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GHQ A soldier's story, a soldier’s co

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Contents Full Download Issue! Only GHQ MAGAZINE 3 INTRO 5 MEET THE TEAM 7 SOLDIERS CONFLICT 14 MEET THE BRUVS 17 MEAN MACHINE ROY SHAW 8 YEARS ON 25 THK’S CAPTURED LIVE 26 INTERVIEW MICHAEL ELKIN DIRECTOR BREAK 30 MURDER HE WROTE

36 SHOOTING THE DARNESS 41 THE BIG PICTURE 42 MICHAEL CAINE 45 ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES USA 50 SALFORD LEGEND 54 WHY MEN WATCH PORN 57 INTERVEW BREAK STAR SAM GITTINS 63 CORONA BEERS 65 ANA DE ARMAS

BOND BABE 70 TROJAN RECORDS 75 DRUGS IRVINE WELSH 78 JAMES BOND LAST TEMPTATION 80 PHOTOGRAPHY 81 80’s TIME MACHINE 82 RICHARD MARKS 88 TOTAL FOOTBALL

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GHQ is the new ‘go to’ for men and all those that wish to follow. The realm of articles and subjects will not be confined to your stereo typical, re-hashed, age-old stories or events, but instead a monthly magazine that consists of new blood and young minds. Yes, fashion, sport, health, humour, politics and music, will be found within, but in addition, GHQ will have a no holds barred approach and get questions and answers for the deserving reader. GHQ will be bringing back to life the issues and topics that all blokes and geezers want, wish and talk about. In addition, the management team have a personal list and catalogue of some of the most talked, read and seen in all cultural aspects of ‘The Scene’, within the shores and beyond. With this ensemble of unique, fresh, class and sexiness, GHQ, promises with its delivery. When one of the management was asked to describe GHQ in his own words, he proudly said, “We have the production quality found within The Sopranos, the grittiness of Snatch and the qualities of a Savile Row tailor” So, tie up your laces, pop your collars and get ready for a nitro fuelled cutting edge delivery of nothing short of the dogs bollocks!

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MEET THE TEAM GHQ Editor Jason Allday is London born and raised who humbly describes himself as a product of a working-class upbringing. Jason Published his first book after the untimely death of his youngest brother. He has since self-published 2 follow up books, highlighting the people he aligns and identifies with as working-class icons. Jason was once asked,” Of all the people you’ve photographed & interviewed, who would you say is the most impressionable?”, he simply laughed and replied, “After interviewing a well-known criminal, I thanked him for his time and story, to which he replied, Thanks, I sacrificed many lives for it!” Jason lives a shared life in both central Florida & London where he often drives on the right side of the road but feels protected by both the friends he keeps and the small arsenal of guns he owns.

GHQ Picture Editor & Photojournalist Brian Anderson is Glasgow born and bred. Brian has had an incredible 25 career as a Tabloid press photographer working for news agencies, before working on assignments all over the world with one of world’s biggest newspapers (News of the World). He is currently working with some of the world’s iconic music artists including Pete Doherty and The Libertines / Tom Walker / Gerry Cinnamon to the legendary comeback of the Bay City Rollers.Brian currently resides in Glasgow with his wife Margaret and Daughter Katelyn. He operates as a photojournalist in the UK and also documents the streets of his hometown of Glasgow and has done since 1988.He also has documented the world of UK crime for over two decades including all the biggest crime families and the most feared individuals over the last 50 years in London / Glasgow / Manchester /Liverpool / Birmingham / Newcastle Dublin and Belfast.He is the author of 6 books including Faces of the Underworld to critical acclaim which also inspired a TV series in the UK and America called British Gangsters. He has also worked on various documentary’s and film sets.The rumour has it Brian sleeps with his camera under his pillow (this may be gospel) one things for certain though, one shot from his camera and your history!!

JASON ALLDAY

BRIAN ANDERSON

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MEET THE K’S

Shaping the future of rock ‘n’ roll, four-piece band The K’s from Warrington had a breakout 2019 which resulted in them catching the eye of legendary music mogul Alan McGee. Their recent single ‘Aurora’ was released via McGee’s new record label Creation23 and the limited-edition vinyl impressively sold out within weeks. The punchy new track has received great acclaim from new music pioneers already, having its debut play as ‘This Feeling’s’ track of the week on Gordon Smart’s evening show on Radio X, before it’s pre-release had even begun!

Forming in Earlestown in 2017 and growing up together in the shadows of two huge Northwest neighbours, Manchester and Liverpool, The K’s are proving that things can grow in the dark.

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The band’s debut single ‘Sarajevo’ was an instant hit on music streaming sites, picking up fans and playlists alike, not to mention over a million streams, and was quickly followed by their first headline show at Manchester’s Deaf Institute selling out 2 months in advance.

Bringing The K’s into 2020, the band started the year with a sold out show at London’s Nambucca for the mighty ThisFeeling’s #BigIn2020 show, which has only further cemented their reputation as one of the best and most exciting live bands in the UK. Followed shortly by their massive headline sold out show at Manchester’s Ritz, impressively selling 1500 tickets in under 3 weeks The K’s are boldly laying down the marker of things to come. The sold-out show warmed them up nicely for their sold out UK tour with This Feeling in March where they had crowds in Nottingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield raising the roof.

The K’s had a Summer filled with UK festival slots ahead, mainstages included! They are due to end the year with their biggest headline show to date at Manchester Academy on 17th October 2020, which once again, is well on its way to selling outBeing heralded by the likes of Radio X and This Feeling, watch out for this unstoppable 4-piece on their way up, the sky’s the limit for these lads!!

Rachel Brown – Northern Exposure

The K’s / Glasgow 20202 And Alan McGee by Brian Anderson Ks latest single below

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The K’s

At GHQ, we will bring you all the interviews not only with some of the biggest icons in music, but also the new emerging bands that are about to explode onto the mainstream, and there a few hidden jewels out there without question. One of those groups we captured are the K’s, just before the world went into lockdown. Remember those days? The day when you could walk out your door meet like-minded people, have a pint, a tear up, stagger home with half a kebab strapped and dribbling down your chin, see a cool live band, ah the good old days. Captured on UK tour in Glasgow by our own photographer Brian Anderson who has shot everyone from Blondie to The Libertines he is now widely recognised as the new face of rock n roll photography in Britain today. These lads wouldn’t have looked out of place in the time of Brit Pop, and those hedonistic mad mental 90s. The band was formed in Earlestown in 2017, growing up together in the shadows of two huge North West neighbours Manchester and Liverpool and recently selling out the Manchester Ritz this band are on cusp of greatness.

Pictures Brian Anderson

The K’s Glasgow UK Tour 2020

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INTERVEW WITH FILM DIRECTOR

MICHAEL ELKIN

In this month’s issue of GHQ, we speak to first time director of the forthcoming movie Break set in London’s gritty world of professional Snooker. The film stars Sam Gittins, Rutger Hauer, David Yip, Jamie Foreman, Scott Peden, Adam Deacon, Terri Dwyer, Sophie Stevens.

HERE’S THE CHAT! 1 Growing up in South London what was your memories good and bad ? I have nothing but love for south London and to be honest, I don’t really have bad memories, only good ones.

Don’t get me wrong, there were ‘bad days’, as a group of mates hanging out together, we did get into plenty of scrapes as did most lads and we certainly had some scary moments, but these were always outweighed by the good times.

There was a great little club local to us called The Bon Bonne where everyone used to go and I had some great times in there. People used to travel from quite far to go there, but a lot of us knew each other from the area. The music was great, the atmosphere was amazing and the girls were stunning. That’s south London for me. In my younger days, we all used to hang out on the estates kicking footballs about on a summer day. There used to be a thing called a ‘Red Bus Rover’ which was about sixty pence and enabled kids to travel anywhere and I remember being aged around ten or eleven, me and a load of mates would hop on a bus to Oxford street or somewhere and just run amok. Great days. Many of my closest mates today have been with me since the red bus rover days. We’re a very close-knit bunch.

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What were your first jobs ? I did an apprenticeship as an electrician when I first left school, but never saw it through. I had the worst attention span ever and just got bored easily. My dad, who over the years had been in the pub game, had mini cab offices and other businesses.

He bought a jewellers in Walworth when I was in my late teens and I enjoyed the time I worked with him. We used to buy a lot of scrap gold, most of which was probably stolen with hindsight. We used to get quite a few dodgy characters come through them doors. He sold the shop and moved to the coast after a few years, but I stayed in London. I worked on building sites as a labourer on and off for a while then I ended up working the doors of a few London Casinos. The Ritz was one. Aspinalls in Mayfair was another. I loved it at first, but got bored and left to become a gambler. I absolutely love the gee-gees and put myself through a short college course studying horses. I have NVQ qualifications in horse management. I would literally travel the country with a few grand in my pocket backing horses that I’d had my eye on. I survived for a couple of years and this was my only source of income.

Then I got lazy. Standing in pubs with pals drinking all day and nipping next door to the bookies to stick a grand on a horse without any real thought going into it. Obviously the money didn’t last long. This was pretty much just before I moved into acting.

When did you first think of the acting career how did you get into acting Michael ? I think I’ve always been a bit of a performer. One of the stories my mum likes to tell people is how as a toddler I would greet old ladies on the bus with the words “Alright my love – good game, good game” in a near perfect Bruce Forsyth accent. So, it started early. However, I didn’t get into the game for years. One of the things the ‘chaps’ did years ago, men from my dads generation, was to work as film extras. It was a good source of casual work for people that usually made a living from ducking and diving, spivs if you wanna give them a name. My dad had done it on and off for years and I did a little bit as a teenager, so way before I decided to train as an actor. My dad was fortunate enough stand in for John Voight, but also to become quite pally with him. John apparently spent a few nights on the sofa in our tower block recovering from a night on the piss with the old man when he was over in the UK filming. This was all before I was born of course, but I love that story. As for me I was drinking in my local one night with an actor named Geoff Bell and we were talking about acting and I told him how much I wished I’d done it. He basically told me that it was never too late and encouraged me to audition at the place he had trained. Morley Theatre school in Westminster. He (Bell) even went as far as helping me learn a few monologues for the audition, which was good of him. I was about twenty-seven, so I guess he was right. It’s never too late. what was the first thing you done?

I struggled in the early days to get an agent. They all seemed to have a stock response “we already have someone like you on our books”. So, I decided to hassle a childrens agency. And when I say hassle, I mean hassle. I drove over seventy miles to an agency in West Sussex called Doreen English 95. The agency was ran by a lovely woman called Gerry Kinner and they only represented kids. I knocked on her door, talked my way in and she eventually said she would rep me, but made it clear that she thought she would struggle to get me work. That same day she called me, asked if I could do a Manchester accent. I said yes. She then told me it was for an ident at the start of Corrie and that I would have to sound like a ten year old boy. So, there was me on the phone to a production company and speaking as a high pitched ten-year-old in a Manc accent. An hour later they called me and said I got the job. First paid acting job and over two grand for an hours work. Get in! what was your favourite Film and character you were in ? That’s a tough question. In all honesty, I haven’t got that many to choose from ‘film wise’. I think Jimmy in The Wee Man

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would probably be a favourite as I got to do a jock accent, which I really love doing. You don’t often get the chance to do any accent other than your own in films, so that was good fun and the film itself, I think is decent. It’s a film I would have enjoyed even if I wasn’t in it. There’s a film called ‘Still Life’ that I have a small role in, but that was one I really enjoyed as I got to work with Eddie Marsan who is an actor I really admire. The director produced the film ‘The Full Monty’ and it was clear from the moment he saw me, he was having reservations about me playing the role. He felt that I looked a bit thuggish and said as much, which made me more determined to play that down. I think he thought I was going to play the character like a football hooligan or something. We shot the first take with the focus on Eddie Marsan and my character ‘soft focus’ in the background. The director shouted cut and was literally gushing about how subtle I had played it and revised his plans of how he was going to shoot that scene. I have seen him a few times since and he is a really lovely guy and always complimentary about my role in his film.

Fav film actor and film you love? There are so many, but the film that always springs to mind when someone asks that question is Carlitos Way. Love that film. Road to Perdition. And Shawshank obvs…One of my favourite British films is ‘Alfie’ the Caine version obviously, not that other shower of shit. Layer Cake would be another Brit Flick I really rate. As for actors?

Where do you start. Pacino has always been a favourite of mine; Sean Penn is another. The late, great James Gandolfini. Denzel Washington would be up there too and of course DeNiro.

Also, having worked with him and consequently having seen more films of his than I had originally, I would throw Rutger Hauer into the mix. So watchable and had so much presence. As for British actors; Anthony Hopkins and also John Hurt, absolutely outstanding in everything.

How did the wee man come about ? A friend of mine knew the writer/director Ray Burdis and passed me the script to read because he knew I was becoming more and more interested in writing. What he didn’t know was that I wasn’t done with acting and after reading the original script, I drove him mad to ask Ray for an audition. I even knew the role I wanted - Jimmy.

Anyways, Ray agreed, but once they got their funding and the casting was underway, I was completely overlooked, or forgotten. Having since made my own film, I totally get this, it’s one of the busiest times you can ever have, so much going on. But I didn’t give up. I managed to get hold of Rays mobile number and called him. He wasn’t too pleased, but said he would honour his promise and he let me audition for the role of Jimmy. He later confessed that at that moment, he couldn’t stand me and thought I was a cheeky bastard. In all fairness, I did go about it the wrong way. Anyways, the day of the audition came and the look on his face when I walked into the room was priceless. He looked proper fed up. I was handed a script, which I didn’t need as I’d been off book for over a year having seen the earliest possible draft of the screenplay! Once I started, I saw him out of the corner of my eye, suddenly sit up straight and take notice. My accent in the audition was probably ten times better than it was in the actual film and he was suitably impressed. He phoned me that same evening to say “Alright, you pest. The role is yours. Well done” then he hung up. I have a lot of respect for Ray and we’ve stayed in touch. In the run up to making my own film ‘Break’ he made himself available to offer advise whenever I needed it.

We going to see you on the silver screen again ? I made a film last year called ‘Escape to Berlin’ a second world war film about a group of allied pows. I have worked for the producers a few times over the years and they’re a really great team. Also, the lead in the film is none other than Sam Gittins who starred in my film Break.

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They tend to re-use actors in their films, so it always feels like you’re back with your mates and makes for a great experience. In the film itself I play a northerner named Graithwaite and I grew a moustache for him. I also let the sides of my hair grow (the top stopped growing years ago) which I normally shave, just so I would look different. It really isn’t a good look and I wore a hat whenever I went out in public because I looked ridiculous, but I felt it suited the character, so… Not sure what the plans are release wise due to this Covid-19 carry on, but hopefully people will be able to see it in 2020. You have directed the movie Break what made you decide to move into film making? I never really intended to direct Break or to have anything to do with it really, beyond writing the script. I’ve always enjoyed the ‘story telling’ part and if I have an idea, I generally write it down. I’m a bit like Bob Monkhouse in that respect, although not quite as organised as he was. To anyone who doesn’t know, Bob was a successful comedian and had literally thousands if not hundreds of thousand of jokes written down in a massive book and would sell jokes to other comics. I work in a similar way in as much as I have several note pads scattered around with jokes, scenes and film ideas scribbled in them and so it was with Break. I’d had the idea about a talented snooker player caught up in a life of crime for ages. It was loosely based on my life and some of the people I knew. Anyways, I had this finished script and didn’t really know what to do with it, but was reluctant to send it out to all and sundry because I didn’t want to run the risk of people stealing the idea, which has happened to me on a few occasions over the years. I decided I would have a go at directing it and approached a few people with the script early doors, but they all wanted to make drastic changes, have someone else direct it, change the cast ( I’d already promised the lead role to Sam Gittins) and pretty much turn it into something ‘they’ wanted. One bloke even suggested he would finance it if I took my name off the script and put him down as the writer. Of course, I told him to fuck off. The only logical step was to make it myself.

Which directors no you mostly admire? I have always liked Walter Hill since I first saw his film Hard Times starring Charles Bronson as a bare-knuckle fighter under the management of a money grabbing James Coburn. He also wrote it. His other films include The Warriors, Southern Comfort and 48 Hours, all great movies. Aside from Hill, it’s the usual for me I’m afraid Scorsese, Tarantino. I would also have to say Sam Mendes. Road to Perdition is a masterpiece for me. And David Lean. I manage to watch Lawrence of Arabia at least once a year, every year. Sometimes more. So far during this lockdown period, I’ve watched it twice already. It’s stunning. Any advice for young actors today especially from working class areas? Try not to take it personally. If you don’t get a job, get over it quickly. Acting is not a meritocracy, the best actor doesn’t always get the job, so if you were the actor that didn’t, don’t dwell on it.

And if you were the actor that did, don’t get carried away with yourself. Finally, don’t ever get into the mindset that the casting director is your enemy and they are avoiding you, they most likely don’t even know who you are. They’re struggling for work most of the time as well, just like us.

What what is like working with Rutger Hauer I believe it was his last movie? Break was sadly Rutger Hauer’s final film. He was great to work with and I think under the circumstances he was very patient with us. Unlike bigger budget films, we didn’t have the luxury of rehearsal days, something I imagine he would have gotten used to on other films he’d worked on. I have to say, I really liked Rutger and we got on well. Official Break poster / Michael Elkin on the set of Break with Rutger Hauer.

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Continued

MICHAEL LEFT ON BREAK WITH RUTGER HAUER AND ON THE FILM WEE MAN WITH PAUL FERRIS AND MARTIN COMPSTON

Prior to him agreeing to do the film, I had several skype calls with him where he asked about my vision for the film and generally tried to get a feel for me as a person. It was clear to me from the off, that we would get on and we shared a lot of laughs, not just once he got to set, but even before, during those skype calls. As an actor he knew his stuff so I did not have to say too much to him, but when I did, he would give me what I wanted. He called me a few months before he died, just to chat about everyday shit. He asked how I was and what I was up to and we ended the call by saying we would speak again soon. Sadly, we never did as he died. I was genuinely devastated by the news. I liked him and will remember him fondly.

Michael on the set of Break and right with Martin Compston and Paul Ferris on the Wee Man

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ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES ACROSS THE POND!

BY JASON ALLDAY

Yak skat- Dansih. Danke ficken-German. Gracias a la mierda-Spanish. Merci putain- French.

Grazie cazzo-Italian. Bedankt fuck- Dutch. Cam on-Vietnamese. Thank fuck- English. But however you say it, thank fuck (that never happened!)

To prove that the US can decide to remake literally any hit UK show at any time without warning, doesn’t mean it has to be applied to everything, or that it’ll work! Back in 2012, and just 10 days after actor-comedian John Leguizamo developed a deal with ABC and ABC Studios, signed on to star in the ABC/ABC Studios multi-camera comedy pilot Only Fools And Horses.

As we all know, Only Fools and Horses was a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. TV archival history records will show that seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until the end of the show in 2003. It was a timeless comedy that followed two brothers from London's rough Peckham estate as they wheeled and dealed through a number of dodgy deals and search for the big score that’d make them millionaires.

So shortly after actor-comedian Leguizamo signed a development deal, there was a lot of fuss made on one side of the pond with reference to the losing of such a culturally and multi generational loved TV sitcom, as many anguished and believed the sitcom would be lost to Hollywood, in turn, a good sized proportion of us Brits believed the very foundations of the culturally successful sitcom, would be

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chipped away at and lost to the proverbial norms of everything not found within the original only fools.

It was reported, John Leguizamo had signed on to star in the comedy pilot Only Fools And Horses. Based on the British format, the proposed cast were Del (Leguizamo), Rodney (Dustin Ybarra) and Christopher Lloyd as Grandad. There was even a Trigger! Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley wrote the adaptation and were to be executive producers with Leguizamo’s long-time manager Jeff Golenberg of the Collective. Like the original series, ABC's Only Fools was to follow Del, his brother Rodney and their grandfather continuing get-rich-quick schemes in their quest to become millionaires.

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The cultural and linguistic variety on display across Britain can make understanding the different regions a difficult prospect for the unfamiliar, and Only Fools & Horses is no exception. So, if there’s any truth to an alternative, some what questioning (get your tin-foil hats ready, boys!) consider this, being OFAH is a sitcom based around the antics of two fly-pitchers on a market in South London, using local dialect and colloquialisms which may would seem like a foreign language to those unfamiliar.

From this, it is safe to make the assumption that there was never any intention for Only Fools & Horses to appeal to an international audience. To put even more of a spin on the conspiracy and, ‘it was never meant to be’, it was revealed via an inside source (from the canteen lady’s neighbors best friends, who heard it discussed from a trusted source at a local village market) the show was going to be renamed kings of Van Nuys, so as to appeal to an international U.S based market (no relation to Peckham market).

A source revealed, “if Only Fools And Horses doesn’t go to series, the network will develop a single-camera comedy inspired by Leguizamo’s professional, personal and family life in New York City for him to star in and executive produce”. Now that I could go for!

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In an interview in February, Sir David Jason, who starred in the original sitcom from 1981 to 2003, told the BBC he doubted a US version of the show would be as successful as the original. "They can do brilliant comedy [in America] but I don't see that they can bring off Fools and Horses," he continued, “I don't see that it will travel across the pond."

It has worked before, but still the story changed. The Office was based on the award-winning BBC hit, "The Office" was a fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody of modern American office life that delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The American ‘The office’, was completely revamped from a place of where you go to work to waste your life to a romantic comedy.

One quote from the New Yorker which manages to neatly capture the differences between our worldviews - “through the medium of none other than Ricky Gervais - has clearly struck a chord. UK sitcoms tend to be darker than American ones, encouraged by a powerful public broadcasting system whose aim is to serve the varying tastes of taxpayers, not the upbeat preferences of advertisers, and by a national psyche fixated on the immutability of the class system, not on a dream of self-improvement. Americans believe that things will get better. Brits laugh at how things stay the same.

To become a hit in the United States, The Office not only had to transform the tragic, grating boss into a less tragic, less grating, more well-meaning boss; it had to cast off the message, central to the British original, that work is where you go to waste your life”. Another outside source commented, “Despite a shared language and the cross-pollination of popular culture, the UK and the USA are not as similar as they can appear on the surface”.

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The writing; the acting; the stories; the sheer genius of it all but the main thing for us all– the numerous laughs, most of them belly, that Only Fools and Horses provides. While globalisation advances, it is becoming increasingly essential to understand how working cultures differ.

When generalising, Germans are more impressed by hierarchies and titles, Americans disagree more with their bosses, British maintain a level of anti-authoritarian (but, we love our Queen) and budgets play a different role in Italy and Brazil. I’d have to add, that the clear boundaries exist in preserving many TV sitcoms, as they reflect not only the unique culturally appreciated aspects of a community and the lives of those that live within (it), also shows and shares the struggles and more so the identifying aspects of a culture and country that would ultimately be lost to a corporate butchering and bastardization of what remains as unique as the very people contributing to the show itself.

Cultural differences are as large as they ever were and need to remain. As it (the world) becomes increasingly flat, the importance of cultural difference is ever-growing. It’s who we really are.

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Corona beer suspends production due to coronavirus •

The lager brand will not be produced after Mexico deemed it non-essential

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Brewery Grupo Modelo said it was scaling down operations to a 'bare minimum'

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But it suggested it could keep brewing beer if it was deemed to be agriculture

The brewer of Corona beer has suspended production because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The brand of lager - whose unfortunate name has made it a punchline during the health crisis - will not be produced after Mexico deemed it non-essential.

Fears of a shortage have prompted panic-buying, with pictures from Mexican shops showing trolleys piled up with beer.

The brewery Grupo Modelo said it was scaling down its operations to a 'bare minimum' in line with the Mexican government's orders.

Grupo Modelo, which also has other export brands including Pacifico and Modelo, said it would complete the suspension in the next few days. “The brewery will reduce operations to a level where they could resume once the suspension is lifted”, Grupo Modelo says. The company said that brewing could continue, if the government considers it appropriate to issue some clarification confirming beer as an agro-industrial product.

“We are ready to execute a plan with more than 75 per cent of our staff working from home and at the same time guaranteeing the supply of beer,” a statement said.

Agriculture and food production are among the key sectors which are still allowed to function under Mexican government orders. Non-essential activities have been suspended for at least the month of April to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Mexico's other major beer producer Heineken - which makes the Tecate and Dos Equis brands - could also stop activities on Friday, Mexican media said.

The northern state of Nuevo Leon where Heineken's Mexican operations are based said on Wednesday it would stop the distribution of beer, sparking panic-buying.

Speculation about a total alcohol ban - although so far unfounded - has also prompted queues at shops.

Jaime Heliodoro Rodriguez Calderon, the governor of Nuevo Leon, told local media:

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“Why buy alcohol now and cause a problem? Someone can be infected, you are creating risk. You will leave the shop infected and you will infect your children”.

Mexico has so far registered more than 1,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 50 deaths. Constellation Brands, which sells Corona in the U.S., said in February that its sales remained strong despite the label's obvious drawbacks.

But the company suffered a separate blow last week when plans for a $1.5billion brewery on the U.S. border were rejected in a referendum. The plant was already two-thirds built but Mexico's government said it would not grant operating permits after the vote.

Mexico's deputy health minister said yesterday there are no plans for border closures even as the country's death toll mounts. “There's no plan, because there's no intention to use the border closure mechanism as if it were a useful mechanism for controlling the epidemic”, said Hugo Lopez-Gatell during his regular evening news conference. “Although there's an expectation in the general public's view that a physical barrier can be put to epidemics, there's no scientific, historical demonstration that these types of measures are of any use.'

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CRIME LEGEND CARLTON LEACH

CHATS ABOUT LIFE, THE GODFATHER AND TOM HARDY

To this day, Carlton Leach (born March 12 1959, Canning Town, East London) is overwhelmed by the number of people who have shown an interest in his life & followed his journey from respected ICF football hooligan, to feared bouncer, to muscle game enforcer & notorious gangster! Carlton's bestselling autobiography was originally published in 2002 & after turning heads, was made into a feature film in 2007.

Carlton is a well-known West Ham United fan, he'll tell you he bleeds Claret 'n' Blue, so come hell or high water, he'll be watching them on match days! If you've read Muscle & seen Rise of the Footsoldier 1 & 2, look up some of the documentaries Carlton has taken part in! He is also been featured in several other authors books that are well worth a read!

By Jason Allday – Picture Brian Anderson

TOM HARDY LEGEND / THE GODFATHER / RAY WINSTONE

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Carlton leach The scene and time has changed, but Carlton Leach and his level of integrity hasn’t. I had a chat with Carlton highlighting a few high placed thoughts on integrity and its place in modern society.

Jason: Films on the criminal element and theme. It’s important in terms of integrity to separate fact from fiction and playing a role. Are there any films that hold weight and value that you have seen?

Carlton: For me, for a film based on the British gangster genre - the Kray’s film with Tom Hardy in it. That was brilliant. The previous version staring the Kemp brothers was ok, but knowing they were in the band Spandau Ballet didn’t help. I couldn’t take them seriously knowing they’d come from a 1980’s pop group, and now they’re trying to act like hard men, I mean instead of them standing there in the film holding knives, I half expected them to break out their guitars. To be fair, they didn’t do a bad job, but it was something that Tom Hardy brought to the film that made it that much better.

He seemed to really get inside the mind of a criminal, he understood the characters, the personalities and the way overall how he portrayed the twins was brilliant. Especially when you consider how the film industry is saturated with American gangster films, Tom Hardy held his weight and did a really good job.

Jason: What actors would you like to see play the roles of criminals in film?

Carlton: again, I’d have to say Tom Hardy! At the moment, on the local scene, Tom Hardy. I mean, and not having a go at the ‘Danny Dyers’ and all those types, and saying this considering Ray Winston, who I love his acting and the way he plays gangsters is really good, to a degree they still play themselves, you see a bit of them when they play the roles (of gangsters), or it doesn’t matter what roles they’re playing, it’s the same voice and same pattern of acting. Again, I can’t take anything away from Ray, an absolute brilliant actor, love the man to bits, and him being a West Ham man, I can’t fault him. But, at the moment, Tom Hardy just brings something extra, he really gets into the character he’s playing and has that way about him. He has a dark and gritty element that makes what he’s doing that brings that much more to the role.

Jason: What films of past have you seen that you would like to see re done?

Carlton: Scarface! Oh yeah, that’s one that I’d like to see again, but it’s a classic and one that really is something, so it’d have to be done properly. You could ask, if someone could pull it off, as Al Pacino really pulled it off in the original, he made that character. So, a modern-day Scarface, or even on that level with that same type of impact would be good to see.

Jason: Are there any films of past that should be left alone?

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Carlton: The Godfather, especially the first and second of the series. Those are timeless films. The first one was the best, you had Marlon Brando, brilliant actor and Al Pacino, who really come into his own. The third Godfather film was good, lost its way a little bit though.

Jason: Any theme or type of film, what would you like to see be made?

Carlton: Based on true facts, I think the rave scene, the 1980’s was something special. The late 1980’s when the likes of us got involved, there’s a big underlining story, with the behind the scenes, big money movement, the drugs and everything that went along with it. The darker element of the whole scene. It’s only ever been plagiarised and told on a national level by the press. A lot was missed and not told fairly, correctly or accuratly. There’s a lot more to be said and told than just the dancing and happy pills side of it all. There was a much deeper and darker scene that existed in the background. The music and face value of the rave scene is what stopped the violence, but, there was always an underlying, very dark and brutal level of violence in the background that people were involved in that (scene) didn’t really talk about.

Jason: Films can be impressionable upon young minds. What message is important to be given being that some films/ acts can be reenacted?

Carlton: In some countries around the world, there’s kids that are tooled-up, not just with bottles of ammonia and a Stanley blade, but in some cases they’re as heavily armed as the police. I’ll use my films, Footsoldier 1 and 2, as reference; the rest of the series started to get more made up and simply based around fiction. I’ve honestly got a lot of respect for Craig Fairbrass, a good bloke, but he was playing a role where he was supposedly in his 30’s, and this was just before he got killed. So, I have a lot of the younger crowd messaging me by different means, like through social media, telling me the fourth film, with the excessive amount of drugs, the Marbella scene, pump action shotguns and all that. From what I’ve been told and how it was portrayed and carried out in the film, it just doesn’t happen like that.

The Spanish police wouldn’t stand for any of that! When you stray too far from the actual events and start fictionalising it too much and stray from the truth, it can be a dangerous thing, because it creates a falsity and a fairytale.

So you get youngsters becoming desensitised to the normality of real life and thinking that’s the norm because it’s been twisted so much, and also the film has a storyline that includes people that were real, even though the film is very heavily fictionalised, it’s again a dangerous thing, because it become twisted by incorporating real life people in a made up story - and to think some of these kids weren’t alive when the story line was supposedly taking place. Look, people aren’t walking down the street in Spain, doing an ounce of gear at every turn and carrying a shooter hanging out of a bag. No one gets up in the morning, has a bowl of cornflakes, pops out to commit murder, shoves them in the boot of a car, chops them up, pops to the shops on their way home and then sit down and have dinner with there family! He’s not a fucking postman doing a normal job, is he! It’s been fictionalised so much, the story has been lost and that’s the danger with the twisting of the truth, it’s allowing what can be a level of justified violence to make a point and to get an idea of the story that could’ve been, to a story that simply didn’t happen - when you carry on like that, the

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message is lost. When I speak on the level with the young lot, I always remind them that of all my time and dealings with the underworld and where I really sat proud, and what was really my thing, was at football on the terraces.

Yes, being from that crowd and then making choices that lead me to be involved with proper people that operated in around crime, my time at West Ham in the heyday of all the terrace trouble and fighting, the comradery, your mates, proper people around you, as a fan and all that happened at football that’s been very heavily documented, was and will always mean so much to me. Those were the best memories, that was always something very special that has never been equaled and I don’t think it ever will.

Jason: The content can be the message. What film holds a special place for you?

Carlton: Gladiator with Russel Crowe. There’s a lot in there, especially with his loyalty as a soldier, a general and someone on the frontlines willing to give it all. There’s as much chance and damage that can be suffered in war by his character as all the other men fighting alongside him. No man back then was either arrow or spear proof - and he was fighting on the front lines. Then, how even after his character was willing to put not only his life, but also the fact as a soldier. He was willing to sacrifice his life making his own family at a loss if he was killed, says a lot to me. He measured his success by his loyalty and the secound he was betrayed, he proved that karma has no expiration date. What I also liked was how his character indentified with the regular foot soldier, he knew they were as much in the battle as he, I think, identified that they were all part of the same machine fighting a common enemy. He was as much a general as he was a soldier himself. He never lost sight of that role of those around him. I’m a big fan of Roman history and when the film in the begining was centered around the Germanic war between the two, I thought it helped highlight the point that was being made. How he got his revenge, how no matter the time or at what personal cost proved that if you fucked me, I’ll get you in the end. A very powerful message for me, and I enjoyed that film greatly.

Jason: Looking back at Rise of the Footsoldier. Would you have liked to seen something done differently or more of?

Carlton: On the first Rise of the Footsoldier, I felt not only I was, but my story was used to elevate and promote a platform for the other (series) films. If you look at the first of the films, there’s two films or stories in one. There was my time at football, the terraces and growing up in that era, and the second part of the film was myself and The Essex Boys. My friendship was with Tony, not the Essex boys. It could’ve been a bit more truthful, but again, it’s like somethings can never be discussed or talked about openly, so it goes without saying certain things have to be either suggested or avoided all together. I’d liked to have seen just one film made about me and the terraces and then The Essex boys separately.

They still did a great job, it came across well and I was happy with it, but if there was ever an option or a way, I’d like to have done my story separately.

Jason: Bill Gardner. The Name says everything - especially to those that have been around him. Would you like to see a film made about one of the biggest, most impressionable names in terrace history?

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Carlton: All day! He was such a legend on the terraces, it goes without saying. He was fearless, and if any of the top boys back then from any firm were to be honest and put their hands over their hearts, would say the same about how he was. The man could have a fight, he’d go on any away game, be at the front and have no worry or fear about any other man that would be there - Bill is an absolute legend. I guess you could say it’s a dangerous question, because would there ever be a film or a person playing Bill that would really capture how much he was respected across the country? Even from the general publics point of view that weren’t ever there, or have an understanding of what went on, Bill is unmeasurable in who he was as a person. He was our shop steward, everyones big brother and always right up in front. I can’t ever say enough with regard to the respect and admiration I have for Bill.

Jason: Crime then and crime now, how do you see it?

Carlton: There really is a difference between (crime), the past and the present - no question.

The rules have changed, and I’ve said this as much as anyone that knows and respects the rules. There’s those that will say there’s no honour amongst thieves and there’s never been any understanding of how people used to operate fairly. It’s those you avoid, as they’re willing to injure you in the same crime they themselves are committing, and they’re willing to profit at your loss of liberty. A grass was never tolerated, but with greed and the type of crimes being committed it’s changed 100%. It’s common place for those operating in most levels of crime to have no regard for like minded criminals. They’d grass their own mates and bury their own.

That never happened back in the day and was never tolerated. Even your straight goers would have a negative view of someone that grassed on their own. As long as it never involved the hurting of a kid or an innocent, but even then, proper people were the judge and jury of the wrong uns. Police really didnt get involved, as it was dealt with on what I guess you would call a community level. You hurt a kid, they (wrong uns) would have to either hope the police got to them first as there were heavy repercussions. And I’d have to say. they really weren’t criminals, simply wrong uns, but again grassing wasn’t tolerated on any level, by anyone. It’s always been about the pound note, but never at the cost of loyalty or grassing - NEVER!

“The Krays ain’t got nothing on this mob”

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