Outlaws: Inside the Violent World of Biker Gangs (40 page)

Good Standings – a member who leaves in good standings is allowed to maintain some level of contact with members, though they are no longer privy to club business.

GBNF – Gone But Not Forgotten, commonly used in memorials to bikers who have passed away.

HA – Hell’s Angels.

HAMC – Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club.

Hangaround – a potential prospect who is allowed to hang around the clubhouse so that club members can get to know them.

Harley Davidson – the motorcycle of choice for OMGs, although the legendary Sonny Barger is quoted as saying, ‘Harleys are junk, technology wise. If I was not a Hell’s Angel I would probably be riding an ST1100, a BMW or a Triumph’.

Hells Angels/Hell’s Angels – I have included the apostrophe in Hell’s Angels throughout this book. The seamstress who sewed the first ever back patch for the club forgot to leave space for one, and it has been officially omitted ever since. But in his autobiography
Hell’s Angel
(2000), Sonny Barger states: ‘the apostrophe is used in the name of the club and the corporation, but not on the patch’ – hence its appearance here.

Hog – a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Ink – tattoo.

Ink and Iron – a major custom bike and tattoo show, which takes place in Birmingham each year and is organised by the UK chapter of the Outlaws MC.

Jugs – cylinders.

Knucklehead – a Harley Davidson engine produced during the World War Two.

LL&R – Love, Loyalty & Respect/Live Long & Ride, a common sign-off on outlaw biker internet forums.

Lounge Lizards – imprisoned members of the Outlaws MC. Some former inmates have the initials LL tattooed on their bodies.

Mama – a woman who is sexually available to all members of a club.

MC – Motorcycle Club. Outlaw bikers wear these initials on a square cloth patch on the right side of their colours.

Mother Chapter – the chapter responsible for issuing and approving new charters. Usually the original founding chapter of the club.

Nike Bikies – term used to describe a new generation of Australian motorcycle gangs whose members wear designer jeans, and trainers instead of traditional biker boots.

OFFO – Outlaws Forever, Forever Outlaws, a common tattoo. Variations of this are used by virtually every outlaw club in the world, substituting the letters to fit their own club name.

Old lady – the wife or steady girlfriend of an MC member.

OMG – Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. Used to designate all one percenter clubs, not just the Outlaws MC.

Pasta Rockets – derogatory term for Italian sports bikes.

Patches (also known as ‘colours’ or ‘cut’) – the collective name given to the insignias and logos worn on a leather or denim cut-off by all outlaw bikers, denoting the name of their club and its location. Patches are considered absolutely sacred. Losing a set in the wrong circumstances can get you kicked out of the club.

Patch holder – a full member of an MC. Members must be
male, should usually be at least twenty-one-years-old and own a motorcycle over 750cc.

President – the head of a chapter. The president is usually required to attend regular national meetings with other chapter presidents.

Property Patch/Property Belt – an item of clothing worn by an old lady to show that she belongs to either an individual club member or to the club as a whole. Although considered demeaning, some women are happy to wear them as it prevents them being approached by bikers who want to know if they are available.

Prospect – probationary members of an MC. They are required to carry out menial tasks for the club, often for a year or more, to prove their worthiness. They require a one hundred per cent vote to be awarded their full patches.

Puppet Club (also known as ‘support club’) – a smaller MC, overseen by the major clubs, it acts on behalf of the larger club and is used as a source of potential recruits. The official Outlaws puppet club is known as the Black Pistons. The Hell’s Angels have designated numerous small MCs as support clubs.

Red and White – a nickname for the Hell’s Angels. The club’s official colours are red letters on a white background.

Rice Burner – derogatory term used by outlaw bikers for any Japanese motorcycle. Also known as ‘Jap Crap’.

RICO – the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act. A federal statute passed by the US Congress in 1970 to deal with organised racketeering activity. RICO law is specifically directed at individuals or organisations involved in systematic, long-term illegal activities. It increases criminal penalties and allows civil claims to be
pursued against individuals, businesses or groups for actions taken as part of a criminal organisation.

Riding Season – in those parts of the world where the weather does not allow year-round biking, club members are required to have their bikes in full working order during the riding season or risk expulsion. In the UK the season runs from 1st April to 30th September.

Rock and Blues – a large motorcycle festival organised by the Outlaws MC in the UK each summer. The Outlaws equivalent of the Bulldog Bash.

Rocker – a curved cloth strip worn as part of the patches. The top rocker contains the club’s name; the bottom rocker contains the location of the chapter. Together with the central logo, the two rockers comprise the three-piece patch of a full member of an outlaw motorcycle club.

Run – a club outing for members and associates, often lasting an entire weekend and usually involving a long ride in tight formation. Some runs are mandatory and will often involve other chapters or clubs, creating convoys of more than one hundred bikes.

Secretary – the title of the elected chapter officer who is responsible for general administration. He will keep minutes of all church meetings and send them to the mother chapter on a regular basis.

Sergeant-at-arms – the officer responsible for club discipline and issuing weapons. An elected position, only the sergeant-at-arms is allowed to strike members of the club.

SS – awarded to Outlaws who have killed or attempted to kill on behalf of the club (and equivalent to the Hell’s Angels Filthy Few), the patch features two lightning bolts on the inner arm, a reference to the insignia of the Nazi Schutzstaffel.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally – a major biker event that takes place in Sturgis, South Dakota, during the first full week of August.

Support Club – see ‘Puppet Club’.

Treasurer – the elected officer responsible for club finance within a chapter.

Vice-president – the elected officer of a chapter who deputises for the president in his absence.

War Fund – a money drive among club members that takes place during times of conflict. The funds raised are used to purchase weapons.

War Wagon – a vehicle used to transport the club’s arsenal during an outing when trouble is expected from rival clubs.

World Run – an annual rally that all club members are required to attend. The location changes each year.

Heartfelt thanks to Boone for sharing his story with me, and to Sally for supporting him while he did so; as for the other members of the Outlaws MC, both past and present, who assisted with the research for this book despite being told not to do so, you know who you are and I am deeply grateful.

Thanks also to everyone at United Agents, particularly the dynamic duo of Caroline Dawnay and Olivia Hunt. Last but not least, enormous thanks to Rupert Lancaster, a young man back when this book was first commissioned, and to Zelda Turner.

Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos: 1 above. Press Association Images: 1 centre right and below left to right, 2 above right, 5, 7 above left and below right, 8 above. Reuters/Steven Siewert: 8 centre right. Rex Features: 3 above, 6, 7 below left. Courtesy of Warwickshire Constabulary: 4. Additional sources: D. Boone, Private Collections.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but if there are any errors or omissions, Hodder & Stoughton will be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent printings or editions.