According to Danny, legendary McLean, who died of lung cancer in 1998, faced more drama earlier in the night when his rival Barry Dalton supposedly pulled a gun on him. With unique access to ‘faces’ who have never spoken in front of cameras before, author and former member of the Essex Boys firm Bernard O’Mahoney takes us on a journey through crime culture that gained notoriety in the 60s and brings it right up to date with gripping and emotional tales of a modern day British gangland. Another added:” I think you can safely remove Mickey Rourke from any band of hard men, he’s all Hollywood. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Billy ‘The Bomb’ Williams was a notorious heavyweight brawler, who was once trained by Muhammad Ali’s mentor Angelo Dundee.

Things turned nasty when a drunk reveller from the crowd grabbed the shorts of a fallen fighter in the ring to prevent him getting back up. Many episodes concentrate on cities around the UK: London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham. Behind upscale streets and tranquil parks, some of Britain's most ruthless gangsters keep police, judges and politicians busy protecting the public. Bill dragged this young man out, but unbeknown to anyone, ‘The Bomb’ set about this chap and gave him a proper hiding.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. In his book Wild Cats, he claimed the hooligans rocked up at Woodford Football Club after an ICF member was supposedly battered unconscious in the audience. When McLean walked into the dressing room, Barry went straight to his kit bag and pulled out a ‘38’ revolver.

His lavish funeral was emblematic of the Cockney culture that is being displaced by mass immigration. Roy Shaw, McLean, Williams, Carrington, Mickey Rourke and all the actors ran like scared rabbits to the club house, Woody’s, and locked themselves safely away.Our online collections hold information on over 800,000 film titles – including television programmes, documentaries, newsreels, as well as educational and training films. But, according to ex-East End mobster Danny Woollard, he met his match when West Ham's infamous Inter City Firm (ICF) stormed a fight night he was headlining.

Published since September 1843 to take part in “a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. Explaining the carnage that unfolded, he wrote: “They all came, motor-loads of them, tooled up and looking for revenge.The likes of Gene Hackman, Mickey Rourke and Jaws actor Richard Kiel were all said to be in attendance. In fact I'm pretty sure they would have welcomed a set too with any firm and no doubt would have given them a hiding to boot. It shouldn't be used for commercial use which includes advertising, marketing, promotion, packaging, advertorials, and consumer or merchandising products. The series was broadcast on Discovery's Quest channel in the UK in April 2014 (S1) and July 2015 (S2).

In each episode, current and former gang members and active criminals are interviewed by presenter and former member of the Essex Boys gang, Bernard O'Mahoney. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. Rich in colourful characters and chaotic, often violent events, the book charts robberies, dog-fights, rape, furious vendettas and the frequent brutalities of prison life. Wildcats" is the story of those untameable and unstoppable men, the hardened East End villains who are society's true 'wildcats', and whose exploits are the stuff of fiction rather than fact.If they could have got hold of Billy Williams they would have killed him – quite deservedly, I thought, as he had taken a terrible liberty. Towering bareknuckle boxer Lenny McLean gained his reputation as the "hardest man in Britain" from having thousands of underground fights, as well as rubbing shoulders with the criminal underworld.