Biker gangs / "patch clubs"

[JWH]

Hi

I was at an airport a couple of weeks ago and I saw the first biker gang I have ever seen in the UK. They were Outlaws (I think). I had always thought that biker gangs (as opposed to scooter "gangs" of kids) were pretty marginal in the UK but Pingu says he used to ride with a patch club.

Do biker gang bars exist in London? (I don't intend to visit). How come you never see anyone with patches, then?

 

[tobyjug]

How come you never see anyone with patches, then?

I see hundreds of the ********* every year. A load turned up uninvited and unannounced at the last rally I went to. The woman on the gate told them buy tickets for the rally or fuck off, they fucked off.

 

[DaveCinzano]

tobyjug & chums on their way to a meet

 

[tobyjug]

tobyjug & chums on their way to a meet

That is sometimes a lot closer to reality than you think.

 

[Psychonaut]

There is an official angels chapter in Windsor i think. I think it started as an unofficial rip-off, but some nastiness (gunfighting?) inevitably followed. Its apparantly nothing like the mafia-esque cartel in Canada/USA, more like a (gasp!) motorcycle club

 

[tobyjug]

There is an official angels chapter in Windsor i think. I think it started as an unofficial rip-off, but some nastiness (gunfighting?) inevitably followed. Its apparantly nothing like the mafia-esque cartel in Canada/USA, more like a (gasp!) motorcycle club

Jesus H Christ, the Windsor Chapter had an argument amongst themselves what must be about 40 years ago. When the shooting had stopped the survivor got jailed for murder.
My Brother-in-Law was a member of the notorious Tin Cans at the time.
The current Windsor ones are the rip off.

 

[cyberfairy]

i know a few hells angels and happily go to bulldog bash every year, feeling completely safe and secure. It's other smaller patch club meets i've been to when I've seen fights,think they're trying to prove themselves....

 

[Pingu]

aye if you want to see many patch clubs go to the bulldog.


there are many UK patch clubs, most are just groupls of people in a bike club rather than the "traditional" image of a patch club

Outlaws, angels, and other MCs have the more familiar air to them but there are many MCCs too.

By us we have a chapter of outlaws and at least 7 or 8 MCCs that I am aware of.

Maz, who used to "run" the UK angels chapter (may still do but I am not up to date) used to spend a lot of time doing cahridy stuff in order to raise the imoage of the UK angels. There is however and always has been a more, shall we say, traditional element to the MC scene too.

A bike club near here (That I used to hang out with occaiaionally - never bothererd prospecting though as I was already a memeber of another club) was disbanded by the local outlaws when they became a bit to o"hollywood" and satrting thinking that they were in some sort of biker film. aparantly the outlaws thought they were giving bikers a bad name and forced them to disband and took their colours.


so to get back on topic yes there are many patch clubs in the UK but most are just that clubs for people who like bikes.

 

[jeff_leigh]

i remember round the late seventies/early eighties there was a biker gang based predominatly down south called the Road Rats anyone remember them? there was some story about some swiss or swedish bikers riding through thier turf ended up getting thier patches confistcated, apparently they ended up complaining to the main Hell Angel chapter who had to go and mediate between the two gangs

 

[moose]

The Outlaws hang out in the Midlands, primarily, as do lots of the old bike gangs. There are a few Satan's Slaves (*snigger*) and Devil's Disciples (*cackle*) still mooching about in Manchester/Lancashire.

 

[jeff_leigh]

The Outlaws hang out in the Midlands, primarily, as do lots of the old bike gangs. There are a few Satan's Slaves (*snigger*) and Devil's Disciples (*cackle*) still mooching about in Manchester/Lancashire.

yeah i remember the Satan's Slaves and the Devil's Disciples when i was about 15 used to always hang around the fairgrounds, never seem to remember them having bikes though you remember the Blood 22 from chester i think?

 

[tobyjug]

never seem to remember them having bikes though

At one rally I went to this year the "president" of a Hells Angels club came on and off site in a taxi.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Plenty of outlaws in Brum, including the guy who does my tats.

 

[Spion]

Plenty of outlaws in Brum, including the guy who does my tats.

In Brum round the late 70s early 80s there were stacks of em - the 69ers, the United Bikers and the Cycle Tramps. I was on the fringes of the UBs but fortunately never got too mixed up, tho it seemed quite exciting at the time.

Up here in Bradford there still seem to be a few Santa's Slaves about. Saw a couple of em playing scrabble in my local recently

AFAIR re. Angels there was the Windsor, Wolverhampton and an All England chapter. Remember meeting a Wolvo one once and he was just a clean cut older guy with a Goldwing, tho he must've been heavier than his image conveyed

 

[Velouria]

There's a Satans Slaves chapter around Tayside.

They are not nice people.

 

[gawkrodger]

an outlaw used to live in the basement below us when i lived in stamford hill in london. he was a nice guy, and some of my housemates often bought weed off him at a decent price.

The wolverhampton hells angels have their club house at the top of my road. Each year they have a huge firework display at their clubhouse, and invite all the locals along. It's dope

 

[jeff_leigh]

In Brum round the late 70s early 80s there were stacks of em - the 69ers, the United Bikers and the Cycle Tramps. I was on the fringes of the UBs but fortunately never got too mixed up, tho it seemed quite exciting at the time.

do you remember the incident when the pres of the Cycle Tramps got shot dead by the Road Rats at some rally in the midlands?

 

[Spion]

do you remember the incident when the pres of the Cycle Tramps got shot dead by the Road Rats at some rally in the midlands?

Nope. When was that?

 

[Belushi]

Do biker gang bars exist in London? (I don't intend to visit).

The White Swan in Greenwich used to be years ago, used to drink with some of the Outlaws there, nice guys.

Bikers and Biker Pubs are usually pretty peacefull, though when it does kick off it tends to get very serious.

IME experience its mostly old men mowadays, dont think there are so many young blokes involved in the patch clubs, and its never been as violent in the UK as in the US/Canada or Scandinavia.

 

[Juice Terry]

i remember round the late seventies/early eighties there was a biker gang based predominatly down south called the Road Rats anyone remember them? there was some story about some swiss or swedish bikers riding through thier turf ended up getting thier patches confistcated, apparently they ended up complaining to the main Hell Angel chapter who had to go and mediate between the two gangs

I remember the Road Rats, used to see them a lot around Surrey/Hampshire at various biker pubs etc in the early 80's. I think there was always bad blood between them and the Angels.

I remember being at Stone Henge festival in 81 or 82 when some Hells Angels arrived and paraded around the camp site in a van all holding axes and sawn offs, basically sending out a message "We're here now, don't fuck with us".

 

[djbombscare]

Its all Satans Slaves down here in Devon too.

I used to know a couple of them and TBH they are pretty sound guys.
Dont get me wrong I'm glad I know em. I wouldn't wanna get on the wrongside of them EVER. TRhey

But from the people I have seen that have got on the wrong side of them they have been fair.

So much better quicker and efficient than the biggest and worst organised crime patch gang out there known as the police. With them your all guilty of something

 

[axomoxia]

Its all Satans Slaves down here in Devon too.

I used to know a couple of them and TBH they are pretty sound guys.
Dont get me wrong I'm glad I know em. I wouldn't wanna get on the wrongside of them EVER.

HA down here are pretty quiet (there club house is about a mile down the road from me). Almost too quiet - they were by some accounts told to be a bit more "visible" a few years ago. Nice enough bunch of people when the mood takes them, but again, I've no intention of pissing them off.

There seems to be a hierarchy of clubs - from MCC (side patch and front patch) to side and front patch MC - to full blown back patch to the HA at the top of the pile. AFAIK most HA members work there way up through the clubs, hence most of the HA tend be closer to bus passes than free school milk.

To be quite honest, I can see the whole patch club scene being gone in twenty or thirty years - most new bikers who join a club head towards one of the owners clubs rather than the traditional MCC, and I get an increasing sense of irritation with the whole strutting "respect my patch" attitude. In a way its sad to see the whole club scene slowly dying away - theres very little new blood coming in, even though the clubs try not be elitest. Most of the ones I know would be more than happy to welcome spotty herberts on ratty 125s.

As to other back patch clubs, the National Chopper Club are still going strong (and still building custom bikes), Ogri MCC are still Ogri MCC and still the great bunch of larger than life lunatics the've also been (They won Scrapheap challenge a couple of years ago), the Christian Motorcycle Clubs (who look like Hells Angels, come of it a lot of them used to be HA) look scary enough, and have god on thier side. Still a bunch of pissheads .

As to the Windsor HA story, IIRC it ended up with a shooting down the New Forest around 1980 ish? The last HA scrap I heard of was the '96 Rockers Reuinion stabbing (I was a MAG rep through the fall-out from _that_ particular episode).

Andy

 

[jeff_leigh]

Nope. When was that?

around the mid eighties

 

[longdog]

Maz, who used to "run" the UK angels chapter (may still do but I am not up to date) used to spend a lot of time doing cahridy stuff in order to raise the imoage of the UK angels.

Maz Harris died a few years back

Shame, he was a nice guy.

 

[tobyjug]

Ogri MCC are still Ogri MCC and still the great bunch of larger than life lunatics the've also been (They won Scrapheap challenge a couple of years ago),

As OGRI MCC is basically the armed services and police motorcycle club it is a bit difficult to compare it with any other back patch club.
That is probably why the rally is such a good one and tickets are difficult to get hold of. (My wife and I have had our tickets since January)

 

[axomoxia]

As OGRI MCC is basically the armed services and police motorcycle club it is a bit difficult to compare it with any other back patch club.
That is probably why the rally is such a good one and tickets are difficult to get hold of. (My wife and I have had our tickets since January)

The trick is to apply for next years rally, as soon as you come back from this years (SO inisists we do the Wozwolf this year, so it'll be the first one I missed since 1999).

Andy

 

[D]

Yesterday there was some kind of police/POW biker thing happening and, way better, on Saturday the Vesperados cruised around town. A bunch of people scooting around San Francisco on Vespas - super cute!

 

[geminisnake]

There's a Satans Slaves chapter around Tayside.

They are not nice people.

That'll be the Fife chapter. They're ok, well I got on with them, but then I'm prettier than you

Used to know some of the Kent Angels, they seemed like nice blokes too.

Doggy beat me to the news about Maz

 

[secretsquirrel]

Used to hang around with various Outlaws at The Albion in Stoke Newington. Used to like that pub. It was closed down a few years ago to make way for luxury apartments

 

[jeff_leigh]

Used to hang around with various Outlaws at The Albion in Stoke Newington. Used to like that pub. It was closed down a few years ago to make way for luxury apartments

you still live in Stoke Newington? is the Pegasus still there?