6 definitions by Birmingham Tour Guide
With an area covering 103.4 square miles and a population of over 1 million, Birmingham is the second largest city in England. It is the most multicultural city in the United Kingdom, with a White population of only just under 70%.
The site of Birmingham was founded in the 6th Century by the Anglo-Saxons, but it didn't become a city until 1889.
Birmingham's motto is "Forward", and nicknames of the city include: "Brum", "Brummagem", "Second City", "City of a Thousand Trades", and "Workshop of the World", as it has been the site of many industrial inventions and revolutions throughout history. Natives of the city are known as "Brummies".
Birmingham has many sports teams, including two of the oldest professional football teams in the world. Birmingham City FC, Aston Villa FC and West Bromwich Albion are the three biggest football teams, for rugby union there is the Pertemps Bees and Moseley Rugby Club, for cricket there is Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and for basketball there is the Birmingham Panthers (formerly the Birmingham Bullets).
Although it is England's second largest city, it has the lowest crime rates than the other eight major cities of England (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle).
The site of Birmingham was founded in the 6th Century by the Anglo-Saxons, but it didn't become a city until 1889.
Birmingham's motto is "Forward", and nicknames of the city include: "Brum", "Brummagem", "Second City", "City of a Thousand Trades", and "Workshop of the World", as it has been the site of many industrial inventions and revolutions throughout history. Natives of the city are known as "Brummies".
Birmingham has many sports teams, including two of the oldest professional football teams in the world. Birmingham City FC, Aston Villa FC and West Bromwich Albion are the three biggest football teams, for rugby union there is the Pertemps Bees and Moseley Rugby Club, for cricket there is Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and for basketball there is the Birmingham Panthers (formerly the Birmingham Bullets).
Although it is England's second largest city, it has the lowest crime rates than the other eight major cities of England (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle).
Birmingham is a wonderful and interesting city, which was once notorious for its uglyness, but since the 1970s the city has transformed into an attractive modern city, thanks to Birmingham City Council's urban redevelopment projects.
Nice areas - City Centre, Sutton Coldfield, Bournville, Harborne, Hall Green, Moseley.
Areas to avoid - Aston, Bordesley Green, Small Heath, Handsworth.
Nice areas - City Centre, Sutton Coldfield, Bournville, Harborne, Hall Green, Moseley.
Areas to avoid - Aston, Bordesley Green, Small Heath, Handsworth.
by Birmingham Tour Guide March 17, 2008
A Black gang from the inner areas of Birmingham (Handsworth, Winson Green, Moseley, Smethwick, Small Heath, Aston, Bordesley Green and Lozells). They are known for their gun crime and drug dealing. Their biggest rivals are another Black gang, the Johnson Crew, as well as various Asian gangs, such as the Lynx Gang and the Muslim Birmingham Panthers.
Subdivisions of the Burger Bar Boys include the Handsworth Town Crooks (HTC), the Blood Brothers, Real Man Dem (RMD), the Ghetto Hustla Boys (GHB), and the Raleigh Close Crew (RCC). These crews are recognised by wearing red bandanas or a red t-shirt or jacket. Another group, the Small Heath Mans (SHM), wear the same things but in purple.
One of the larger and more notorious subdivisions of the Burger Bar Boys is Birmingham's Most Wanted (BMW), who wear green bandanas and t-shirts. They are well known for their phrase, "Stay Mean, Stay Green," and some members have tattoos which sport this logo. This gang has been responsible for many power struggles within the Burger Bar Boys, and some members have been known to have defected to their biggest rivals, the Johnson Crew.
Subdivisions of the Burger Bar Boys include the Handsworth Town Crooks (HTC), the Blood Brothers, Real Man Dem (RMD), the Ghetto Hustla Boys (GHB), and the Raleigh Close Crew (RCC). These crews are recognised by wearing red bandanas or a red t-shirt or jacket. Another group, the Small Heath Mans (SHM), wear the same things but in purple.
One of the larger and more notorious subdivisions of the Burger Bar Boys is Birmingham's Most Wanted (BMW), who wear green bandanas and t-shirts. They are well known for their phrase, "Stay Mean, Stay Green," and some members have tattoos which sport this logo. This gang has been responsible for many power struggles within the Burger Bar Boys, and some members have been known to have defected to their biggest rivals, the Johnson Crew.
The Burger Bar Boys became well known after a gunfight with the Johnson Crew left two girls, 17 year old Letisha Shakespeare and 18 year old Charlene Ellis, dead, on the 2nd of January 2003. The attack took place for the retribution of the murder of a Burger Bar gang member, Yohanne Martin, a month earlier.
by Birmingham Tour Guide March 17, 2008
The Lynx Gang (sometimes known as the Lynx Crew) was founded in the 1970s, initially to protect the local Asian community from white power skinheads. Later the gang transformed into a violent criminal gang, due to the ghettoisation and deprivation of the Asian community in Birmingham.
The gang was founded in the Small Heath are of the city, but later spread to the boroughs of Lozells, Handsworth, Alum Rock, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Aston. Rival gangs include the Muslim Birmingham Panthers, the Burger Bar Boys, the Sikh Shere Punjab, and the Redheads. The Lynx Gang was one of the earliest gangs to form in the city, and has become one of the largest, with an estimated membership exceeding 3,000 members.
The gang was founded in the Small Heath are of the city, but later spread to the boroughs of Lozells, Handsworth, Alum Rock, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Aston. Rival gangs include the Muslim Birmingham Panthers, the Burger Bar Boys, the Sikh Shere Punjab, and the Redheads. The Lynx Gang was one of the earliest gangs to form in the city, and has become one of the largest, with an estimated membership exceeding 3,000 members.
Moazzam Begg, one of nine British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, is an ex-member of the Lynx Gang.
by Birmingham Tour Guide March 18, 2008
The Birmingham Zulus (or the Zulu Army) are the main football firm of Birmingham City Football Club. They appeared during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and their name came from their chant of "Zulu, Zulu".
The firm has members of all different ethnic backgrounds, highlighting the multiculturalism of the city of Birmingham. Their biggest rivals are fans of Aston Villa FC, although they are just as ruthless and aggressive against other clubs, especially Manchester United, Liverpool, Cardiff City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City.
The Zulus have been featured in a number of films about football hooliganism, such as Green Street Hooligans and The Firm, and were in a documentary series on Bravo called The Real Football Factories.
The firm has members of all different ethnic backgrounds, highlighting the multiculturalism of the city of Birmingham. Their biggest rivals are fans of Aston Villa FC, although they are just as ruthless and aggressive against other clubs, especially Manchester United, Liverpool, Cardiff City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City.
The Zulus have been featured in a number of films about football hooliganism, such as Green Street Hooligans and The Firm, and were in a documentary series on Bravo called The Real Football Factories.
The Birmingham Zulus have been quiet recently because of the arrest of dozens of their members since 2000, in an operation by West Midlands Police known as Operation Red Card. Many people believe they no longer exist, but you only have to look at the trouble caused at derby matches when you hear the chant of "Zulu".
by Birmingham Tour Guide April 18, 2008
The Johnson Crew originated in the Lozells district of Birmingham in the 1980s when young black men banded together to protect their local communities from white power skinheads. One of the founding members was Arthur "Super D" Ellis, whose daughter, Charlene, was murdered in 2003.
The gang members are very close-knit, often having lived on the same street for years and attended the same school. Over the years, as many members found themselves being excluded from school, they turned to petty street crime before progressing into fully fledged gangsters with a growing interest and influence in the city's burgeoning drugs market. By the late Eighties, the Johnson Crew controlled most of the city's drug supply and were prominent in nightclub security. They were making tens of thousands of pounds a week.
Disagreements over how to spend this money led to some members leaving to set up a rival firm. Basing themselves in a café, the Burger Bar Boys (as they became known) were bitter rivals to the Johnson Crew from day one. As crack cocaine swept through the city's poorest neighbourhoods, money poured into the gangs. The rivalry escalated, and so did the violence.
To date, the war between the two gangs has cost dozens of lives.
The gang members are very close-knit, often having lived on the same street for years and attended the same school. Over the years, as many members found themselves being excluded from school, they turned to petty street crime before progressing into fully fledged gangsters with a growing interest and influence in the city's burgeoning drugs market. By the late Eighties, the Johnson Crew controlled most of the city's drug supply and were prominent in nightclub security. They were making tens of thousands of pounds a week.
Disagreements over how to spend this money led to some members leaving to set up a rival firm. Basing themselves in a café, the Burger Bar Boys (as they became known) were bitter rivals to the Johnson Crew from day one. As crack cocaine swept through the city's poorest neighbourhoods, money poured into the gangs. The rivalry escalated, and so did the violence.
To date, the war between the two gangs has cost dozens of lives.
The war between the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys during the Nineties led to West Midlands Police havng the second highest armed call-outs in the UK. Staff at Birmingham's hospitals, having been called out to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, found themselves so adept at treating gunshot wounds that they already had all the battlefield skills needed for treating injured soldiers.
by Birmingham Tour Guide March 17, 2008
The Muslim Birmingham Panthers were founded in the early 1990s. The members are mostly Pakistanis and Kashmiris, as well as Muslims of other ethnic groups, such as Black Africans, Bangladeshis, Indians, Black Caribbeans and Afghans.
The gang operates in Lozells, Handsworth, Alum Rock, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Aston (the same areas as the Lynx Gang). It was formed to protect the Muslim community of Birmingham against white and black gangs, such as the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew. It is said to have more than 1,000 members and is one of the biggest gangs in Birmingham.
The gang operates in Lozells, Handsworth, Alum Rock, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Aston (the same areas as the Lynx Gang). It was formed to protect the Muslim community of Birmingham against white and black gangs, such as the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew. It is said to have more than 1,000 members and is one of the biggest gangs in Birmingham.
The Muslim Birmingham Panthers are not to be confused with Birmingham's premier basketball team, the Birmingham Panthers.
by Birmingham Tour Guide March 18, 2008