Podcast version

BBC Radio 5 Live

Gangster

Podcasts

Factual: Crime & Justice: True Crime

The boxer turned bouncer who was gunned down on Tyneside in 1993

Viv Graham ran a pub and club protection empire which spanned Newcastle and beyond.

How did he build his fearsome reputation, and what led to his brutal, unsolved murder?

A new series of Gangster tells the story of Viv Graham, a man who ran a protection empire which spanned Newcastle and beyond.

Viv Graham, a 17-stone man mountain, a man feared and revered in equal measure, came to dominate Tyneside’s nightlife through brutal and uncompromising violence.

His murder, in an organised hit on New Year’s Eve 1993, sparked recriminations and repercussions which echo to this day. It remains one of the country’s most notorious unsolved murders.

The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys: The Burger Bar Boys: 3. Fall Out

Introducing Gangster: The Story of The Burger Boys

The Burger Bar Boys: 3. Fall Out

BBC Radio 5 Live - Gangster, The Story of the Burger Bar Boys, The Burger Bar Boys: 3. Fall Out

A power struggle emerges between the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys.

As the Yardie threat wanes, a power struggle emerges between the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys.

With the Yardie threat receding, the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys vied for dominance in the city. Guns became the weapon of choice, and nowhere felt safe; even the celebratory Handsworth Carnival turned into a scene of extreme gang violence. Territorial battle lines were drawn, with the Johnsons claiming the B6 postcodes of Lozells & Aston, and the Burgers controlling the B21 Handsworth area. It was in the 1990s that the names of key players began to emerge through the smoke of gun barrels. Known by their street names, the powerful and intelligent leader of the Burgers was dubbed 'the Godfather,' while others like S1, Little Dee, Charmer, and Honey Monster struck fear into the hearts of their rivals. Rumors circulated that S1 was so powerful that he was impervious to bullets due to a witchdoctor's protection spell, allowing him to survive multiple gunshot wounds.

At the heart of the Burgers' operation was Raleigh Close in Handsworth, a maze of alleys and connecting ring-roads offering multiple escape routes from their rivals and the West Midlands police. As the millennium came and went, tit-for-tat murders increased, putting a strain on the area's City Hospital, which constantly dealt with new types of trauma injuries and tried to keep the body count down. Crucially, it was the murders during this period that revealed the power of the rival gang leaders. Not only were they capable of cold-blooded murder, often in broad daylight, but they could be seen by multiple witnesses, and still, the public was too terrified to step forward and secure a conviction. As their rivalry escalated into all-out war, the gangs intensified their recruitment efforts, targeting neighbourhood schools to bolster their growing number of foot soldiers and street dealers. For the Burgers and the Johnnies, what would happen next would have global repercussions...

Presenter – Livvy Haydock
Series Producer – Hayley Mortimer
Technical Producer – Nicky Edwards
Producer – Patrick Kiteley
Researcher – Megan Jones
Archive Researcher – Nicola Han
Fixer in Jamaica – Nick Davies
Journalism Assistant – Tim Fernley
Commissioning Executive – Louise Kattenhorn
Assistant Commissioners – Lorraine Okuefuna and Natasha Johansson
Editor and Executive Producer – Carl Johnston

Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

The UK’s home of live news and live sport.

The UK’s home of live news and live sport. With live Premier League and FA Cup football, and Formula 1, Olympics and cricket coverage.

Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots.

The story of Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots in 1985.

A brand new series of Gangster tells the story of Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots in 1985.

Named after the fast food joint where they met, they were described as more ruthless than the Jamaican Yardies. They fought a bitter and bloody war with their rivals the Johnson Crew for control of the crack cocaine trade in the West Midlands. They controlled their turf in the suburb of Handsworth with threats, intimidation and sub machine guns. But when they killed two innocent girls in a drive-by shooting, they were brought down by their own community and a team of fearless detectives determined to stem the body count.        

Presenter - Livvy Haydock
Series Producer - Hayley Mortimer
Technical Producer - Nicky Edwards
Producer - Patrick Kiteley
Researcher - Megan Jones
Archive Researcher - Nicola Han
Fixer in Jamaica - Nick Davies
Journalism Assistant - Tim Fernley
Commissioning Executive - Louise Kattenhorn
Assistant Commissioners - Lorraine Okuefuna and Natasha Johansson
Editor and Executive Producer - Carl Johnston

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Gangster

The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

The Burger Bar Boys: 3. Fall Out

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 5 Live

About BBC Radio 5 Live