Peaky Blinders

2016-06-18T15:48:29Z

212.183.128.11: The spelling was wrong one a single word

{{about|the criminal gang|the television series|Peaky Blinders (TV series)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
[[File:Harry Fowles Peaky Blinder.jpg|thumb|"Baby face" Harry Fowles, a member of the gang]]
The '''Peaky Blinders''' were a [[street gang|criminal gang]] based in [[Birmingham]], [[England]] during the late 19th century and, to a lesser extent, in the early 20th. They were one of many urban youth gangs in the era.

== nae nae==
According to Professor [[Carl Chinn]], the name Peaky Blinders is popularly said to be derived from the practice of stitching razor blades into the peak of their [[flat cap]]s which could then be used as weapons.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|date=12 September 2013|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-24047750|title=Birmingham's real Peaky Blinders|author= Bradley, Michael|work=BBC News|location=West Midlands }}</ref> Chinn describes this as an unrealistic scenario and says that a more mundane explanation is that "peakys" was a common nickname for popular flat caps with peaks.<ref>{{cite web|author=Carl Chinn |url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/tv/birminghams-peaky-blinders---fact-5912820 |title=Birmingham's Peaky blinders – fact and fiction |publisher=Birmingham Mail |date=2013-09-12 |accessdate=2013-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Birmingham Mail|title=The TRUTH Behind the Peaky Blinders|author=Chamberlain, Zoe| date=15 October 2014| url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/truth-behind-peaky-blinders-no-7938754}}</ref> The gangs were known to have a distinctive clothing style, wearing [[peaked cap]]s, [[cravat]]s, [[bell-bottom]] trousers, and jackets whose "line of brass buttons down the front gave added distinction".<ref>{{cite book|author=Ugolini, Laura| title=Men and Menswear: Sartorial Consumption in Britain 1880–1939|publisher=Ashgate|date= 2007|page=42}}</ref>

==History==
It is a debated question whether the Peaky Blinders were a single gang or a local Birmingham term for a form of violent youth subculture. Eric Moonman states that youth street-gangs in Birmingham were known as "Peaky Blinders" or as "Sloggers".<ref>{{cite book|author=Moonman, Eric | title=The Violent Society| publisher= F. Cass|date= 1987|page=36}}</ref> Paul Thompson writes, "These gangs would attack a drunkard and probably leave him insensible in the gutter. If they cannot trip a man or knock him down, they kick or use the buckles of belts, again similar to the Scuttlers of Manchester ... They will use knife, poker, fork or anything."<ref>{{cite book|author=Thompson, Paul |title=Edwardians: The Remaking of British Society|publisher= Routledge |date=1992 |page=50}}</ref>

Philip Gooderson, author of ''The Gangs of Birmingham'', states that the Peaky Blinders originated as one gang but the term later became generic. An earlier gang known as the Cheapside Sloggers had appeared in the 1870s, and the term "Sloggers" (i.e., "fighters") had already become an eponym for street gangs when the Peaky Blinders emerged at the end of the century in Adderley Street, in the [[Bordesley, West Midlands|Bordesley]], and [[Small Heath, Birmingham|Small Heath]] areas, extremely poor slums of Birmingham. The Peaky Blinders were distinguished by their [[Wiktionary:sartorial#Pronunciation|sartorial]] style, unlike earlier gangs. Notable members included David Taylor (imprisoned for carrying a gun at 13 years old), "baby-faced" Harry Fowles, Ernest Haynes, and Stephen McNickle.<ref name ="Peak">{{cite news|author=Larner, Tony|title=When Peaky Blinders Ruled Streets with Fear|work=Sunday Mercury|date= 1 August 2010|page= 14}}</ref>

Girlfriends of gang members also had a distinctive style: "lavish display of pearls, the well-developed fringe obscuring the whole of the forehead and descending nearly to the eyes, and the characteristic gaudy-coloured silk handkerchief covering her throat."<ref name = "Peak"/> Members were allegedly often violent towards girlfriends, one of whom commented: "He'll pinch and punch you every time he walks out with you. And if you speak to another chap, he don't mind kicking you."<ref name ="Peak"/>

==In popular culture==
A [[BBC]] [[television drama series]] called ''[[Peaky Blinders (TV series)|Peaky Blinders]]'' and starring [[Cillian Murphy]] premiered in October 2013. It follows a single gang based in post-[[First World War|WWI]] Birmingham's [[Small Heath, Birmingham|Small Heath]] area. Its second season aired in 2014<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fj945|title=BBC Two – Peaky Blinders, Series 1|work=BBC|accessdate=7 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04kkm8q|title=BBC Two – Peaky Blinders, Series 2|work=BBC|accessdate=7 October 2014}}</ref> and the third aired May 5, 2016 (May 31, 2016 on [[Netflix]]).
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-24047750 BBC news article on the Peaky Blinders]
* [http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/tv/birminghams-peaky-blinders---fact-5912820 Birmingham's Peaky Blinders – in fact... and fiction, from the Birmingham Post]

[[Category:Gangs in England]]
[[Category:History of Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:19th century in England]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Peaky Blinders