Wide boys - you might 'ave a narsty eccident . . .

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Nobby-W

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So, there's a new Guy Ritchie film out, and I've had the bright idea of a London wide boy setting, sometime in the latter half of the 20th century - the Krays, dodgy geezers in Soho and the like. Source material that comes to mind includes:
  • Guy Ritchie films - The Gentlemen, Rockandrolla, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
  • Layer Cake
  • The Bank Job
  • Minder
  • Turtle's Progress
  • Some of the grittier cop shows of the era such as The Professionals or The Sweeney
  • Michael Caine films such as Get Carter
Bad faux-cockney accents mandatory, of course.

So, what's a good London wideboy film, show, book or whatever?
 
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Life on Mars, aside from the time travel bit, it pretty excellent on policing in the 70s.

Ninja'd by A Fiery Flying Roll Black Leaf I see!
 
Pretty much anything written by Irvine Welsh might be good too.
 
I think a bit of Only Fools could be inspiration too, obviously The Krays as well. There might have been a TV series as well the Kemp brothers if my memory serves me right (in the last 2-3 years?).
 
I think a bit of Only Fools could be inspiration too, obviously The Krays as well. There might have been a TV series as well the Kemp brothers if my memory serves me right (in the last 2-3 years?).
I liked the Tom Hardy one about the Krays too, Legend I think it's called. Yeah, that's it.
 
If you can, find the tv series of Lock, stock and...
Another recommendation was Johnny Vaughn's 'Orrible (which most people slated but I loved it.)
 
Personally, I thought this was the best British crime film of the last decade. Really gritty and authentic.





Edit: genuinely good flick. I've seen it broadcast subtitled from time to time.
 
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IMDB page for the same film.
 
Probably the best video game for this is The Getaway (or GTA London which is fun but primitive).
 
What is a wideboy?

I didn't know either so I did a Google search. Here is the first line in its wikipedia article: Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing. Full link: Wide boy

There's apparently also an electronic music duo called Wideboys.

 
A wide boy is a geezer, a proper man, he likes it a bit tasty, a bit of a scrap, necking a few 'n' getting rat arsed 'n' pulling birds, y'kno what I mean? Sorted me old mucker.
 
There's basically two related but different wideboy tropes.

There's the wheeler and dealer. Sheepskin coat, stolen car radios, always with some scheme to get rich. Think Only Fools and Horses. That side is relatively harmless.

Then you have the serious criminal wideboys; the Krays and that lot, who obviously very much aren't harmless.
 
There's basically two related but different wideboy tropes.

There's the wheeler and dealer. Sheepskin coat, stolen car radios, always with some scheme to get rich. Think Only Fools and Horses. That side is relatively harmless.

Then you have the serious criminal wideboys; the Krays and that lot, who obviously very much aren't harmless.
I think, relative to original usage, that the Krays would fall outside the notion of wide boy, the original usage being a wheeler and dealer sort who hovered around semi-legality. The term has probably grown and changed though, and probably (although I'm not sure) come to refer to a wider range of the English criminal underworld.
 
I think, relative to original usage, that the Krays would fall outside the notion of wide boy, the original usage being a wheeler and dealer sort who hovered around semi-legality. The term has probably grown and changed though, and probably (although I'm not sure) come to refer to a wider range of the English criminal underworld.
With the Krays it's linked to the whole "oh, but they loved their old ma and never did over their own" myth. Absolute bollocks, especially the latter, but I think it's where the whole criminal wideboys trope comes from. There's always been a segment of British society that loves that stuff; turnout for the Kray funerals was massive.
 
With the Krays it's linked to the whole "oh, but they loved their old ma and never did over their own" myth. Absolute bollocks, especially the latter, but I think it's where the whole criminal wideboys trope comes from. There's always been a segment of British society that loves that stuff; turnout for the Kray funerals was massive.
In a lot of ways American myths about the mafia aren't much different. Interesting.
 
Another classic wideboy song:



Bonus points for somehow getting a S&M reference onto Top of the Pops uncensored.

Checking out his stock in the lock-up
Arthur's havin' a fit
'Ere where's them magazines with the 'Erbets in the leather
And the bird with a whip
"Do What?" Says Terry "oo rattled your cage?"
"Ought to be ashamed, a man of your age"
 
Also, apropos of nothing in particular, I think the phrase might be 'haccident' rather than 'eccident', but whatevs.
 
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