MAIL ONLINE: The REAL Peaky Blinders: New documentary reveals Birmingham's violent 'slogging' gangs born from territorial wars were the 'reality stars' of the 19th century

Press/Media: Expert comment

Period7 Mar 2022

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleThe REAL Peaky Blinders: New documentary reveals Birmingham's violent 'slogging' gangs born from territorial wars were the 'reality stars' of the 19th century
    Media name/outletMail Online
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date7/03/22
    DescriptionThe term Peaky Blinder was first used by the press in 1890 and according to Dr Eloise Moss, Manchester University, gangsters were viewed as the 'celebrities of their day' and sought out attention from the press.

    'If you think about how popular reality TV is today, it's the Victorian version of that, of finding out what's going on in your local area, the crimes that have been committed, the bad guys, the scandal. So it becomes a lot more exciting to read, it is the birth of the modern tabloid press.

    'Crime is the most commercial form of entertainment news in Victorian Britain, they're doing something people can only really aspire to, breaking the rules, it could be seen as a form of social mobility.'

    She added: 'You may well want to be featured by the press if you're a member of a gang in this period because it gets your name out there and you become notorious'.
    URLhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10586357/The-story-REAL-Peaky-Blinders-told-new-BBC-documentary.html
    PersonsEloise Moss

Keywords

  • Peaky Blinders
  • history
  • organised crime