Viv (Graham): Final Chapter v. 3 [Paperback]

This is the final in the three series of "Viv" books. Unsolved murders are solved in this final chapter to the two previous books. More murders, slashings, stabbings, arson attacks, corruption and drugs.

My writing style has been both praised and attacked, but I stand by my puritanical writing style, which if it was featured in the USA would be praised. I have sought out the best there is from the criminal underworld for this book and it has not been without trying to please everybody that I've burned some night oil in adjusting many of the chapters to keep everyone happy. The main fear of those in the criminal underworld is being branded an informant and this is well covered in the book and an interview with Dave Courtney has burst the bubble on the 'Fake Informant' scam used by some police officers. Because of the respect the underworld has for me I have secured some very candid interviews from the toughest men in the north. Some of the stories they've told me are not all about violence, some are very funny stories and some are sad. I could have filled 500 pages but my remit was to fill up to 300 pages, so I was left frustrated at having to cut back on some of the items I'd planned to include. Having gained an insight into what makes gangsters tick made it easier for me to determine how to put things across. This is the last in the Viv series of books and it is, in my opinion, the best to date. The positive feedback I've had from the other two Viv books has given me the encouragement to finalise this book. What was thought to be a small print run from the first Viv book has mushroomed into three books selling multi thousands of copies worldwide, the first Viv book outselling Catherine Cookson's books on Tyneside in the Christmas of 1998. The next project is to get the big screen movie off the ground which will be about two of the characters from the books - Viv Graham and Lee Duffy. We have the actor lined up to play Lee Duffy and he is Andrew Hutt from Teesside, the role for Viv is yet to be filled. Viv Graham is featured throughout the book and stories are told about him from all quarters, but I've been honest enough to include some stories that are critical of Viv so I hope to have pleased the pro and anti Viv following.

Stephen Richards was born left handed but during his school years he was forced to write with his right hand, which he feels contributed towards his dyslexia. To date he has written some 60 titles. Most of those titles, in the beginning, started out as mail order supply only but his most prestigious titles are in the true crime and investigative sector. He qualified as a clincial hypnotherapist and stress counsellor, but left that field of work after becoming too proficient at his work which made him seek new challenges. One of those challenges was managing UK prisoner Charles Bronson, which lasted for nearly three years. During his bond with Bronson they co-wrote two books and a further book written by Bronson was edited by Richards. Richards directed a video documentary that landed him in court when Jack Straw, the Home Secretary at the time, pursued a High Court action against Richards for contempt of court when he refused to withdraw the video from public sale. Mr Straw won his case and 15 minutes of prison CCTV footage had to be cut from the video, Sincerely Yours, before it was put back on general sale. Richards received a three week prison sentence suspended indefinitely so long as he cut the footage. Ann Widdecombe the shadow Home Secrtary lambasted Richards when he decided to promote members of the criminal undwerworld on a website, but Richards wasn't breaking the law. To date respected Underworld Expert, Richards, is in demand from TV and film makers for his expertise and is currently working on ideas for TV documentaries and big screen films. As well as this Richards is moving into website production and event promtions featuring the underworld.

For the first time ever Stuart has spoken of the brutal attack and of the circumstances surrounding the build up to it and why he couldn’t retaliate, but even so he still managed to humiliate Viv by taking his best shots without returning any and still not going down. Stu takes up the story prior to the Hobos incident:

“It went back further than that with me and Viv. We had a bit of a do down at Julies nightclub about 18 months before the Hobos incident. He comes in and a few words were exchanged, I didn’t know he was in the building. He come across and put his arm across my shoulder in a friendly sort of way and he said, ‘You’re Jobie’s pal?’ (John Jobie) I replied, ‘Yes,’ and he gave me an uppercut on the chin. (Stories are coming out about Viv that confirm what other people have said.) I’ve still got a scar on my chin even now after all these years. He didn’t drop me, I pushed off him and we had a bit argy bargy and Rob Armstrong and a couple of other kids were with him, we burst out on to the street and a few words were exchanged. We were going to have a fight up the back lane but then all the doormen on the quayside were his mates and more or less worked for him down there, the trouble dispersed.

It never stopped at that though and I was supposed to meet him up at the bridle path up at Whickham (An area near to the Metro Centre shopping complex.) the next day on a Sunday. He ended up actually shaking my hand after the set to on the Saturday night and said, ‘I’d like you to come in with me,’ and as he shook hands with me he said, ‘I’d like to get all this sorted out.’ I met with a few of the lads down at Dunston and it was me and a lad called Stephen Vaughan, who used to be a good friend of mine, and I went up to Whickham to meet Viv, him and Armstrong (Rob Armstrong was once a close friend of Viv’s.) and they never turned up so that was that.

A while after that Cecil and Reg Levy offered me to do the door at Hobos. Cecil said, ‘Will you do the door,’ and he went on to say that he didn’t want the likes of Viv Graham or the Sayers’ in the place I said I would keep them out. So the first couple of nights nothing was said but word got back to me that a few of them were running around the town and were coming up to see me. I told the lads on the door at the time, Joe Quince, Stephen ‘Flash’ Gordon and a few other lads who were working with me. I said, ‘Don’t let them in the door, if they come to the door give me a shout, I’m inside and I’ll come and sort it out.’

One of the doormen come and told me that Viv and his team were at the door. I said, ‘At the door,’ so when I goes in they said that Viv wasn’t at the door but actually in the foyer of the club. I said, ‘Who’s let the fuckers in?’ So I goes straight out to the foyer and I went to the door and they were like standing in the corner and as I went through the door I actually walked past them. Again I said, ‘Who’s let these in?’

A voice behind me, Viv’s, said, ‘WATSON.’ I turned around and he gave me a left hand straightaway and I went back and the rest of them, five or six of them, stood around me and were saying to Viv: ‘Go on Viv do him, kill him, kill him, do him.’ I knew two or three of them were blade merchants anyway and I knew they’d be tooled up.

Soon as he hit me I knew he hadn’t done anything with me I was going to have a shot, but I could see I was in a no win situation with him especially when the doormen who were supposed to be standing with me fucked off out of the door, I was dropped like a hot pebble. My girlfriend was there and she could be heard squealing in the background when the court played the video footage. One of the doormen had a hold of her, she wanted to intervene herself – I’m married to her now.

Viv is still giving it to me, batting me and at the finish we burst into the club itself and he still couldn’t put me on my arse. Viv by this time was running out of puff and he says to me, ‘Go down! Go down man!’ The others who were with Viv had kicked open the fire exit doors by this time and everybody had made a big space for them and they were saying to him: ‘Get him outside, we’ll kill him,’ so Viv was still shouting at me, ‘Go down, go down.’

Viv was more concerned what was going to happen because he didn’t have the arse for it because if they had of killed me or stuck me then he was in the shit and he knew it. I didn’t go down though, I kept a hold of the spiral staircase, he didn’t hurt me but they were like a pack of dogs and jumped in and started punching and kicking me. Viv stopped it he was shouting, ‘HE’S HAD ENOUGH. HE’S HAD ENOUGH THAT’S IT!’ I was all cut and Viv was looking worried. I said, ‘Is that it then, are you finished?'