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But what do we actually know about the Angels of 2016? We are what others want to be; if they can't be you, they hate you and want to kill you. Over time, a number of separate Californian motorcycle clubs united under the name and defined admission criteria. Pint-toting bikers hug each other at stalls touting tattoos and drinking horns, race their bikes down the drag-strip and sway around to classic rock. ", Conversation is easyuntil lunch is gone and my notebook appears. I have a brilliant life. Nico, a 35-year-old from the Belgian Coast charter, is quiet at first, but we bond over bikes, poetry, and traveling. Drinks appear in my hands as if by magic, and I find myself feeling strangely safe. The main factor, it seems, is the presence of the Angels themselves. I have experienced suspicion and distrust as a journalist, but only respect, generosity, and good humor as a person. We have different charters all over the worldwe fly and ride out to visit them; it's about getting together with our brothers. News reporter In a rare lull between responsibilities, Taff meets me at the back of the Custom Tent, overlooking scores of bizarre and beautiful bikes. Tobin was riding at around 90mph and died instantly after a bullet hit him just below the helmet. Take my friends, for examplesome were unaware there are Hells Angels in Britain, while another says he knows one, a "lovely chap who lives next door to my uncle and helps with the gardening.' You get some assholes, of course, but we just love to ride and hit the road with our brothers, and that's what being a Hells Angel is about for me. Taff, President of the Ashfield charter of Hells Angels. He's hanging out with Robert and a bunch of international brothers by the bar, largely ignoring the strippers up on stage. At some point we move outside to hang out in the abandoned dodgems, before eventually passing out as the sun comes up. An Angel bearing a New York rocker (a curved patch generally signifying an Angel's charter) won't even slow down as I approach, curtly remarking, "I'm here to enjoy myself, not to talk to press. Perhaps I'm used to being physically and verbally harassed on Saturday nights in barsbut not here, where I'm comfortable in the knowledge that with these guys' simple philosophy I can give them respect and get it back. "Don't tell her anything," Taff warns her, flashing a grin. So that leaves me watching face after inked face shut down. When we do wrong, nobody forgets" may be as anti-press as it is pro-Angel. The rest of the webpage is spent lambasting and debunking the "incorrect reporting" that has sought to tie the club to a military lineage. ", The Angels line up for a photo, throwing their arms around each other. I'm introduced to Angel after Angel; handed drink after drink. Others are alarmed that I'm attending the Bash alone, and a friend in the police will say nothing on record but quietly requests I let him know I'm OK. Glancing down, I realize what made the huge Angel actively avoid me. I'm invited to stay in the US, in Belgium, in Holland, and offered tattoo designs. They nod, although one or two snap pictures of me on their mobiles to show their brothers "the girl who's asking all the questions.". "When they made me a full member I told them, 'I'm gonna ruin your reputation!'" In the old days, if you got into trouble and you couldn't remember phone numbers you'd be waiting a long time for someone to bail you out! And we wear our full kit when it's appropriateyou'd look stupid walking around Sainsbury's pushing a trolley in all your patches and leather. The vacuum created by the club's aversion to speaking to journalists has been filled with fear, ignorance, and second-hand stories; a cycle of suspicion that I'm not sure is entirely unwelcome to the Angels and their reputation. We know wherever we go in the world we will have a roof over our head, good company, good food it's really humbling.". The Angels that fringed our bench draw in, their chatter replaced by silence. Click the link below to explore the series and listen to all of the episodes released so far. ", He's happier talking about the Bash itselfsmall wonder, with the success of the festival under his charter's organization. He's not wrong. "It used to be run by HA England as a unit, but Ashfield took it over as we missed it, everybody else missed it it's an opportunity for brothers worldwide to come together, but also for other people who simply love bikes.". The Mafia don't go around with 12-inch patches on their clothes. "Oh yeahdrugs used to be legal!" "For the public?" If you fuck up, though, you'll pay for it. He and his brothers beam at each other, radiating genuine affection. ", "We've a range of ages in our charter, from twenties to fifties. When Sky journalist Darren Little was sent to cover the shooting he had no idea he was about to enter into a violent and bloody world he didn't even know existed. ", Lucky, then, that a young Belgian Angel I get chatting to points out a figure at a food stall and suggests that "Robert would be the best guy to talk to if he'll talk to you. In August 2007, Hells Angels biker Gerry Tobin was travelling on the M40 on his customised Harley Davidson when two gunmen fired at a him from a vehicle in the outside lane. "I find their food a bit bland," he stage-whispers. My press pass is a leper's bell around my neck. Listen below. I wander up to the drag-strip to check out the action, where the wheelies and burnouts are nearly as entertaining as watching Angels submit to having sun cream applied by their wives and girlfriends. His journey would bring him face to face with one of the most dangerous men in the country. ", Robert turns out to be a charismatic 69-year-old Californian from the Daly City charter, who is showing the hotdog vendors a jar of his fiery chilli-garlic sauce. The police still recognize the biker brotherhood as an organized crime group, but to me they just looked like a friendly group of guys with face tattoos. I ask if there's been any significant changes in the club over time. "I don't want the exposure; it brings heat. Yet the Global Gathering dance festival, which takes place on the same site, has a much more scandalous history, with numerous thefts, plenty of drug use, sexual assault, and a death as recently as 2012and does not share the same notoriety. The motto "When we do right, nobody remembers. asks Robert. I can't explain what it does, but it works.". While a few might wish some change of their reputation, many actively bolster it, and for their own purposes they hold on to their mystiqueas do, for example, the Freemasons. People have biased opinions through the press, books, whatever actually, we don't want to say too much, the public don't know and that's how we want to keep itkeep some mystique. "I'm married with a five-year-old son, I went to university, have a pizza and pasta bar and no tattoos. StoryCast '21 is telling 21 personal stories from some of the biggest news events of the century. I tell them I'm only here to see and hear for myself what the club is about, and write only from my experience. I get chatting to a couple of Belgian brothers who take me to the members-only bar. There's a missed call on my phoneI've got an interview with Taff, President of the Ashfield charter, who are the main organizational force behind the Bulldog Bash. Though smaller than it used to be, with attendance nearer 5,000 than the 50,000 that showed up to party in 2007, it's cheaper, safer, more relaxed, and focused on the main thing that brings everyone together, myself includedthe bikes. Every brother is different. In any organization or walk of life there's some piece of shit that tarnishes a reputation. But it's a wonderful, wonderful brotherhood. He's tired, gruff, and business-like, but takes the time to politely answer my unwelcome queries. Darren has shared his story in UK Biker Wars, the ninth episode of StoryCast '21, a Sky News podcast series telling 21 stories from the year 2000 to 2021. "What we stand for is very simple: high standards in life. I'm at the Bulldog Bash, the Hells Angels' annual festival near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. We shake hands and Taff's bubbly wife brings me a flute of pink prosecco. The Bash has garnered some bad press in the past, with the case of Angel Gerry Tobinwho was shot dead on his way home from the 2007 Bashoften referenced. Then his gaze travels south. "We are purely and simply a motorcycling club. There's a chorus of laughter and agreement. The brothers are incredibly welcoming, and with the disappearance of my camera the younger ones especially are more open to chatting. Among themand yet standing apartare the Angels, their presence evident in the rows of black Harleys, in their trademark logo gleaming on leather waistcoats, in the clasp of hands and the murmured word "brother.". Wordlessly, he turns and strides off towards the bellowing bikes. We do that less nowsay if you get into trouble, you sort yourself out." "Yes: fuck off!" He insists on buying me lunch, and we sit down to eat among a group of his brothers from several continents beneath a banner reading "Hells Angels support our brothers in jail. I wander off towards the "adult entertainment zone," where B-Bob, the New Yorker who shut me down earlier, greets me enthusiastically. he laughs. There are now over 400 charters worldwide, from Japan to Peru. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. The Warwickshire police press office confirms that they still officially recognize the Hells Angels as an organized crime group. The police's official stance is that there is "evidence to suggest they are involved in criminal activity," and there is one reported incident of an assault at the Bash this yearbut I have personally witnessed no aggression among the thousands of drunken bikers. And you can't forget the good that's done here, eitherthe Bulldog raises money for local charities, and historic Stratford itself is full of signs welcoming the attending bikers. Their officially trademarked name and logo conjure notorious legends both urban and historical. There's a brief history of the club on the official website. You treat people the way you want to be treated, you give and get respect. If we were gangsters, we wouldn't be out working every day! The police very quickly arrested a number of members of the Outlaws - a motorcycle group which was the arch rival of the Hells Angels. "We're just more modern; cellphones, laptops, etc. Subscribe to Storycast 21 now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Spreaker. @TomGillespie1. Robert hands me his phone and invites me to scroll through photos he's taken of old images, denim-clad Angels in the 60s and 70s. And why would you advertise that if it was the point of your organization? I ask them to turn so I can take a picture of the diverse charter rockers on their backs"Only if you turn and shake your ass for us first!". The first Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was founded in 1948 in San Bernardino, California, the name apparently having been suggested to the founders by a former pilot of the WWII Flying Tigers' "Hells Angels" squadron. His expression darkens. "The style, the clothes, the bikes have changed, but the people have remained the same. We are the standard for motorcycle clubs. I ask if there's anything they would like to put out there, any idea or statement. A resounding guffaw. StoryCast '21: Inside the UK biker feud between the Hells Angels and Outlaws. The Hells Angels are a collective of individuals. He's the second to ask to see my notes before publication. A gargantuan Hells Angel smiles at me.

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