vauxhallmum
had to scrap the cheap car
Howard Marks was at Camp Bestival and Mr VM- after some ale- gave him a big hug.
He took it well
He took it well
Howard Marks - Mr Nice
- Thread starter rikwakefield
- Start date
stereotypical
hospitality king
Yeah I liked it really.
You'd be much better off reading Burroughs 'Junky' though.
You'd be much better off reading Burroughs 'Junky' though.
editor
hiraethified
That's not very nice.
Oh hang on... what's that whiff in the air?
Yep: it's Eau D'Returner!
*opens window to let out smell.
Kaka Tim
Half Arsed and Slapdash till I Die
just finished reading "mr nice". Its interesting but frustrating. A someone mentioned up thread the inctricies of all the various drug deals - involving lots of different people in several different countries - is hard to follow, repetitive and not that interesting. He seem to lack any sort of self - reflection - never really explores why he does what he does or why he seems so succesful at it. You kind of marvel at his calmness, his memory and command of detail (despite a hefty daily consumpion of high grade hashish). He seem to clamly float through a globe trotting, amoral world of smuggling and money laundering in a cloud of dope smoke.
He mixes with a wide range of dangerous and perilous individuals from the mafia, the mujhadeen, the IRA, CIA, MI6, bent coppers and gangsters without turning a hair or ever getting into any aggo or threatening situations. The only time he writes of being in any danger is when some random knife wielding hood tries to rob him at of his necklace in mexico .
Most notable other charachter is IRA gun runner James McCann crops up multiple times as loud mouthed loose canon - and who somehow manages to repetedly excape serious jail time despite being a fucking loon.
The most gripping part is near the end when the DEA extridite him to the USA, brutalise his family and pull out all the stops to bang him up.
Clearly a clever and charasmatic charachter but you dont really learn much about him as a person - its a long list of
"and then i did this, and then this, and phoned so-and-so and then got a flight to hong kong, got a call from this person to say the shipment had been held up so nipped back to geneva then met thingy in pakistan before bobbing back to london via bangkok cos a ton of hash had gone missing in LA and this mafia bloke needed paying but McCann told him to fuck off so I got a flight to frankfurt to sort it out .... "
He mixes with a wide range of dangerous and perilous individuals from the mafia, the mujhadeen, the IRA, CIA, MI6, bent coppers and gangsters without turning a hair or ever getting into any aggo or threatening situations. The only time he writes of being in any danger is when some random knife wielding hood tries to rob him at of his necklace in mexico .
Most notable other charachter is IRA gun runner James McCann crops up multiple times as loud mouthed loose canon - and who somehow manages to repetedly excape serious jail time despite being a fucking loon.
The most gripping part is near the end when the DEA extridite him to the USA, brutalise his family and pull out all the stops to bang him up.
Clearly a clever and charasmatic charachter but you dont really learn much about him as a person - its a long list of
"and then i did this, and then this, and phoned so-and-so and then got a flight to hong kong, got a call from this person to say the shipment had been held up so nipped back to geneva then met thingy in pakistan before bobbing back to london via bangkok cos a ton of hash had gone missing in LA and this mafia bloke needed paying but McCann told him to fuck off so I got a flight to frankfurt to sort it out .... "
8ball
Decolonise colons!
Interesting. I enjoyed his book. His lack of self-reflection was very obvious. Another angle would be interesting.
souljacker
innit
High Time by David Leigh is a better book about him imo
MrSki
Who am I to say you're wrong
Thanks for the heads up.
Agree about the David Leigh book.
My first ever job in London was delivering leaflets in Soho for 'West End Secretarial Services' when I was about 15. He was a top bloke to an impressionable nipper.
I liked the David Leigh book a lot: it has a lot of interesting detail on the cannabis trade, is very good on the early hippie/counter-culture of the late 1960s, and has a good sense of humour and a sense of the ridiculous. However, it only covers up to early 80s, and I understand some of Howard's former colleagues found it a bit unnecessarily disparaging about them and thought the book unquestioningly took on board some of the myth.
[For example, the very person who gave Howard his start in his profession, acted as his 'mentor', and supplied all the hash for the first part of his career, is summarily described as "He was not pretty, not witty, not left-wing, and not charming. His personality was less interesting than his achievements in the vast and blossoming dope market."]
[For example, the very person who gave Howard his start in his profession, acted as his 'mentor', and supplied all the hash for the first part of his career, is summarily described as "He was not pretty, not witty, not left-wing, and not charming. His personality was less interesting than his achievements in the vast and blossoming dope market."]
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
Funnily enough I'm re-reading Mr Nice at the moment.
ska invita
back on the other side
this is great listen - guy is my age as well so really evocative of the 90s too
BigMoaner
What A Load of Old Bollocks
Yes, really, really good - nearly all the interviews he has done are great.
eatmorecheese
He's fallen out of the car again
I read Mr Nice years ago.
He pursued his ambition even to the point he knew he'd be nicked and the consequences to his wife and children were appaling. His wife was extradited to the US and the kids were left to be exposed to domestic violence when looked after by a relative.
Vain and egocentric, loved the notoriety and the money. More ruthless than the image he liked to portray imo.
He pursued his ambition even to the point he knew he'd be nicked and the consequences to his wife and children were appaling. His wife was extradited to the US and the kids were left to be exposed to domestic violence when looked after by a relative.
Vain and egocentric, loved the notoriety and the money. More ruthless than the image he liked to portray imo.
ddraig
kicking against the pricks...
Met and interviewed him and had a spliff in some office in West London, good fun, did try to probe a bit further but pretty battered by then! 
found a little tape of the interview the other day and need to find the player to play it!
Mostly enjoyed the book but not sure finished it
found a little tape of the interview the other day and need to find the player to play it!
Mostly enjoyed the book but not sure finished it
Kaka Tim
Half Arsed and Slapdash till I Die
yeah - I got a whiff of sociopathy from him. only time he seems bothered about anything wrt morals/ethics etc is when it negatively impacts on him.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
That'll be the oxbridge conditioning.
I enjoyed Marks Dope Stories quite a bit as an anthology of writing about substances, a good mix of stuff from daily mail editorials of the 50s (eye wateringly racist and direct evidence of the attempts to racialise the 'war on drugs' right from the get go) to poets, musicians and all that. Worth ones pennies
editor
hiraethified
He was a lovely bloke when he came along to perform at my night in Brixton for free.
Just remembered this interview on urban too: Howard Marks - interview with 'Mr Nice
MrSki
Who am I to say you're wrong
Yeah it is a bit lists and quantities & all that. I found it a bit boring too & I met a few of the peeps in the early 80s. Worth giving the first book a go as that is more of how he navigated the UK legal system.
Idris2002
canadian girlfriend
His IRA contact ended up in the INLA, who were bad news even by comparison with the other paramilitaries. If he was able to have a working relationship with someone like that, what does that say about him?
ska invita
back on the other side
thanks for posting this, have really enjoyed the ones you posted. what i like with this guy is he's no criminal really, just a normal person who got out of his depth ... i love peoples stories, not even fussed about the drug aspect, everyone has got their story, I just enjoy having an insight into someones life...
I like the idea of that channel ,..."eventful lives", though it does seem like its mainly criminals/killers/drugs etc, which gets a bit much, would be good to have someone just interview loads of normal people and let them tell the stories of their lives...Id watch/listen to that.
BigMoaner
What A Load of Old Bollocks
The subject had such a nice energy, really warm, and owned his shit. Reminds me so much of lads I grew up with, struggled but warm and friendly and smart. He doesn’t give himself credit, he’s as sharp as knife with close listening. I like the interviewer too, hardly any interruptions. Not a single moment of glamorisation, just recounting a majorly traumatic life period, and why not.
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Some great moments in that - “I thought they looked rough, but I'd never really met Northerners so I thought maybe they're just rough Northerners”, the panicking in the Leeds petrol station...
ska invita
back on the other side
this one - heart breaking - seems like a very sweet man, just someone who never got care as a child
i had a friend who went through the care system - pretty similiar story tbh
i had a friend who went through the care system - pretty similiar story tbh
BigMoaner
What A Load of Old Bollocks
When he’s getting his son to check for the chopper “Some great moments in that - “I thought they looked rough, but I'd never really met Northerners so I thought maybe they're just rough Northerners”, the panicking in the Leeds petrol station...
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