Updated with new photographs. Colin Blaney's "Grafters", originally
published in 2004, was a ground-breaking expose of the links
between criminal gangs and football hooliganism. In the intervening
period the book and the phrase have become part of the lexicon,
defining a generation of professional thieves who used the cover of
their fellow football fans to earn a fortune. Eight years on author
Colin Blaney returns with an updated version of his criminal
memoirs and recounts his experiences as a personality in the murky
media world that accompanies public relations -- principally his
shady dealings with tabloid journalists, TV producers and
researchers. In Colin's words he was thrown in at the deep end to
"Swim with the sharks". It's all a far cry from Colin's adolescence
in the council fl ats of North Manchester. As a child he burgled
warehouses and factories. As a youth he joined the bootboys of
Manchester United's Red Army, rampaging across the country. As an
adult he learned to dip with the Scouse pickpocket gangs, sell dope
to Rastas in the Moss Side shebeens and sneak-thieve from shop
tills with his mad Collyhurst crew. But Continental Europe offered
the greatest lure. The gang moved to Amsterdam which became their
HQ for the next twenty years. They stole Rolex watches in
Switzerland, peddled Ecstasy in Spain, kited credit cards in
Belgium, flogged bootleg tee-shirts in France and snatched designer
clothes in Holland. Blaney and his Wide Awake Frim served time in
half the jails in Europe and then went back for more. They were on
a riotous, non stop roller-coaster ride -- until they finally hit
the buffers.
General
Imprint: |
Empire Publications Ltd
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
June 2012 |
First published: |
June 2012 |
Authors: |
Colin Blaney
|
Dimensions: |
215 x 135 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
317 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-901746-92-1 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
True stories >
Crime
Promotions
|
LSN: |
1-901746-92-5 |
Barcode: |
9781901746921 |
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