www.casspennant.com
Media Articles
A LOVE SUPREME (fanzine
issue 115)
September 2003
| Cass Pennant, once the leader of West Ham’s ICF, has changed his fighting ways. After a spell in prison, Cass began to publish successful books on the world of football hooliganism and now feels that the pen is mightier than the sword. We met up with Cass over the summer for a chat. |
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How did you get involved in writing? I first started
writing a book when I had a lot of time to think and also a lot of anger
to get out and sort a way out of my situation for when I would be released
from Wormwood Scrubs. Getting a book published would be my escape hatch
from gang culture. My chance came many years later when Kate Kray asked
me to appear as a chapter in her book Hard Bastards. I said no
at first, but changed my mind as she could fix a meeting with her publisher
to show some of my own work. That publisher was John Blake and the rest,
as they say, is history. What triggered
football hooliganism in your opinion? Forget your Sociologists, medieval days, games of murder ball, the aggro as we know it appeared just after the World Cup when Mods became skinheads, which was a violent culture, whose fashion was gang orientated. The other important factor is this youth cult was pure working class and football really was the sport of the working classes, none of your executive boxes mate. The youth of the day was establishing its own identity by mobbing up behind the home end goal. End of season 1967, Man Utd won the title at Upton Park, amidst the worst scenes of football violence ever reported in the South, the following day Celtic and Rangers clashed in a riot that was the worst reported in the North. These four teams figured prominently over the next decade. The most common written graffiti words from then on were ‘We Rule OK’ and ‘[insert team name] Aggro’. By 1969 the Skinhead culture had swept the nation, everyone was on and up for it, complete with Bovver boots, even the birds! Did it ever get
to the point where the fighting became more important than the match
itself? Looking back there was plenty of times fighting was more important than the match, especially in those crazy 70s, when you had to fight all the way just to get into the ground. Ask any Sunderland fan who can remember negotiating the London Underground system back then. Now, I’ll ask you a question, did you ever go to Millwall and remember anything about the match? If you did, I’ll put it to you that you must ‘ave been wearing a Millwall scarf, for even my lot [ICF] had to watch our backs. |
So if there were points I can remember, like your local derbies, where the main focus was your rival fans, I would like to add the fighting was never more important than that of your support of your club. I would even say the fighting was an expression of the extent of how far you would take your loyalty; others might simply say that it was taking it too far. What is your
purpose for writing books on hooliganism? My pal Dave Courtney
[Gangster] said: ‘Now is the wrong time to be a professional naughty
person, but the right time to try making a profession from having been
one.’ I would go along with that today, but let the truth be known,
I first wrote what became later Cass and Congratulations,
You Have Just Met the ICF back in 1978 and again in 81, when I was
jailed for football offences and as an angry young man, I felt the world
did not know what a typical football hooligan was. Of course, they never
did, because it was 1989 before the first fan/hoolie wrote a book that
wasn’t an observation by sociologists. The fact that my books are
on the shelves now didn’t take away the fact that it’s been
an ambition of mine for many long years. In one of your
books, you claimed that you saved Frank Bruno’s life, what happened
on that night, and has he personally thanked
you? Personally, I’ve never
ever said it that way. It’s been well documented and often gets
written up that way. To be fair, Frank himself says it that way and
it’s because of that , his way of personally thanking me was to
take me to an all expenses paid trip to Jamaica, to find the father
I never knew I had, as all the records stated, ‘Father Unknown’
I was a Dr Barnardo’s kid. You also claim that you
took 3 bullets to the chest in a nightclub, and still continued to fight,
how true is that statement? It is as true as the witness statements taken at the time, as true as the last bullet they cut out of my back a year after the incident. But what’s also true is I had fought all my life going forwards, but truth be known, that night I went forward on instinct, for the fear felt was real enough. To smell the cordite of a smoking gun trained on you, tells you I was close enough to not ever want to re-live that experience, for your choices to level that are limited. |
Racism was particularly
prominent in football during the 70s and 80s, how did this affect you,
being black growing up in football? I would be a liar to say it didn’t affect me, my club got a lot of publicity, but I personally thought the North East was worse back then. Black fans went to football throughout those times, but the ones I met were all strong characters, I don’t really wanna go back there coz football’s ‘Kick out Racism’ has done a good job, even though it’s a different type of fan who can afford to go to watch football these days. The main thing for me back in the day was the fact that the fans themselves beat racism; mobs like the ICF led the way. Believe me, the police did nothing, nor did the clubs, it wasn’t even an offence. You mentioned
signing a film contract. What’s the crack with this? There’s a film
deal on the ICF book [released paperback August 26 2003] with every
intention of hitting our cinemas in 2o04, as will The Football Factory
for certain and maybe Irvine Welsh will do something with Soul Crew.
I say look back to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and remember
what followed, two years of British gangster flicks. Any one of these
‘hoolie’ films will make it big and if good enough, you will
see the same situation. I am serious and most of us have always said
likewise since we first saw Quadrophenia didn’t we? The
music, the fashion, the lads, it’s all there. Watching Football
or Fighting? Well, football is
a passion and fighting is just a buzz, but I’d admit sometimes
in the past I’d got them muddled. Gotta say, when watching football
today, the players have no pride in the shirt, both at club and international
level. How I miss the players of the 70s, here’s one for yer. Pop,
Pop, Pop, Pop Robson score a little goal for me. Bryan ‘Pop’
Robson, former Sunderland and West Ham legend, he was a favourite of
mine. Knife or Gun? I’ve got scars
from both, the knife then was what the gun is today. Standing or sitting
in football grounds? Bring back standing areas! Football was never about all things nice. Football was about standing in the exposed away end hearing the roar of the home end and doing ‘knees up Mother Brown’ while avoiding being crushed on the crash barrier. Boys becoming men and men acting like boys. |
You lot chant we’re ‘just a small club in London’ and thanks to players with no pride in the shirt we have become that, you [Sunderland fans] also understand that pain. Whilst researching Terrace Legends with your own Gary Lamb and Frankie Wheatley, I’ve got to see the other side of you guys. As they say, ‘time to talk’, I fight no more, just like your famous Roker Roar, the times have changed for our clubs and I bet it’s now your old mate Peter Reid who sings ‘Cheer Up’ back to you, but we have our memories and mine can recall, even Londoners cheering, when you turned over Leeds at Wembley in 73. If you’re a football fan remembering the days is good enough reason in my book for any continued support, my work as an author will take you back to another side of those days, to a time when the Roker Roared, He’s Only A Poor Little Cockney BOOK
INFORMATION Cass: Came out in 2000
on hardback, became a best seller and charted as high as 6 in various
book top tens. It’s still on the bookshelves as it’s a popular
paperback. It’s the one I get stopped in the street for. It’s
finding new readers all of the time. I don’t think any book I write
will top the pleasure of this one because one, it’s read by both
sexes and all age groups. Two it’s personal, very personal and
originally I had my doubts about sharing all that with the world. But
today I know players have read it. Lennox Lewis was seen reading it
on a flight to Japan and the Costa De Crime find it a popular read,
which I found out during an interview for radio overseas. I also once
took a call direct from the ‘Oprah Winfrey’ show in America
when they picked up on my unique friendship with Frank Bruno. The ICF Book: Was always my original
book and is very satisfying because I’m not a person who ever gives
up. 24 years later, Trouble On The Terraces became Congratulations
You Have Just Met The ICF and went No. 8 in the Sunday Times bestsellers
list, only 100 copies behind Margaret Thatcher’s Statecraft. Want Some Aggro? Was a best seller
in the sports book section [No. 9] and is regarded as a prequel to The
ICF Years. It’s my pal Mickey Smith’s story and written through
his eyes. Rolling With
the 657 Crew: Most recent bestseller, as high as No. 6 in the Sunday Times top 10. Portsmouth wanted their book and is co-authored with 657’s Rob Silvester. It was a personal as I was writing about my team, but didn’t want to lose the respect of both the West Ham or Portsmouth fans. The charts aren’t needed for this book; the fans in Portsmouth now believe I have a second team. |
