That numpty Dave Courtney loved giving Mad Frank an earful, despite Frank being well into his 70s by then. Frank then got shot, at close range, in the flipping head (supposedly by 1 of the Adams lot) whilst he was in his 70s and he survived. Go on then Dave - Frank is not what he says he is? Is that right?
"Brown bread" is rhyming slang for "dead". The film, "Legend" was a whitewash of the Krays. Reggie's wife had a breakdown after she discovered he was as queer as his brother. The attempt to excuse the murder of Jack McVitie was atrocious. He was killed for no other reason than Ronnie wanted Reg to kill someone, anyone. "I done mine. You do yours", is what he was reported to have told Reg.
@@COIcultist QSG sent the twins packing, different game without the firm on hand for backup. Not that they couldn't do damage. But let's not fall into the trap of glamourising any of them, most of them are dead or in prison. The best gangsters have a short run and that's it.
John McVicar is an interesting one to look into. He was a career criminal and took part in armed robberies. At one time he was dubbed "public enemy number 1" by Scotland Yard. He also escaped from prison several times. Eventually, he gave all that up and became a writer. There is a great film with Roger Daltrey playing McVicar (the film is simply called "McVicar") and also a self-penned book about his life - called "McVicar by himself" - I would recommend both of these if this is a subject that interests you.
I have actually met McVicar when we appeared on a television programme together, me the former copper and him the legendary hard man, I was surprised at how small he was.
@@nickgov66 👍 That is interesting, Nick, can you recall which programme it was as I am pretty sure that I saw him on TV once or twice...perhaps reviewing his book.
@@kevinfroude8679 It was several years ago but, as I recall, it was a Sunday afternoon discussion programme, chaired by a Dimbleby, I can't remember which one.
What about Jimmy Boyle,Tam Mcgraw,Raoul Moat (not sure if I spelt his name correctly,don't really care to be honest)Dale Cregan,Christie 10 Rillington Place,Hindley and Brady(scum) they are.
Another interesting fact, the Kray twins were the last ever prisoners to be imprisoned at The Tower of London. And Mad Frankie Fraser in later life earned wedge by giving tours around London's underworld scene. The Richardson's had a "business" in Camberwell South London. Both them and the Krays kept their respective area free of scum, no mugging or house breaking, if you did and got caught your knee caps would meet a hammer. Then you learned to behave.
Great reaction video Amanda. I've always been interested in the Krays and so has my sister. I have Reggie Kray's autograph and my sister has Ronnie's. Also in my weird collection I have a prison issued stab vest, which belonged to Frankie Frazer which he signed.
Thats pretty cool gangster memorabilia is very collectable haven't been able to get my hands on items from the krays but I knew of an auction a couple of years ago that had letters from both of them had some of their suits classes that belonged to ronnie all soughts
Really enjoyed that reaction video, thank you. The Kray Twins, they were the ones who stopped the American Mafia getting into London. I've also visited several of the locations connected to The Krays including the cafe which is seen in the film 'Legend'. The cafe is named E Pellicci and they do have a photo from the film above the table that is used in the film.
I went on one of those tours and was told that a real gangland punishment beating could happen as follows. The enforcer would walk into the victim's local pub - who would then realise what was about to happen. A large piece of plastic would be spread over the floor, the enforcer would ask someone to hold his jacket and watch and would then proceed to beat the victim to a pulp. The enforcer would then leave and, somehow, nobody saw it happen. Such a victim was very lucky. A salt bath, electrodes and scissors was the next stage. Somewhere in the process the victim died.
There was a film I haven't seen in over 40 years made about a Glasgow gangster called Jimmy Boyle. I remember it as been a brilliant film and it appears somebody has uploaded it to UA-cam so I'll be watching that tonight. It's called A Sense Of Freedom. Another who had a film made about him was John McVicar, played in the film by Roger Daltrey from The Who. Another film I haven't seen in decades but remember as brilliant.
Definitely! Tom Hardy in 'Legend' was awesome in portraying both Ronnie and Reggie Kray. Excellent film! And you can eat in that cafe (from the clip where the twins were eating breakfast) - Pellici's in Bethnal Green. One of the best, if not the best Full English in London 😋
I lived 2 houses away from a former driver for the krays. He moved away from the business when they started getting serious. My dad was disabled & if he was working on his car this guy would come out with his overalls on & work on my dads car. He had a scar that went from above his eye down to his chin caused by a car crash trying to get away from the cops, but a genuinely nice guy.
My dad grew up in the Eastend and when he was in his late teens drank at a pub the Krays would visit. He said they were fine, never bothered anyone in there.
I was in The Blind Beggar pub the night George Cornell got shot. one of the Krays, who I knew(but not well enough to speak to) looked at me and said Leave! 30 seconds later I was on Whitechapel station waiting for my tube home. At 18 or 19 I was just a "little" scared (yeah right) I never went back to the East End for many years
Freddie Foreman's son is a fairly well known actor & been in the films : Layer Cake, Nil by Mouth, Sleepy Hollow, Elizabeth & played Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist (2005) also appeared in Doctor Who .... another great video Amanda ... never heard of some of them
If you want to meet some, you could reach out to one or two and interview them. There are lots of videos with former American Mafia guys and other mobs on UA-cam so some would no doubt be up for it. Great video as always ;-)
I was born in Camberwell and lived next door to the Richardson scrap metal yard where they used to do the torture trials. I'd play in their scrap yard as a kid in new church road. Nice people
Yeah, trust me Amanda, you really REALLY don't want to have met ANY of these psychopaths. A colleague of my Dad, a guy from Glasgow once told me a story of his as a very young man. He moved from Glasgow to London as a young man about 18. He said he was in a cafe, and one of the two guys at another table kept staring at him, and Archie, being a stroppy young Glaswegian, pulled the guy up for his staring and started really having a go at him. It was then that the other guy at the table, who had been quiet until then stepped straight up to Achie, almost nose to nose and told him, "Sonny you clearly have no idea who my brother REG and I are, and the only reason you are walking out of here is that you are a young lad, a tourist, and don't know how close to dying you are." So that is the story of how my Dad's mate Archie met the Kray twins.
My Dad gambled with them group of guys and some saliors which included my Dad,one of the Twins cheated and a big Australian salior chased him with a knife to which the barman said better get out of here before the heavies come My family were friendly with James Crosbie he was biggest bank robber in Glasgow at one time,and he was in jail with them and they conned him getting him to forge bank bonds And when he came out he got into his on firm in London worked with a ex Paratrooper was first guy to kill cops and went to hide in the woods Don't believe the stories about the Krays they took liberties they survived shaking down stall owners and all the East end saliors knew it as well at the time they wouldn't survived these days a 14 year old would put a bullet in them
Never thought about it before but my favourite criminal has to be Howard Marks, otherwise known as 'Mr. Nice'. Rhys Ifans does a great portrayal of him in the movie of the same name.
since you mentioned it i thought you mite find this linguistic tidbit interesting: "governor" was the common phrase used in the u.k. fer anybody in a position of authority until the american phrase "boss" got picked up from tv and movies and eventually became the more common term.
Most of our famous gangsters were and are vicious monsters - often psychopaths - who gained their reputation from systematically terrorising people weaker than themselves. I would happily hang most of them myself. There are a few who were hard men who took on hard men and deserve respect - but not many. Through a combination of having lots of cash to spend, and having the right handshake, many of them were acceptable in the higher levels of society - but they bought their acceptability among the sort of people who were as immoral, parasitic and worthless as they were. The very occasional criminal who would have become a Prime Minister or a Field Marshal with better start in life should not blind anyone to how large and devoid of humanity the world of criminality is in some parts of the country. I suspect, despite also having the occasional star, American gangsters are pretty much the same: cheap, psychopathic hoodlums in expensive suits.
Well, if you go to the USA youd be talking of hanging almost 3 million people. 12% of the population are under ward of court. Well, theres a reason why criminals are there. There always is. You never find wealthy people exhorting to extortion for £40. And you,ll never find powerful people in jail for genocide ("Kill a man and the hang you. Kill a thousand and they call you King" ) They grew up in London during and after WW2, where kids had to give up the tires on their bikes and live on a starvation diet simply because Germany left an established economic system. And despite all the dead fathers, uncles and brothers, no one was better off for it. All those things which each family was required to give up (forks, knives, rubber, steel etc ) sat on a thrash heap until the 70s. Never even used, and never intended to be. It was simply to make the British people feel they sacrificing something (for nothing) Its no accident that the "teenager" phenomena started in the US and Britain in the 50s, because of millions of orphaned children. The USA has 25% of the globes prisoners. Does that mean theres a massively disproportionate amount of "psychos" in America ? Or is there something unbelievable screwed up with the system ?
I lived not far from Bestwood in Nottingham during the 90s and and the Gunn brothers seemed to leave anyone not in their world well enough alone, the estate they lived on had 0 crime even
Good afternoon Miss Rae. Once again we have our old friend - the cockney rhyming slang, with brown bread meaning dead. Perhaps a reflection of his erstwhile social skills ... You should do a vlog on rhyming slang, I think you would enjoy it.
@@AMANDARAEUK Good move. There are many of them. Originally used in the east end of London so the police would not understand ! One I guess you should most certainly be aware of is septic, meaning American; coming from septic tank = yank. As usual though, you only actually use the first word. I do hope you are not offended, not sure of it's origins, probably early post war, but I am quite sure it is not intended to be derogatory.
Brown bred.....dead! My dad had a 6 month sentence, while he was awaiting trial, he saw Richardson, even if you didn't know who he was, he had that aura you wouldn't want to mess with or be disrespectful to.
Good evening Amanda 😀 great video YES Tom Hardy in Bronson & Legend outstanding performances in both, but I heard when he done CBBC bed time story more mum's watched it than kid's, part of me hope's that's true 😀😉
Hi Amanda. About 10 years ago I was visiting friends in London and they took me to the blind beggar pub. It was a strange feeling standing at the bar having a drink in one of the kray sites. Bullet holes were still to be found but I think they had been plastered over when I was there
I first met the Krays on a visit to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels, where they were prisoners, even though i hadnt been born at the time. The Krays had dug through from their cell to the jewel room, emerging just as the guard was coming back from a toilet break. Luckily I managed to distract him long enough for the twins to make good their escape. That night they visited me in my dreams to thank me, and we remained good friends after that. Subsequently I was present at most of the salient Kray events and beatings as a child, I think they looked on me as a Son. I still have Jack Mcvities hat from the night Reggie done him. Anyway my mum put a stop to it all, by telling me I had to go to school, then the Kray's. Anyway it wasn't all wasted, I now make a very nice living dipping bins and selling genuine copies of Jack's hat for tourists. True story.
Amanda, brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for dead (since, bread and dead rhyme), i.e. he's brown bread. It's also been refined slightly and now the term 'hovis' or hovis'd is also used, since hovis is a very well known UK brand of brown bread!
@@ramadaxl I was confused who Ronnie Pickering was?, but have just watched the ronnie pickering vid for the first time.....I am fucking crying!!! hahahaha, thanks for the laugh :-)
My mother knew the Kray twins as she grew up in the same area as them, she told me the story that an old ladies house in the area had been burgled, the Kray twins heard about it and within a week everything had been returned along with a ten shilling note for the inconvenience.
@@weementaldavy5987 Even the best organised industries make criminal mistakes and refuse to admit guilt or make reparations. It was tough living as a poor person but the gangs protected residents of their 'parish'. There was "Honour amongst thieves". This was a reciprocal agreement. Anyone assisted by the mob knew that they were honor bound to render them every assistance. Ten bob in 1920 was a weeks wages!
Tom Hardy also plays the awesome Alfie Solomons in the Peaky Blinders, based on an other gang from Birmingham, Alfie Solomons is a fictional character played by Tom Hardy in the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders. He is the leader of a Jewish gang based in Camden Town and was introduced in Series 2. The character has had massive cultural impact and has received critical acclaim. 😎👍🏼
Alfie Solomon, Billy kimber and sabini existed. There was a program on the bbc about the real peaky blinders last night. Will still be on iPlayer. 2 one hour episodes, well worth a look, if you enjoy the drama series.
20 years ago I use drink in an old now extinct bar in W11 and use have a drink with one of Richardson henchmen occasionally and he told me about the feud he would have with the krays brothers. A very violent world but fascinating tales. Completely different world and life to my world but very intriguing. In over 50 years of life I met many people from different walks of life from gangsters and members of the royal family. Life never boring 😃😃
You mentioned Charles Bronsons art. He did an album cover for the Edinburgh punk band The Swellbellys. I did the next album cover for them. Apparently, Charlie like that me and my mate would help the band out.
The Krays came to mind as soon as I sore the Title. I seem to remember a couple of Jack Russell's being called Ronnie and Reggy 😂. if you've not seen it can I recommend you watch the Film the called The Krays. you will see how scary they were.
Dave Courtney lives just up the road from me. He's not on the list but he was on tv a lot in the 1990's as the go to celeb cockney gangster and has links to the Krays. His house is very 'interesting' he has a life sized soldier with a gun looking over his front wall and I think he's called the house Camelot Castle.
Where I live in Birmingham we had a guy called Eddie fewtrell who ran many clubs around the city around the time of the krays they tried to muscle in his club business he wrote a book about it the accidental gangster mad frankie frasier was a mad axe man for the richardsons great content again amanda
I'm from Birmingham, known a few dodgy characters in my time who claimed to be mates with the Fewtrell's and told stories of them running the Kray's out of Brum.
Turf wars between ice cream sellers is surprisingly common and often violent. Italian family feuds and even distant gangster/mafia links. I'm not even kidding!
Great video, Amanda. I think you'll find that brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for dead,which is appropriate, really. I wouldn't want to be on any of there bad sides. Especially mad frankie(my friend knew him).
Small mistake on the beginning ( Gangsters not ,,gansters,,), but overall pretty good list. Apart from Krays, Bronson and Richardsons I heard only about Frankie Fraser. Still I like movies and books about crime so I liked this video
Lenny is the most scary imo. At his peak before age caught up as it does and the general physique starts to take a hit. Lenny was a monster even the size of those hands alone said don't mess! Roy Shaw should be on here as well in the list.
The Richardson’s were my favourites. There’s a program fronted by Fred Dineage where. He interviews Charlie Richardson when he was old and probably shortly before his death. Fred Dineage questions him about his criminality and all Charlie says is Nah I was just a businessman. Hilarious response.
I'm curious, Amanda, is Bronson one of your "favourites" (or "favorites") because he was played by Tom Hardy who you say here you have a "bit of a crush" on? 😊Any chance you could do a video about American gangsters? I find that period of US history with the gangsters, prohibition, speakeasies, and bootlegging absolutely fascinating.
@@AMANDARAEUK Me too, ...I think it's fascinating because these people are so far removed from any person I have ever known or (as far as I know) met. I really wouldn't have wanted to meet any of them though.
Hey Amanda legend is fantastic film on kray twins if you haven't seen first kray film give it a look Called the krays with Martin Kemp and Gary Kemp playing brothers
@@AMANDARAEUK seconded or should that be thirded....???...yep a quiet life has many pluses....been busy of late with supplies for overseas....for people not having a quiet life...
There were two brothers in the Highbury area of North London known as the Dum Dum brothers who were reputedly enforcers for the Kray twins They shot up a Bus with a shotgun.
@Amanda - you ought to watch the three Guy Ritchie movies from the end of the nineties, beginning of the 00s. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Snatch (2000. and also Brad Pitt's best movie!), and RocknRolla (2008) - all classics. His recent movie The Gentlemen (2019) isn't bad, but doesn't reach the level of the three above.
I had the pleasure of meeting Frankie Fraser at a book signing he did many years ago. He was a very good storyteller and friendly but even in his later years I still wouldn't have liked to mess with him .
Van Carter said. “He was charming, intelligent, loyal to his friends and as feared as he was respected.” Mr. Foreman's journey from “Brown Bread Fred,” (“brown bread” is Cockney rhyming slang for “dead”), to retired pensioner has been variously marked by hardship, opulence, menace and a canny instinct for survival
Ive had dealings with a daughter of a former member of the Krays gang, publicly they loved the Krays (even to this day) however he hated them both, neither (Krays) would admit to making errors and when he was called for a meeting with them he didnt know if he was going to survive.
My dad was a senior Area manager for Whitbread pubs in London in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also responsible for arranging building works for Whitbreads. So he came into a fair bit of contact with both the Krays and The Richardsons, and kept his head down with both. He was also friends with Ruth Ellis (last woman in the UK to be hanged), and he knew (and intensely disliked) John Reginald Christie - one of the biggest serial killers in British history. Whenever he visited a certain pub in Notting Hill, Christie would be leaning on the bar and would say, loudly "I expect 'Brewery Man will be buying me a pint".
@@stu-j they had their fingers in many, many pies, so an awful lot of people would have found themselves in their orbit, but very few of them would have called them friends.
Not really gangsters as such, but my two favourites are Ronnie Biggs and Howard Marks. The latter's autobiography "Mr Nice" is very good. I dare say he probably embroidered the truth here and there, but I'm sure the bulk of it is true. Or try out their interviews.
A lot of Italian prisoners of war were sent to Scotland - the place is infested with their grandchildren now - usually running fish and chip shops, down-market cafes, ice-cream vans - and they're very 'family oriented' - just like the Mafia.
@@AMANDARAEUK i kept thinking u looked familiar then it dawned on me..u look like a young Maggie Gyllenhaal haha i’d be very surprised if u hadn’t heard that before either ❤️
Amanda Rae, something different away from fools and horses,,,,, check out Michael Crawford, Roller Skate scene! You will love it! From 70's comedy series " some mothers do 'av 'em. Michael Crawfor went on to Broadway as the phantom in phantom of the opera. But to us Brits he is well established as a comic genius. He did his own stunt here with the roller skates. No Stunt men at all! It's all him!
Hi Amanda, you are right that Bronson sold artwork so he could send his mum on holiday. The artwork in question was done by Reggie Kray (not Bronson). Think there more likely a need for psychiatric support than prison, though I doubt the former would change anything
A friend of mine was in HMP Sutton, that was a transit prison for Bronson, before being ghosted to another prison, the story goes that the whole wing got wind he was there and goaded him to smash up his cell, which he did, apparently it looked like a bomb had hit the cell.
Charles Bronson has charged his name to Charles Salvador after Sslvador Dali one of his favourite painters and has set up a foundation "the Charles Salvador foundation" to help younger people who haven't got the chance
Laughed at you describing Mad Frankie Fraser as "a bit of a nutter". Understatement of the century 🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣lol
That numpty Dave Courtney loved giving Mad Frank an earful, despite Frank being well into his 70s by then. Frank then got shot, at close range, in the flipping head (supposedly by 1 of the Adams lot) whilst he was in his 70s and he survived. Go on then Dave - Frank is not what he says he is? Is that right?
"Brown bread" is rhyming slang for "dead". The film, "Legend" was a whitewash of the Krays. Reggie's wife had a breakdown after she discovered he was as queer as his brother. The attempt to excuse the murder of Jack McVitie was atrocious. He was killed for no other reason than Ronnie wanted Reg to kill someone, anyone. "I done mine. You do yours", is what he was reported to have told Reg.
yeah to say "he's brown bread - or he's toast meens he's dead
What robert says is accurate, a lot of films and documentaries are really glorification films, sure legend was a good film, but it wasn't accurate.
Didn't the twins come up to Manchester and go home rather quickly?
@@COIcultist I remember they claimed to have sorted out Manc rivals but they never tried going back there.
@@COIcultist QSG sent the twins packing, different game without the firm on hand for backup. Not that they couldn't do damage. But let's not fall into the trap of glamourising any of them, most of them are dead or in prison. The best gangsters have a short run and that's it.
John McVicar is an interesting one to look into. He was a career criminal and took part in armed robberies. At one time he was dubbed "public enemy number 1" by Scotland Yard. He also escaped from prison several times. Eventually, he gave all that up and became a writer. There is a great film with Roger Daltrey playing McVicar (the film is simply called "McVicar") and also a self-penned book about his life - called "McVicar by himself" - I would recommend both of these if this is a subject that interests you.
I have actually met McVicar when we appeared on a television programme together, me the former copper and him the legendary hard man, I was surprised at how small he was.
@@nickgov66 👍 That is interesting, Nick, can you recall which programme it was as I am pretty sure that I saw him on TV once or twice...perhaps reviewing his book.
@@kevinfroude8679 It was several years ago but, as I recall, it was a Sunday afternoon discussion programme, chaired by a Dimbleby, I can't remember which one.
I always remember that film.
"You can't win McVicar!"
"No, but I'll be the best fucking second you've ever seen!".
What about Jimmy Boyle,Tam Mcgraw,Raoul Moat (not sure if I spelt his name correctly,don't really care to be honest)Dale Cregan,Christie 10 Rillington Place,Hindley and Brady(scum) they are.
This video was so amazing keep up the good work love you
Thanks so much!
Always look forward to your vids Amanda l . absolutel y adorable lady with great uploads 👍
Thank you 😊
As ever, a great Video Amanda ❤️ 🇬🇧🇺🇸❤️
Thank you!
What about the downing street mob into money laundering etc.
Great video Amanda.
Thank you!
Another interesting fact, the Kray twins were the last ever prisoners to be imprisoned at The Tower of London. And
Mad Frankie Fraser in later life earned wedge by giving tours around London's underworld scene. The Richardson's had a "business" in Camberwell South London. Both them and the Krays kept their respective area free of scum, no mugging or house breaking, if you did and got caught your knee caps would meet a hammer. Then you learned to behave.
I bet a lot of people felt safe living in their neighbourhoods then
Great reaction video Amanda. I've always been interested in the Krays and so has my sister. I have Reggie Kray's autograph and my sister has Ronnie's. Also in my weird collection I have a prison issued stab vest, which belonged to Frankie Frazer which he signed.
That’s brilliant! I’d love that
Thats pretty cool gangster memorabilia is very collectable haven't been able to get my hands on items from the krays but I knew of an auction a couple of years ago that had letters from both of them had some of their suits classes that belonged to ronnie all soughts
Really enjoyed that reaction video, thank you. The Kray Twins, they were the ones who stopped the American Mafia getting into London. I've also visited several of the locations connected to The Krays including the cafe which is seen in the film 'Legend'. The cafe is named E Pellicci and they do have a photo from the film above the table that is used in the film.
Ah that’s brilliant, I’d love to do that
@@nickgov66 Same thing happened when they visited Newcastle, The "Geordie Mafia" sent them packing!
I went on one of those tours and was told that a real gangland punishment beating could happen as follows. The enforcer would walk into the victim's local pub - who would then realise what was about to happen. A large piece of plastic would be spread over the floor, the enforcer would ask someone to hold his jacket and watch and would then proceed to beat the victim to a pulp. The enforcer would then leave and, somehow, nobody saw it happen. Such a victim was very lucky. A salt bath, electrodes and scissors was the next stage. Somewhere in the process the victim died.
I thought the IRA stopped the Mafia??
@@nickgov66 also in coventry no names mentioned
There was a film I haven't seen in over 40 years made about a Glasgow gangster called Jimmy Boyle. I remember it as been a brilliant film and it appears somebody has uploaded it to UA-cam so I'll be watching that tonight. It's called A Sense Of Freedom.
Another who had a film made about him was John McVicar, played in the film by Roger Daltrey from The Who. Another film I haven't seen in decades but remember as brilliant.
I’ll check it out 😊
Definitely! Tom Hardy in 'Legend' was awesome in portraying both Ronnie and Reggie Kray. Excellent film! And you can eat in that cafe (from the clip where the twins were eating breakfast) - Pellici's in Bethnal Green. One of the best, if not the best Full English in London 😋
My new favorite channel, Amanda has a nice Aura about her ✌️
Thank you 😊
I lived 2 houses away from a former driver for the krays. He moved away from the business when they started getting serious. My dad was disabled & if he was working on his car this guy would come out with his overalls on & work on my dads car. He had a scar that went from above his eye down to his chin caused by a car crash trying to get away from the cops, but a genuinely nice guy.
I bet he had some stories to tell
Hello lady, hope you're well, how about the peaky blinders from Birmingham
My dad grew up in the Eastend and when he was in his late teens drank at a pub the Krays would visit. He said they were fine, never bothered anyone in there.
Jimmy Boyle, good film about him called A sense of freedom, brilliant, and we got to watch it at school !!! Bloody school lol
I was in The Blind Beggar pub the night George Cornell got shot. one of the Krays, who I knew(but not well enough to speak to) looked at me and said Leave! 30 seconds later I was on Whitechapel station waiting for my tube home. At 18 or 19 I was just a "little" scared (yeah right) I never went back to the East End for many years
sure
If you like Bronson you'd love Chopper
Freddie Foreman's son is a fairly well known actor & been in the films : Layer Cake, Nil by Mouth, Sleepy Hollow, Elizabeth & played Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist (2005) also appeared in Doctor Who .... another great video Amanda ... never heard of some of them
I found it really interesting
Jamie Foreman has acted in loads. He knew all the gangsters growing up.
Jamie Foreman was also in EastEnders
If you want to meet some, you could reach out to one or two and interview them. There are lots of videos with former American Mafia guys and other mobs on UA-cam so some would no doubt be up for it. Great video as always ;-)
That’d be great!
@@AMANDARAEUK Don't be silly.
luv the sound the knuckle dusters make lol
I was born in Camberwell and lived next door to the Richardson scrap metal yard where they used to do the torture trials. I'd play in their scrap yard as a kid in new church road.
Nice people
"Gawd blimey guvnor,me goldfish is brown bread " = dead in cockney rhyming slang🤣🤣👍 Great video.
Ahh that makes sense 🤣🤣🤣
great reaction amanda.
Thank you! 😊
Yeah, trust me Amanda, you really REALLY don't want to have met ANY of these psychopaths. A colleague of my Dad, a guy from Glasgow once told me a story of his as a very young man. He moved from Glasgow to London as a young man about 18. He said he was in a cafe, and one of the two guys at another table kept staring at him, and Archie, being a stroppy young Glaswegian, pulled the guy up for his staring and started really having a go at him. It was then that the other guy at the table, who had been quiet until then stepped straight up to Achie, almost nose to nose and told him, "Sonny you clearly have no idea who my brother REG and I are, and the only reason you are walking out of here is that you are a young lad, a tourist, and don't know how close to dying you are." So that is the story of how my Dad's mate Archie met the Kray twins.
Oh wow, I bet that was terrifying !
Was nothing to do with drugs
Hell of a story Paul. Obviously Ronnie had taken his medication that day !
My Dad gambled with them group of guys and some saliors which included my Dad,one of the Twins cheated and a big Australian salior chased him with a knife to which the barman said better get out of here before the heavies come
My family were friendly with James Crosbie he was biggest bank robber in Glasgow at one time,and he was in jail with them and they conned him getting him to forge bank bonds
And when he came out he got into his on firm in London worked with a ex Paratrooper was first guy to kill cops and went to hide in the woods
Don't believe the stories about the Krays they took liberties they survived shaking down stall owners and all the East end saliors knew it as well at the time they wouldn't survived these days a 14 year old would put a bullet in them
@@AMANDARAEUK Has anyone told you that every now and then you slip into a British accent ?
Never thought about it before but my favourite criminal has to be Howard Marks, otherwise known as 'Mr. Nice'. Rhys Ifans does a great portrayal of him in the movie of the same name.
I’ll have to look him up
Yeah Howard Marks was one of the "nicer" criminals because he mostly dealt with Cannabis smuggling, he died a few years ago from Cancer if I recall.
Always wondered if it was a deliberate use of his name that popped out of the crime prediction machine at the start of Minority Report
Brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for 'dead' As in "that man is brown bread" ie a dead man walking.
since you mentioned it i thought you mite find this linguistic tidbit interesting: "governor" was the common phrase used in the u.k. fer anybody in a position of authority until the american phrase "boss" got picked up from tv and movies and eventually became the more common term.
thank you so much for sharing that :) i really appreaciate it
Most of our famous gangsters were and are vicious monsters - often psychopaths - who gained their reputation from systematically terrorising people weaker than themselves. I would happily hang most of them myself. There are a few who were hard men who took on hard men and deserve respect - but not many. Through a combination of having lots of cash to spend, and having the right handshake, many of them were acceptable in the higher levels of society - but they bought their acceptability among the sort of people who were as immoral, parasitic and worthless as they were. The very occasional criminal who would have become a Prime Minister or a Field Marshal with better start in life should not blind anyone to how large and devoid of humanity the world of criminality is in some parts of the country. I suspect, despite also having the occasional star, American gangsters are pretty much the same: cheap, psychopathic hoodlums in expensive suits.
Absolutely agree Peter. 👍
ronnie kray got accepted into the elite by providing young boys for the gentry to abuse, not exactly a secret that one!
Well, if you go to the USA youd be talking of hanging almost 3 million people.
12% of the population are under ward of court.
Well, theres a reason why criminals are there.
There always is.
You never find wealthy people exhorting to extortion for £40.
And you,ll never find powerful people in jail for genocide
("Kill a man and the hang you. Kill a thousand and they call you King" )
They grew up in London during and after WW2, where kids had to give up the tires on their bikes and live on a starvation diet simply because Germany left an established economic system.
And despite all the dead fathers, uncles and brothers, no one was better off for it.
All those things which each family was required to give up (forks, knives, rubber, steel etc ) sat on a thrash heap until the 70s.
Never even used, and never intended to be.
It was simply to make the British people feel they sacrificing something (for nothing)
Its no accident that the "teenager" phenomena started in the US and Britain in the 50s, because of millions of orphaned children.
The USA has 25% of the globes prisoners.
Does that mean theres a massively disproportionate amount of "psychos" in America ?
Or is there something unbelievable screwed up with the system ?
I lived not far from Bestwood in Nottingham during the 90s and and the Gunn brothers seemed to leave anyone not in their world well enough alone, the estate they lived on had 0 crime even
@@anonymousone6075
That was also true of the P. IRA.
Ireland was drug free and Republican areas in N.I had the lowest crime rate in Europe
Infamy, infamy..... They've all got it in f' me...
"Carry on Cleo"!
Good afternoon Miss Rae. Once again we have our old friend - the cockney rhyming slang, with brown bread meaning dead. Perhaps a reflection of his erstwhile social skills ...
You should do a vlog on rhyming slang, I think you would enjoy it.
I plan to 😊
@@AMANDARAEUK Good move. There are many of them. Originally used in the east end of London so the police would not understand ! One I guess you should most certainly be aware of is septic, meaning American; coming from septic tank = yank. As usual though, you only actually use the first word. I do hope you are not offended, not sure of it's origins, probably early post war, but I am quite sure it is not intended to be derogatory.
Mr Blobby was a pretty scary character in the early 90's. The stuff of nightmares
Brown bred.....dead!
My dad had a 6 month sentence, while he was awaiting trial, he saw Richardson, even if you didn't know who he was, he had that aura you wouldn't want to mess with or be disrespectful to.
I bet!
Good evening Amanda 😀 great video YES Tom Hardy in Bronson & Legend outstanding performances in both, but I heard when he done CBBC bed time story more mum's watched it than kid's, part of me hope's that's true 😀😉
Lol I can believe that 🤣🤣
Great video as always ladyrae 🙂
Thank you! Hope you’re having a lovely weekend
@@AMANDARAEUK its been good thanks 🙂
You had the krays from the east end and the Richardsons from south London in the 60s
Hi Amanda. About 10 years ago I was visiting friends in London and they took me to the blind beggar pub. It was a strange feeling standing at the bar having a drink in one of the kray sites. Bullet holes were still to be found but I think they had been plastered over when I was there
I’d love to visit there sometime
@@AMANDARAEUK It's actually a really decent pub tbf. They do an amazing sunday roast!
I first met the Krays on a visit to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels, where they were prisoners, even though i hadnt been born at the time. The Krays had dug through from their cell to the jewel room, emerging just as the guard was coming back from a toilet break. Luckily I managed to distract him long enough for the twins to make good their escape. That night they visited me in my dreams to thank me, and we remained good friends after that.
Subsequently I was present at most of the salient Kray events and beatings as a child, I think they looked on me as a Son. I still have Jack Mcvities hat from the night Reggie done him. Anyway my mum put a stop to it all, by telling me I had to go to school, then the Kray's. Anyway it wasn't all wasted, I now make a very nice living dipping bins and selling genuine copies of Jack's hat for tourists.
True story.
@@ghostdancer444 Whatever your day job is...stick with it. That was just cringe.
Freddie Forman's son Jamie Foreman played Bill Sykes in the movie Oliver Twist and he was in the TV soap EastEnders
Brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for dead.good vid amanda .charles salvador is my fav .gangster .read his book a littke while back 😘😘
I’ll check him out! Thank you 😊
@@AMANDARAEUK that is bronson he has changed his name 👍👍
Look into the Gunn brother...or the Gunnies very interesting also a book called the Hoods
Amanda, brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for dead (since, bread and dead rhyme), i.e. he's brown bread. It's also been refined slightly and now the term 'hovis' or hovis'd is also used, since hovis is a very well known UK brand of brown bread!
You should definitely watch the krays movie from the 90's starring the Kemp brothers ❤️
Great film but Legend is more accurate
I’ll check it out 😊
Brown Bread is cockney rhyming slang for Dead. Pretty cool nickname really.
Wasn't "Brown Bread" cockney rhyming slang for "dead" as in you'll end up dead if you cross him? It's probably been answered loads by this point.
WHAT? No Ronnie Pickering? You HAVE to be kidding me !
who?
@@monkee1969 Exactly !!!
@@ramadaxl I was confused who Ronnie Pickering was?, but have just watched the ronnie pickering vid for the first time.....I am fucking crying!!! hahahaha, thanks for the laugh :-)
@@monkee1969 RONNIE PICKERING !!!!!!
@@volvos70t51 So was Ronnie Pickering !
Brown Bread = Cockney rhyming slang for “Dead” . PS watch every Sunday night keep it coming
Thanks so much! 😊
My mother knew the Kray twins as she grew up in the same area as them, she told me the story that an old ladies house in the area had been burgled, the Kray twins heard about it and within a week everything had been returned along with a ten shilling note for the inconvenience.
Cos they friggin did it. 😁
@@weementaldavy5987 Even the best organised industries make criminal mistakes and refuse to admit guilt or make reparations. It was tough living as a poor person but the gangs protected residents of their 'parish'. There was "Honour amongst thieves". This was a reciprocal agreement. Anyone assisted by the mob knew that they were honor bound to render them every assistance. Ten bob in 1920 was a weeks wages!
Steve "The Devil" French from Liverpool, AKA The Taxman was a nasty piece of work, I think he has reformed since.
I’ll check him out 👍🏻
theres quite a few documentaries on the tax man
I thought that the "taxman" was Brian Cockerill?
@@volvos70t51 It's a common nickname given the fact one of their main rackets is extortion.
@@volvos70t51 brian cockrill is one but theres others taxman is just a tearm
Tom Hardy also plays the awesome Alfie Solomons in the Peaky Blinders, based on an other gang from Birmingham,
Alfie Solomons is a fictional character played by Tom Hardy in the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders.
He is the leader of a Jewish gang based in Camden Town and was introduced in Series 2.
The character has had massive cultural impact and has received critical acclaim.
😎👍🏼
Sounds brilliant!
Alfie Solomon, Billy kimber and sabini existed. There was a program on the bbc about the real peaky blinders last night. Will still be on iPlayer. 2 one hour episodes, well worth a look, if you enjoy the drama series.
Alfie Soloman was most certainly a real character. Nothing fictional about him.
Have you seen the krays movie with the Kemp brothers playing the part of reg n Ron 👍🏻
I haven’t but I’ll check it oit
They used to be in the band Spandau ballet 👍🏻but they play a great part I like it better than the Tom Hardy version although they both good
20 years ago I use drink in an old now extinct bar in W11 and use have a drink with one of Richardson henchmen occasionally and he told me about the feud he would have with the krays brothers. A very violent world but fascinating tales. Completely different world and life to my world but very intriguing. In over 50 years of life I met many people from different walks of life from gangsters and members of the royal family. Life never boring 😃😃
You mentioned Charles Bronsons art. He did an album cover for the Edinburgh punk band The Swellbellys. I did the next album cover for them. Apparently, Charlie like that me and my mate would help the band out.
That’s cool 👍🏻👍🏻
The Krays came to mind as soon as I sore the Title. I seem to remember a couple of Jack Russell's being called Ronnie and Reggy 😂. if you've not seen it can I recommend you watch the Film the called The Krays. you will see how scary they were.
Dave Courtney lives just up the road from me.
He's not on the list but he was on tv a lot in the 1990's as the go to celeb cockney gangster and has links to the Krays.
His house is very 'interesting' he has a life sized soldier with a gun looking over his front wall and I think he's called the house Camelot Castle.
Where I live in Birmingham we had a guy called Eddie fewtrell who ran many clubs around the city around the time of the krays they tried to muscle in his club business he wrote a book about it the accidental gangster mad frankie frasier was a mad axe man for the richardsons great content again amanda
Thank you! I’ll check it out
I'm from Birmingham, known a few dodgy characters in my time who claimed to be mates with the Fewtrell's and told stories of them running the Kray's out of Brum.
@paul hanson a friend of mine was a manager at Edwards number 8 mid 80's he met Eddie a few times but he just said he was a nice bloke
Ice cream wars were brutal, lots of people went missing and still haven't been found!
That’s crazy!
Turf wars between ice cream sellers is surprisingly common and often violent. Italian family feuds and even distant gangster/mafia links. I'm not even kidding!
Great video, Amanda. I think you'll find that brown bread is cockney rhyming slang for dead,which is appropriate, really. I wouldn't want to be on any of there bad sides. Especially mad frankie(my friend knew him).
Ahh thank you!
@@AMANDARAEUK your welcome.
Lock stock two smoking barrels try that film
Small mistake on the beginning ( Gangsters not ,,gansters,,), but overall pretty good list. Apart from Krays, Bronson and Richardsons I heard only about Frankie Fraser. Still I like movies and books about crime so I liked this video
Roy shaw was the first governor good one too look up
React to rhod Gilbert, especially the duvet sketch.
😊👍🏻
I'd imagine the 'brown bread' Fred reference, could be the good old Cockney rhyming slang. Brown bread - dead.
Lenny is the most scary imo. At his peak before age caught up as it does and the general physique starts to take a hit. Lenny was a monster even the size of those hands alone said don't mess!
Roy Shaw should be on here as well in the list.
I don't think Amanda will ever forget that brown bread means dead after reading through the comments.😂
Hahaha I know 🙈🤣🤣
Hello Amanda Rae I have been watching The Peaky Blinders recently if you haven't seen this TV show it is worth a watch it currently has six seasons. 🙂
The Richardson’s were my favourites. There’s a program fronted by Fred Dineage where. He interviews Charlie Richardson when he was old and probably shortly before his death. Fred Dineage questions him about his criminality and all Charlie says is Nah I was just a businessman. Hilarious response.
Am I the only onewho likes the film 'the Krays' with Gary and Martin Kemp?
You’re not alone. It’s a great film.
Have a look at the ballad of Barry and Freda by Victoria Wood, it’s comic genius.
I'm curious, Amanda, is Bronson one of your "favourites" (or "favorites") because he was played by Tom Hardy who you say here you have a "bit of a crush" on? 😊Any chance you could do a video about American gangsters? I find that period of US history with the gangsters, prohibition, speakeasies, and bootlegging absolutely fascinating.
Lol maybe 🙈😂
I think that’s a great idea.. it’s a bit weird but I love reading and learning about it lol
@@AMANDARAEUK Me too, ...I think it's fascinating because these people are so far removed from any person I have ever known or (as far as I know) met. I really wouldn't have wanted to meet any of them though.
Hello Amanda some of these ive never heard of this was very interesting im glad i never met any of them they were crazy and violent
I find them interesting too!
Hey Amanda legend is fantastic film on kray twins if you haven't seen first kray film give it a look
Called the krays with Martin Kemp and Gary Kemp playing brothers
👍🏻I need to watch it
It's good film aswell. Incase you didn't know Martin Gary Kemp were in band Spandau ballet
YIKES!!! I am so pleased that I live a nice quite life.
Me too! Lol
@@AMANDARAEUK seconded or should that be thirded....???...yep a quiet life has many pluses....been busy of late with supplies for overseas....for people not having a quiet life...
Brown Bread is Rhyming slang for dead you also may here the slang shortened sometimes to just Brown.
Albert Reading is one to look out for aswell
Maybe check out Curtis Warren, he ended up as No1 on interpols most wanted
Hi Amanda read the book about the governor it's called I am what I look a hard Bastard
Thanks for the suggestion!
Legend is an amazing movie, and Hardy does a phenomenal job in it.
🙌🙌
The biggest Gangsters are currently sitting in the UK Government Cabinet
Always was.
Brown Bread is rhyming slang for "dead."
There were two brothers in the Highbury area of North London known as the Dum Dum brothers who were reputedly enforcers for the Kray twins They shot up a Bus with a shotgun.
@Amanda - you ought to watch the three Guy Ritchie movies from the end of the nineties, beginning of the 00s. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Snatch (2000. and also Brad Pitt's best movie!), and RocknRolla (2008) - all classics. His recent movie The Gentlemen (2019) isn't bad, but doesn't reach the level of the three above.
I’ll have to check them out, thanks 😊
@@AMANDARAEUK Real Gangster movies!
I had the pleasure of meeting Frankie Fraser at a book signing he did many years ago. He was a very good storyteller and friendly but even in his later years I still wouldn't have liked to mess with him .
I wouldn’t either lol
Brown Bread is slang for Dead ...Foreman son is a well know English actor
Arthur Thompson is another. One of the very few people the Krays respected and feared in equal measure by most accounts.
Van Carter said. “He was charming, intelligent, loyal to his friends and as feared as he was respected.” Mr. Foreman's journey from “Brown Bread Fred,” (“brown bread” is Cockney rhyming slang for “dead”), to retired pensioner has been variously marked by hardship, opulence, menace and a canny instinct for survival
Ive had dealings with a daughter of a former member of the Krays gang, publicly they loved the Krays (even to this day) however he hated them both, neither (Krays) would admit to making errors and when he was called for a meeting with them he didnt know if he was going to survive.
The Quality Street Gang. If for no other reason than being the inspiration for Thin Lizzie's " the boys are back in town."
Will do! 😊
My dad was a senior Area manager for Whitbread pubs in London in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also responsible for arranging building works for Whitbreads. So he came into a fair bit of contact with both the Krays and The Richardsons, and kept his head down with both.
He was also friends with Ruth Ellis (last woman in the UK to be hanged), and he knew (and intensely disliked) John Reginald Christie - one of the biggest serial killers in British history.
Whenever he visited a certain pub in Notting Hill, Christie would be leaning on the bar and would say, loudly "I expect 'Brewery Man will be buying me a pint".
Didn’t happen
@@robs715 you have no possible basis to say this. So shove it - you're just yet another tedious troll.
@@robs715 every person ive ever met from London always have a story of knowing the Krays....they must have loads of friends lol 😆 😂 🤣
@@stu-j they had their fingers in many, many pies, so an awful lot of people would have found themselves in their orbit, but very few of them would have called them friends.
@@stu-j lol agreed. There’s so many people that are just full of shit 😂
Not really gangsters as such, but my two favourites are Ronnie Biggs and Howard Marks. The latter's autobiography "Mr Nice" is very good. I dare say he probably embroidered the truth here and there, but I'm sure the bulk of it is true. Or try out their interviews.
I’ll check it out 👍🏻
Carlton Leach. Watch his film Rise of the Foot Soldier.
Better still Bill Gardener , not a gangster just a proper hard bastard .
The Ice-Cream Vans make sense, I've never once seen one being pulled over by the police and he does turn up in winter while it's raining...
A lot of Italian prisoners of war were sent to Scotland - the place is infested with their grandchildren now - usually running fish and chip shops, down-market cafes, ice-cream vans - and they're very 'family oriented' - just like the Mafia.
@@geoffchalcraft9432 What? I've only been to Scottland as a kid! I've never heard of the Italian Fruit-Shop Owners there?
brown bread is rhyming slang for ‘dead’
Thank you!
@@AMANDARAEUK i kept thinking u looked familiar then it dawned on me..u look like a young Maggie Gyllenhaal haha
i’d be very surprised if u hadn’t heard that before either ❤️
Haha I have heard that a few times 😊
I'm related to the Krays..... Thankfully I'm pretty easy going :)
Amanda Rae, something different away from fools and horses,,,,, check out Michael Crawford, Roller Skate scene! You will love it! From 70's comedy series " some mothers do 'av 'em. Michael Crawfor went on to Broadway as the phantom in phantom of the opera. But to us Brits he is well established as a comic genius. He did his own stunt here with the roller skates. No Stunt men at all! It's all him!
I’ll check it out, thank you 😊
Hi Amanda, you are right that Bronson sold artwork so he could send his mum on holiday. The artwork in question was done by Reggie Kray (not Bronson). Think there more likely a need for psychiatric support than prison, though I doubt the former would change anything
Ah I didn’t know that, thank you 😊
A friend of mine was in HMP Sutton, that was a transit prison for Bronson, before being ghosted to another prison, the story goes that the whole wing got wind he was there and goaded him to smash up his cell, which he did, apparently it looked like a bomb had hit the cell.
Charles Bronson has charged his name to Charles Salvador after Sslvador Dali one of his favourite painters and has set up a foundation "the Charles Salvador foundation" to help younger people who haven't got the chance
Someone's already mentioned the meaning of brown bread. 'Brown bread' is pronounced "Brarn bread' in Cockney rhyming slang.
👍🏻👍🏻
Brown Bread - Cockney rhyming slang for "Dead"
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