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History of the Rum Runner Club- Birmingham mail article

Ozzy was lucky, I remember a bloke being killed by the bouncers for trying to get in without a jacket on.
 
Ha!... Just read it... I used to work there... I'd have a large pinch of salt with that article if I were you!
 
Jaffa I agree with you. They loved Ozzy, Bev and Co. I also remember the fellow that died it was awful and the bouncers I knew were in total shock. My friend Roz worked at the Runner...pity how things are distorted...
 
Mmm...
It's funny how things get distorted over time, like Chinese whispers.
The fabled story of the Kray's bagmen being slung out of Brum was down to the Fewtrell brothers, at least, that's the way I heard the story back in the day.
Luckily for me, Don was before my time at the Runner. I was a punter there from 1979 onwards and I worked there for the last 2 years that the club was in operation ('83 - '84).
Question: Is Don Berrow the same guy as "Dowty Berrow" who owned Snobs in the 80's?... If so, then I did know him as I worked at Snobs for a short time after the Runner closed down!
Runner Matches 03.jpg
 
hi jaffa;
I Have to agree with you on what you said take it with a pinch of salt
when the krays came down and tryed to muscle in on the club ;
the police was not aware of the time when they came down it was only afterwards when the fewtrells told the police about the incident of having the krays
coming down and he and his hench men did chase of the krays in case of any back lash at a later date from them and the orinional men of the fewtrells body guards was big hard men , beleive me they was huge guys that i do know that
the story as been modifyed a little bit by this guy and the press printing the real story; as regards to ossy ; well he was not much more than a youth in those days
along with the band players even tony was in his youth around this time
but the real story cannot be printed as in words the other side of the coin
but the police do know the full story of the actual case and about the gang land
of brum in later years ;as you say for most people its chinese whispers if only
take a line of people of about ten ; and start a whisper by the time it,s at the end you get a complete different whisper as to what you started i can relate
on this story because a brother inlaw was connected to eddie personally
and big tony his still around today to tell the story and tony his a huge man in statue and very well known through out brum best wishes Astonian;;
 
Hi Astonian,
I hear what you are saying... And you are quite right!
Mind you, the world is a very different place compared to how it was back in those far off days!

Regardles of whatever has been said in that 'article', I personally had an absolute ball at the Rum Runner, both as a punter and as a nightclub worker. When it closed I was the sadest man in the whole of Brum... And to be fair, the club's closure should never have happened.

As a club, we felt that we were being victimised by the 'Powers That Be' over the actions of the band... Especially the charity gig they did at Villa Park which made little or no money for the charity concerned (which wasn't the band's fault btw).
They were all off sunning themselves in the best parts of the world while we took all the back-lash from the press, the police, health & safety, the city council and the licensing justices.
I still keep a newspaper clipping from around those times which demonstrates perfectly how the establishment turned on the Rum Runner like a pack of dogs in order to try and get their pound of flesh out of the band... Sorry if I sound a little bitter, but 30 years on it still strikes a chord with me.... And Brum lost it's top nightspot overnight!... Sad eh?
 
hi jaffa ;
you are quite correct ,things was very different in those days
but sadly things got heavvy and forced the changes to be sooner than later
as i say and as the saying goes [ the raven says no-more ]but dispite what as gone on we can thank the fewtrells for changing our night life and started to brighten up brum; and let the sleeping dogs lay ; if you get my drift ;
best wishes Astonian;
 
There is a lot of folk lore associated to the times of the Krays. The information that the Krays were, by their emissaries, intending to muscle in on Brum night life came from a source of mine, at another club, and not from the Fewtrells. If the Fewtrells informed another officer it was not to my knowledge and certainly when my squad conducted our 'footwork' I never learned of it. The Krays never came to Birmingham at that time and the three individuals who did come on their behalf I cannot name but eventually we got one eight years for robbery and the other two life for their involvement in a murder. It was an involved and memorable enquiry with many interesting events that I must remain silent on.
 
Astonian,
I've only just found out that Eddie wrote a book about his time as king of the clubs.... I can feel an Amazon purchase coming on!
I agree with you about the Ferwtrells brightening up the club scene... The first club I ever went to was The Cedar Club!
 
HI JAFFA
Many thanks for the info; on eddy writing a book i think i am gonna send off for this book and i will scrutity it
i am wondering whether or not if as he mentionioned names i am very curious now and highly intrested indeed i will let you know any think
when i get it and i will be certainly sending big tony a butchers at to read he lives in sutton and so do one of two of them now ;
have a great day ; best wishes Astonian;
 
albert who worked on the door of the rum with sid, was a pall bearer at the last kray funeral. regards, paul.
 
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Thats interesting Paul I didn't know Albert was a pall bearer at a Kray's funeral,I remember him well.
 
Don't bother to get the book it not true to life I thought anyway and Astonian I cant wait to hear what you think of it lol
 
Too late, it's already on order!
Let's face it, I already suspected that it wouldn't be a 'warts and all' exposé of the exploits of the Birmingham underworld in the 20th century, but hopefully it will throw up some forgotton names, places, etc; that will be a starting point for some more delving into our devious past!!
 
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