods kicked out of the us in the 1930s brought chicagostyle rackets back with them, a new book reveals. Glasgows notorious razor gangs to feature in peaky blinders. Jan 08, 2003 these early sectarian gangs waged war in the earliest examples of the razor gangs culture which haunted glasgow for the rest of the 20th century. Til the gang name toi goes back at least 200 years. Members of glasgows notorious razor gangs were recruited by chicago crime. Term originally used by the east end razor gangs of interwar glasgow. But its tale of the bloody rise of johnnie stark, and his crowning as razor king of a gorbals gang, was straight from the streets. October 1998 street gangs in i930s glasgow 253 a number of the citys street gangs mutate into organized criminal gangs, operating protection rackets and forming networks of thieves. Oct 19, 2007 the gangs ruled glasgow s streets with razors and coshes but one man terrorised them for a simple reason the fiend of the gorbals, patrick carraher, was in love with violence for its own sake. For example, jeffrey discusses law enforcement efforts against the gangs medieval1930s in one chapter and 1940s1970s in another. Glasgow and the rise of the british gangster by davies, andrew isbn. Factions based on religion and territory flourished, reaching their apex in the late 1920s with razor gangs such as the brigton billy boys.
Glasgow gangs now only deal with massive amounts of drugs or pornography. The poverty, squalor and terrible overcrowding of this great industrial city led to a harsh indifferent attitude to life and selfpreservation. In the 1960s a 26yearold schoolmaster at a scottish reformatory list d school, under the alias of james patrick, went undercover with the help of one of his pupils to study the often violent behaviour of the teenagers in a gang in glasgow. The infamous razor gangs ruled the streets of glasgow. Notorious daniel gang could quit glasgow after string of. However by the 1960s both gangs from the relatively small area were. Jul 22, 2017 despite billions spent over decades in relaunching glasgow as a modern and sophisticated city of opportunity and leisure, it has never quite managed to shrug off its legacy of 1930s razor gangs. To all intents i have finished this book with only perhaps 10% more to read.
The youthful mackay has the command of a writer twice his age, and he has delivered a conclusion to his trilogy that is just as cohesive and forceful as his previous two books. Razor gangs ruled the streets but even in the violence of pre. The gangs of the 1920s fought each other, protestant and catholic, first with bayonets and then with razors in thousand strong battles that rocked the city. Ask any of glasgows older residents to name a book about their hometown and. A glasgow gang observed by james patrick read online on.
Often referred to as the razor gangs, they fight with knives and razors almost exclusively on religious grounds. These early sectarian gangs waged war in the earliest examples of the razor gangs culture which haunted glasgow for the rest of the 20th century. The gangs ruled glasgows streets with razors and coshes but one man terrorised them for a simple reason the fiend of the gorbals, patrick carraher, was. When no mean city, a novel about johnnie stark, the razor king, was published in north america, the new york times critic declared.
The image at the start is from around 1970 and the guy being slashed was a member of the cid. Despite billions spent over decades in relaunching glasgow as a modern and sophisticated city of opportunity and leisure, it has never quite managed to shrug off its legacy of 1930s razor gangs. City of gangs is a history of glasgows gangs, but also a study of britains gang culture. Documentary by glaswegian rapper poet activist loki about the gang culture problem in the city of glasgow.
I have been gone from glasgow for over 20 years and this book brought back many treasured memories. These factors gave rise to the formation of glasgows infamous razor gangs. Oct 01, 2002 the book itself is broken up by topics with a vague nod toward chronology. Comedy writer rikki brown grew up during the violent gang wars in glasgows rough easterhouse estate during the 60s.
A glasgow gang observed by james patrick read online on bookmate. The first world war saw a reduction in influence of these outfits but the much bigger players emerged in the twenties and thirties, when the razor gangs were at their height. Kingsley longs novel no mean city 1935 contains a fictionalised account of these gangs. Billy boys and conks, but although the police quelled that outbreak by fair means and foul, the legacy of gang fighting remains to blight the city even today. Tongland is a local nickname for the area of calton, glasgow controlled in the 1960s by a violent scottish teenage gang called the real calton tongs. Growing up with gang wars during the 1960s the sun. Sectarian and fiercely territorial, groups from different areas would engage in everything from casual oneupmanship to open street warfare. Notorious daniel gang could quit glasgow after string of brutal attacks, death threats and internal squabbles plunges crime family into crisis. The gangs of glasgow s past and present are not your al capone organised gangsters, and nor are they your crips and bloods violent murderers. City of gangs success lies in its compelling detail.
Glasgow and the rise of the british gangster by andrew davies from waterstones today. Smaller groups from other parts of the city identified themselves as the anderston young team, drumoyne young team. Their grip was broken in the thirties by the legendary gangbuster, sir percy sillitoe. Razor gangs ruled the streets but even in the violence of. These two gangs would fight any time and anywhere they could. The image of glasgows infamous razor gangs could be set to change for ever thanks to the shocking revelations made in a new book. A glasgow gang observed by james patrick overdrive. Internally a neat previous owners inscription inside front cover. I gave this 2 stars out of the respect i have for being perhaps the first of its kind to show an inside view of the glasgow gang. Teams like the blackhill toi, drummy, cumbie and tongs had hundreds of members all tooled up and ready for warfare on any trivial reason.
The glasgow gangs were crazy then and just about everyone i have known who was into the gang thing in the 60s and early 70s have the scars to prove it. Jan 27, 2009 documentary by glaswegian rapper poet activist loki about the gang culture problem in the city of glasgow. Rapists or molesters who get the jail will be left alone so long as they have drugs or drug connections. The following list of gangs was published in the glasgow evening times in february 2006 as identified by strathclyde police with the accompanying map the city was divided into north glasgow, south glasgow and east glasgow. Gangs have been synonymous with glasgow since the 1800s. Jan 22, 2014 intresting book of 1960s glasgow and the peoples lives, how all the areas of glasgow had their all gangs, it tells of the history of over a hundred years of how gangs were part of glasgows life, its a great insight into glasgow life and life in general in inner cities through out britain. Alasdair grays most famous novel is a postmodern rendering of the divine comedy and a curious mix of social realism and dark fantasy. Scottish gangsters kicked out of the us in the 1930s took. A fascinating portrait of the area, full of detail and colour and.
The book itself is broken up by topics with a vague nod toward chronology. Daily record razor gangs ruled the streets but even in the violence of prewar years, one man stood out oct 19 2007 by reg mckay the gangs ruled glasgows streets with razors and coshes but one man terrorised them for a simple reason the fiend of the gorbals, patrick carraher, was in love with violence for its own sake. Street gangs, crime and policing in glasgow during the 1930s. The study on urban decay and life was split in four parts. Glasgows dark legacy returns as gangland feuds erupt in. More information about this seller contact this seller 5.
The hidden glasgow forums view topic gangs of glasgow. Includes a map on the inside cover and first end paper of glasgow gang area from 1966 to 1967. The districts with the overall greatest number of gangs were greater pollok with 11, govan with 10 and drumchapel with 9. The razor gangs were running amok once again, and filth, violence, crime, rats, poverty and drunkenness abounded, just like. Read a glasgow gang observed, by james patrick online on bookmate in the 1960s a 26yearold schoolmaster at a scottish reformatory list d school, under the alias of james patrick, went underco. Bestknown and most feared were the tongs, the toi and the cumbies. Kingsley long s novel no mean city 1935 contains a fictionalised account of these gangs. Glasgow fights no mean city tag, 75 years on reuters.
It features dozens of gangs, ranging from the well known billy boys and norman conks to the more obscure romeo boys of the garngad and the savoy arcadians. The show focused on the barrowfield in an area of east glasgow, close to celtic park, home of celtic football club. Billy boys chant in the 1920s and 30s, glasgow was undoubtedly the murder capital of europe. The glasgow razor gangs were violent gangs that existed in the east end and south side of glasgow, scotland in the late1920s and 1930s and were named for their weapon of choice. This book became the first published observation of a glasgow gang and as such has stood the. See more ideas about mug shots, city of shadows and forensic photography. So much so, that one of the worlds top entertainers of the time, frankie vaughan, tried to help. The tongs financed themselves using a protection racket, levying money on shops within their territory, and they marked that territory out in graffiti with their slogan tongs ya bass. Razor gangs ruled the streets but even in the violence of prewar. Recommended reading for every destination on earth. There was a judge in glasgow in the 50s that brought control to the use of the razor by the gangs. Its become greedy and twisted theres literally zero loyalty like what is shown in this video. East glasgow had the most identified gangs with 41 followed by south glasgow with 38 and north glasgow with 31. May 22, 2018 the notorious razor gangs who ruled glasgow s streets in the 1920s and 1930s are to feature in the next series of peaky blinders series creator steven knight reveals the hardmen will appear.
This approach seemed to nip it in the bud teeheehee. Street gangs, crime and policing in glasgow during the. The gangs of glasgows past and present are not your al capone organised gangsters, and nor are they your crips and bloods violent murderers. Intresting book of 1960s glasgow and the peoples lives, how all the areas of glasgow had their all gangs, it tells of the history of over a hundred years of how gangs were part of glasgows life, its a great insight into glasgow life and life in general in inner cities through out britain. The sudden arrival of violence is the conclusion to mackays acclaimed glasgow trilogy. The gangs ruled glasgows streets with razors and coshes but one man terrorised them for a simple reason the fiend of the gorbals, patrick.
Oct 19, 2012 gangs have been synonymous with glasgow since the 1800s. Scottish hoods kicked out of the us in the 1930s brought chicagostyle rackets back with them, a new book reveals. The city was divided into north glasgow, south glasgow and east glasgow. No book is more associated with the city of glasgow than no mean city.
1465 1220 1361 540 495 174 660 53 977 1496 1112 1609 559 721 1457 399 487 1065 520 798 374 209 1585 1012 627 787 370 591 898 1181 471 652 204 985 11 1277 1407 680 841