What Moz/Smiths songs have mentioned "hooligans" "gangsters" "criminals" or been about them?

The First of The Gang to Die

"Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand
And the first to do time
The first of the gang to die
Oh my"
 
Suffer
Little
Children

"Hindley wakes and Hindley says:
whatever he has done, I have done."

> please 1 song each so everyone can play!

>
 
I'd say “Nobody Loves Us” falls into this category.

By the way, Belligerent Ghoul, I’d just like to say what a fine contribution you make to this board. I’ve noticed recently that, when a “newbie” posts a question, more often than not you're the first to respond, usually within minutes of the original post.

It’s thoughtful of you to make sure that they know they’re appreciated. What’s more, your enthusiasm often leads to responses and questions from others new to the board.

Keep it up!
 
Shoplifters of The World Unite...

and takeover
shoplifters of the world
hand it over
hand it over
hand it over

> please 1 song each so everyone can play!

>
 
> I'd say “Nobody Loves Us” falls into this category.

> By the way, Belligerent Ghoul, I’d just like to say what a fine
> contribution you make to this board. I’ve noticed recently that, when a
> “newbie” posts a question, more often than not you're the first to
> respond, usually within minutes of the original post.

> It’s thoughtful of you to make sure that they know they’re appreciated.
> What’s more, your enthusiasm often leads to responses and questions from
> others new to the board.

> Keep it up!

He responds quickly because he is actually the person who posted the original question, under a different name although I'm sure he would deny it. And of the 4 responses so far, 3 are likely from him.

Whatever, it's all been done before.
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

Patrick.. Talking of hooligans. I've been listening, inspired by this board, to my Ruts album in the car over the last 200 miles.. and have to ask.. did you ever see them, and did you ever meet Malcolm Owen? On this album, there's a live version of Human Punk where he goes in the crowd... and gets them to sing/bark into the Microphone.. I'm thinking.. was that Pat! Anyway, Owen, swears like a soldier and sounds pretty hard.. was he a sweet,tender hooligan at heart? tattooed crossbones on his arm?
Ruffian
 
Re: Rusholme Ruffians (of course... a complete scally song!)
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

> Patrick.. Talking of hooligans. I've been listening, inspired by this
> board, to my Ruts album in the car over the last 200 miles.. and have to
> ask.. did you ever see them, and did you ever meet Malcolm Owen? On this
> album, there's a live version of Human Punk where he goes in the crowd...
> and gets them to sing/bark into the Microphone.. I'm thinking.. was that
> Pat! Anyway, Owen, swears like a soldier and sounds pretty hard.. was he a
> sweet,tender hooligan at heart? tattooed crossbones on his arm?
> Ruffian

Human Punk was the last track on the Ruts one and only studio album 'The Crack' and it is taken from The Marquee. In a nutshell this is my favourite album along with 'The Queen Is Dead'.

Naturally being born in 1976 I never saw The Ruts live, but I have got a compilation video of all The Ruts tv performences and stuff, this includes two live gigs which were shown on French and Belgian TV. Malcolm is an absolute livewire on stage, he tries to play Foxy's guitar to no avail and actually punches one of Dave Ruffys symbols. This was not uncommen for Malcolm, at another gig he headbutts one of Daves symbols, and blood gushes out everywhere leading to him collapsing and having to go to the nearest hospital. Definately right up there with Strummer as one of punks best frontmen, however he wasn't some one dimensional rock 'n roll nut, for a start Malcolm was right at the centre of the political edge of the band, coming from a culturally mixed area like Southall, songs like Jah War and Rude Boys were influenced by race riots and racists causing trouble at Ruts gigs, somehow I doubt Sham 69 could speak out against punks right wing following with a song like Staring At The Rude Boys. They certainly weren't a bunch of yobs like Cockney Rejcts 'Always Fighting In The Steets' blah blah, Ruts along with The Clash were more sussed than any anyone else.

Another thing on this video I've got is an interview with the band after Malcolms death, which to be honest is difficult to watch, its very close to the bone, but it does focus on the reasons Malcolm went back to heroin after he'd cleaned up a few years before and the difficulty of combining being in a band and trying to maintain your relationships with your wife and friends, he'd gone back to Heroin to fill the void after his home life had fallen apart.

He was a good fella, who f***ed up big time and paid the ultimate price.

Have you heard anything by Ruts DC, what do you think of them ? I thought they were great, but the dub thing on the second album was way, way ahead of its time, which in itself brings more cudos.
 
> He responds quickly because he is actually the person who posted the
> original question, under a different name although I'm sure he would deny
> it. And of the 4 responses so far, 3 are likely from him.

> Whatever, it's all been done before.

I think that's what Flopper was hinting at, David. He a subtle one, our Flopper.
 
> I think that's what Flopper was hinting at, David. He a subtle one, our
> Flopper.

Thanks, I'm a little slow sometimes!
 
The Last of the Famous International Playboys

Infamous English gangsters, Reggie & Ronnie Kray.
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

> Human Punk was the last track on the Ruts one and only studio album 'The
> Crack' and it is taken from The Marquee. In a nutshell this is my
> favourite album along with 'The Queen Is Dead'.

> Naturally being born in 1976 I never saw The Ruts live, but I have got a
> compilation video of all The Ruts tv performences and stuff, this includes
> The Steets' blah blah, Ruts along with The Clash were more sussed than any
> anyone else.

> Another thing on this video I've got is an interview with the band after
> Malcolms death, which to be honest is difficult to watch, its very close

> Have you heard anything by Ruts DC, what do you think of them ? I thought
> they were great, but the dub thing on the second album was way, way ahead
> of its time, which in itself brings more cudos.

What an intersting docummentary type write up Radar.. good work fella (as Loaded would say)

Ruts DC never heard anything.. are they similar/as good as the Ruts then..
in your respected opinion?

Ruffian
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

> What an intersting docummentary type write up Radar.. good work fella (as
> Loaded would say)

> Ruts DC never heard anything.. are they similar/as good as the Ruts then..
> in your respected opinion?

> Ruffian

Its a bit difficult to compare them with the original line up, the first album 'Animal Now' has a strong jazz fusion type influence like the Ruts final single 'West One', so its fair to say this was the musical direction they were moving in anyway. This album has never been issued on CD so I'd imagine it's quite hard to find nowadays. The second album entitled 'Rythem Collision' is a pure heavy dub album mixed by Reggae mixmaster 'Mad Professor' who has been touring with Lee 'Scratch' Perry recently in the UK, and has since been further remixed by Zion Train. This album is really so far ahead of its time its quite laughable especially when you think of the dated electronic music being made by the school teachers and new romantics, in such a world Ruts DC never had a chance commercially. The second album is available on CD so you should be able to track that down without any difficulty. By the way they all chip in on the vocals, but its mainly the bass player Vince 'Segs' Jennings' who takes the lead. Without letting my enthusiasm get the better of me I'd give the first album 8/10, the second 7/10.
 
> I think that's what Flopper was hinting at, David. He a subtle one, our
> Flopper.

Subtle? I don't think I’ve been called that before. But I’m outraged at your suggestion. I know there are understandable reasons for your excessively cynical outlook on life, but we weren’t all brought up in Birmingham.

I am shocked, shocked to find that people post here using more than one name.




pic132281.jpg
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

> Patrick.. Talking of hooligans. I've been listening, inspired by this
> board, to my Ruts album in the car over the last 200 miles.. and have to
> ask.. did you ever see them, and did you ever meet Malcolm Owen? On this
> album, there's a live version of Human Punk where he goes in the crowd...
> and gets them to sing/bark into the Microphone.. I'm thinking.. was that
> Pat! Anyway, Owen, swears like a soldier and sounds pretty hard.. was he a
> sweet,tender hooligan at heart? tattooed crossbones on his arm?
> Ruffian

I saw The Ruts twice, Ruff. The first time they were supporting The Damned, but we already had 'In A Rut' and (I'm pretty sure) a taped Peel session by then. We were there mostly to see The Ruts as we'd seen The Damned a couple of times by then.
The unbounded energy and adrenalin coming from Malky matched that of any of us. And he was a few years older! I don't know how he did it.
I don't think any of the punk band members were genuine hard men, though I have a vague memory of one or two of the cockney rejects being regulars at an east-end boxing club. Not 100% sure about that though. There was JJB of course , but that was controlled martial-arts stuff. Which doesn't really count.
You need dedication for that, rather than inbuilt anything-goes street hardness.
Anyway, there was quite a lot of those established band/new band gigs at that time.
I've previously mentioned Buzzcocks/Joy Division and Stranglers/Skids. I was also at a triple bill of Elvis Costello/ Richard Hell/ John Cooper Clarke. And there was Siouxsie/Cure.
And , erm...some others. Oh alright then...The Cramps!!! with the ,......Police.
That's just between you and me, Ruff, so don't tell anyone.
 
Re:Ruts. (no moz)

> Human Punk was the last track on the Ruts one and only studio album 'The
> Crack' and it is taken from The Marquee. In a nutshell this is my
> favourite album along with 'The Queen Is Dead'.

> Naturally being born in 1976 I never saw The Ruts live, but I have got a
> compilation video of all The Ruts tv performences and stuff, this includes
> two live gigs which were shown on French and Belgian TV. Malcolm is an
> absolute livewire on stage, he tries to play Foxy's guitar to no avail and
> actually punches one of Dave Ruffys symbols. This was not uncommen for
> Malcolm, at another gig he headbutts one of Daves symbols, and blood
> gushes out everywhere leading to him collapsing and having to go to the
> nearest hospital. Definately right up there with Strummer as one of punks
> best frontmen, however he wasn't some one dimensional rock 'n roll nut,
> for a start Malcolm was right at the centre of the political edge of the
> band, coming from a culturally mixed area like Southall, songs like Jah
> War and Rude Boys were influenced by race riots and racists causing
> trouble at Ruts gigs, somehow I doubt Sham 69 could speak out against
> punks right wing following with a song like Staring At The Rude Boys. They
> certainly weren't a bunch of yobs like Cockney Rejcts 'Always Fighting In
> The Steets' blah blah, Ruts along with The Clash were more sussed than any
> anyone else.

> Another thing on this video I've got is an interview with the band after
> Malcolms death, which to be honest is difficult to watch, its very close
> to the bone, but it does focus on the reasons Malcolm went back to heroin
> after he'd cleaned up a few years before and the difficulty of combining
> being in a band and trying to maintain your relationships with your wife
> and friends, he'd gone back to Heroin to fill the void after his home life
> had fallen apart.

> He was a good fella, who f***ed up big time and paid the ultimate price.

> Have you heard anything by Ruts DC, what do you think of them ? I thought
> they were great, but the dub thing on the second album was way, way ahead
> of its time, which in itself brings more cudos.

Ah, young O'Reilly. Oh so wise with all the facts and records and books and videos and search engines at your fingertips there in your bedroom. With your best pal, Mr.Hindsight. (don't get too attached to him - he's EVERYONE'S best pal).
Sham 69 and The Cockney Rejects never offered themselves up as poets or lyrical geniuses. Their songs are straightforward and could even be described as naive and idealist. "Angels With Dirty Faces" "If The Kids Are United" "I'm Not A Fool" to mention only three, won't win any songwriting prizes. We all know that.
What you won't be aware of though, despite all your research equipment, is that we knew it even then.
But they were honest and simply wanted to have their say. In the punk era, that was what mattered most.
We were in our late teens/early twenties. Unlike the half-dead youth of today slouching and moping around listening to their favourite bands playing ballads (BALLADS!!), we were alive!! And, like Sham and The Rejects, we were shouty, boisterous and energetic.

What Sham 69 and The Rejects DIDN'T do, however, was write complete and utter senseless gibberish. Like the kind of stuff we were subjected to pre-punk. And THAT'S where you're letting yourself down with your too-quick-to criticise approach.

Do more research and try to discover what was out there pre-punk. As a quick reference, you could listen to 'cosmic dancer'. That's just one piece of nonsense among hundreds, by dozens of bands. It seemed as if it was never going to end.

THAT'S why we took Costello AND Sham. Why we took The Jam AND The Rejects. It's also why I have 'Radio Radio' (arguably the finest song ever written) on a tape , immediately followed by 'I'm Not A Fool', which is straightforward and honest and blows you away. Both, therefore, played a part in punk.

It's also why, when one of the forks veered off down towards full-scale Oi, only a few numbnuts followed. The vast majority of us didn't.
Sadly, you'll never know the rush of a Ruts gig or a Sham gig. And even more sadly, nobody's articulate enough to make you feel what those times were really like.
When all is said and done, you really did have to be there.
 
"play it again Sam"

Casablanca, starring Bogart & Bergman.

Photo by Flopper: The villain: Claude Rains as Capt. Louis Renault.

______

Biography Movie Encyclopedia:

He made a startling screen debut, given top billing in a highly touted Hollywood production helmed by a prestigious director ... yet he didn't appear on-screen until just a few seconds before the final fade-out. The film was James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933), and Rains spent most of its footage either with his face swathed in surgical bandages or as a disembodied voice hurling invective at various cast members. A stage actor since his childhood in Britain, Rains first came to the United States in 1914, and from the mid 1920s on worked in New York Theatre Guild productions. Short and not particularly handsome, Rains nonetheless had a charismatic stage presence and a distinctive voice (the most important qualification for his Invisible Man role).

Universal tried to make Rains another Karloff by starring him in two melodramas, The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935). But Rains drifted into character roles instead, which afforded him more interesting opportunities. His all-time worst performance came in 1939's They Made Me a Criminal which miscast him as a Dick Tracy-like detective; interestingly enough, a memo printed in the 1980s revealed that Rains begged Warner Bros. not to make him play the part! By the 1940s he had joined the rarefied league of secondary actors who were virtually stars themselves. He earned four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor: as the corrupt Senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), the delightfully dapper, amoral police captain in Casablanca (1942), the faithful stockbroker husband of Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944, actually a costarring part), and Ingrid Bergman's self-centered husband and Nazi spy in Notorious (1946, directed by Alfred Hitchcock).

The Rains gallery includes many other fine character portraits as well, such as Napoleon in Hearts Divided (1936), a self-serving Southern lawyer in They Won't Forget (1937), the treacherous Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Napoleon III in Juarez (1939), a peripatetic pater in Four Daughters (1938) and its sequels Daughters Courageous (1939) and Four Mothers (1941), a Heavenly administrator in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941, in the title role), a small-town doctor in Kings Row (1942), Bette Davis' understanding psychiatrist in Now, Voyager (1942), a murderous musician in Phantom of the Opera (1943, the title role), Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra (1946), the intrepid Professor Challenger in The Lost World (1960), and King Herod the Great in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). In his best screen roles, Rains fairly bristled with sardonic malevolence. He was as distinctive in his final films as he was in his first. See his delicious performance as a diplomat, with eyebrows perpetually raised, in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
 
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