Bouncers and Bodyguards

Former bouncer, mercenary, bodyguard and trainer of bodyguards, Robin Barratt is the author of the genre best-selling
Doing the Doors, Confessions of a Doorman
and
Maria’s Story
. During 20 long years on the doors, Barratt worked all over the UK, from Manchester and London to Mansfield, Nottingham and Norwich. He also provided personal protection, mainly to the corporate community, in high-risk areas, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Israel, Bosnia (during the conflict) and Russia, a country he specialises in. He hopes to retire soon to the west coast of France, where he can live peacefully and write fiction.

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Epub ISBN: 9781845968298

Version 1.0

  

This edition, 2009

Copyright © Robin Barratt, 2008

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by

MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY

(EDINBURGH) LTD

7 Albany Street

Edinburgh EH1 3UG

ISBN 9781845964580

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any other means without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for insertion in a magazine, newspaper or broadcast

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This book is dedicated to all those men and women who put their own health and lives on the line in order to keep other people safe and secure

T
his book is a combination of conversations, one-to-one interviews and specifically submitted written contributions. People working the doors and as bodyguards come from a whole variety of backgrounds – they are all so very different. They talk differently, write differently and explain things in a huge number of different ways, so, wherever possible, I have tried to retain and maintain each contributor’s specific and unique character and style, even when the grammar is occasionally incorrect, the tenses muddled and the verbs confused. All these stories are based on actual events; however, some contributors have opted to remain anonymous.

The power of hiding ourselves from one another is mercifully given, for men are wild beasts, and would devour one another but for this protection

A
lthough now more or less retired from operations, I worked the doors for almost 20 years and off and on as a bodyguard for almost 15 years. At the time of putting this book together, I am 45 years old and, if I am brutally and truthfully honest, getting a little too old for it all. Working the doors and out in the field as a bodyguard is most certainly a young person’s job. Although there are still many mature doormen and bodyguards out there, it has to be said that most are between the ages of 25 and 35.

It isn’t that we ‘oldies’ can’t do the job. I can honestly and modestly say that with the experience and reputation we have gained over the years in the field, we can probably do the job as well as most, if not better. Personally, however, it is the conditions and the environment in which I have occasionally found myself working that make me now tend to turn away from operations for a much quieter and far easier life. For example, in the car I now more often than not listen to Classic FM, as the serene music relaxes me when I drive and helps me control any early symptoms of road rage. Therefore, the repetitive thump, thump, thump of a noisy nightclub would most certainly send me insane and into a high-risk mental institution. And when I travel, I must admit that I do rather like the comforts of a decent hotel and tasty meals taken at leisure, so putting up with long hours and the frequently uncomfortable conditions of many high-risk close protection operations would almost certainly result in a grumpy, aching, moaning old bastard, whom I would not want to inflict on anyone! So, a relatively sedentary life in front of the computer screen is for me, I think, much preferable.

Rarely, for someone not from a predominantly military background, I went from being a timid, naive doorman at The Ritzy nightclub in provincial Norwich to an eventual trainer of bodyguards in high-risk countries worldwide. And over the years, while working on the doors and out in the field as a bodyguard, I have met a great many extremely interesting people, leading diverse and remarkable lives. I have been enthralled by hundreds of stories: funny, horrific, astounding, sad, tragic, inspiring, upsetting – the list is seemingly endless! Most of us working in the industry have had unique experiences, so I thought it would be a fantastic idea to chronicle some of our exceptional tales. And so this book was born.

During my time on the doors and out in the field as a bodyguard, I have met some wonderful and very genuine people – some real diamonds. Sadly, the opposite is also true: I have met some complete and utter cunts. I suppose it stands to reason that because of the nature of the industry – who we have to deal with, the environment in which we sometimes find ourselves and what we are occasionally asked to do – there are probably more extreme personalities working on the doors and as bodyguards than in most other professions. Most people are genuine, hard-working, honest, loyal, conscientious and utterly professional, while others are a complete waste of time – boastful, disloyal and dishonest wankers who you wouldn’t even want to wipe your arse with, let alone trust with your life.

When I first started this project, I asked around to see who would be willing to give up four or five hours of their time over a three- to four-month period in order to write about their experiences. I asked all sorts of people, from good friends who I have worked with and have infinite and everlasting respect for to friends of friends who I didn’t know personally but who were referred or recommended. I asked criminals serving life, well-known gangsters, cons and ex-cons. I spoke to the inexperienced novice door supervisor starting on the doors for the very first time and a bodyguard on his very first assignment. I asked members of Special Branch, bodyguard training companies and ‘old school’ roughneck doormen. Many said that they would be glad to contribute and a few said no – they either didn’t have the time or were just not interested. Regardless of whether they agreed to participate or not, most people I spoke to were real diamonds – but some were utter cunts.

It has been a real pleasure working with each and every one of the contributors in this book. You are all diamonds. Some of the people who gladly gave up their precious time and interrupted their busy lives to put together some great stories for me were already best-selling authors and immensely respected in the security industry. For others, this was their first piece of written work. For some of them, contributing to this book has sparked a desire to write more, and a couple of people have even asked me to help them write their autobiographies!

We have more than 20 enthralling chapters from some amazing people: Charlie Bronson writes about the early 1970s before he was put inside; Dave Courtney reveals how much he misses the violent times of the 1980s; Mickey Francis chronicles the rise and fall of Loc19, one of Manchester’s most feared door firms; Alex Powell tells me about the time he and his close protection team protected the votes of the Iraqi people; and Inna Zabrodskaya recalls the time she fucked up a security and surveillance operation for the managing director of a multi-national corporation in Moscow.

A really big thank you goes to all of the contributors, with special mention to a few friends, including Charlie Bronson. Charlie has perhaps a little more free time than the rest of us, but within a few
days
of me asking he sat down and in his own distinctive style wrote a unique and funny little story about his experiences and thoughts on doormen and working the doors. Charlie was banged up well before I sprouted pimples and has been in solitary for almost 30 years. I can’t even imagine the thought of any human being locked in solitary for so long – it utterly defies comprehension. Murderers and child molesters don’t serve sentences as long. I was told by someone visiting another prisoner in Wakefield prison that the child murderer Ian Huntley is free to walk around the visitors’ area while families are visiting. Yet Charlie is escorted to and from his cell chained like an animal.

Charlie now spends his time making art and writing books and poetry. Is he a danger to society? I doubt it very much, although it is difficult to know how he would cope in this mad, crazy world after such a long time caged up. Charlie, you are a diamond, mate. Thank you for your unique contribution, and I sincerely look forward to having that pint with you one day soon.

Paul Knight, you are also a diamond. Paul spent a whole weekend writing three great stories from his time working on the doors in London – all distinctive and interesting and representative of what true door work is all about. Paul is an utter professional in his trade, and my hat goes off to you, buddy. (Sorry, Paul, but we can only use two stories this time – but the third will go into
Bouncers and Bodyguards 2
!)