Eddie Fewtrell Birmingham Clubs – A daughter only discovered her father was part of Britain’s gangland folklore when she studied crime fiction at university.
Abi Keogh is the daughter of Eddie Fewtrell, a Birmingham nightclub boss who fought to keep Ronnie and Reggie Kray out of the Midlands in the 1960s.
But she says she only discovered her father’s reputation after she became an English literature student at Gloucester University.
Abi Keogh is the daughter of Eddie Fewtrell, who fought to keep the Kray twins out of the Midlands in the 1960s
Fewtrell was linked to the so-called Battle of Snow Hill, a fight said to have taken place in the late 1960s after he threw the Krays out of his Bermuda Club.
He has always denied being a gangster, but his links to the underworld clash have given him years of notoriety in Birmingham.
Ms Keogh said she was heavily protected as a child and was kept in the dark about her father’s work.
Eddie Fewtrell Birmingham Clubs
Over the next few years Eddie opened Rebecca’s, Abigail’s, Boogie’s nightclub, Boogie’s Brasserie, Edward’s No. 7, Edward’s No. 8, the Paramount pub and Goldwyn’s. Barbarella’s became the top showcase for many up and coming UK pop groups.
In his explosive book King of Clubs, co-written by Shirley Thompson, he revealed how he defended his empire from local toughs and London gangsters like the Krays.
He wrote: “There were two gangs in London at the time: the Krays, who were all known about, and the Richardson brothers, who were the lesser known ones but just as evil.
“The Richardson mob arrived at Snow Hill Station on one platform and were met by a deputation of various Birmingham nightclub owners, their families, and their foot-soldiers.
“They were persuaded that they should move across the opposite platform – and catch the next train straight back to London.
“That’s a story that became famous amongst people in the Birmingham entertainment business and the underworld.
“Within three weeks or so of opening, I had the casino running downstairs at the Cedar Club, when the bell rang downstairs.
“I went to the door. Chrissie, my brother, was usually on the door. He said “We’ve got a problem outside”.
“There were five guys outside and another guy who was the doorman at the Castaways, down in the Fruit Market.
“I said, ‘You’re not coming in here.’
“They said, ‘Are you going to keep us out?’
“I said, ‘Yes I am.’
“These were the same people who I’d injured, or put in hospital, when they tried to attack me in the Bermuda Club.
“They all finished up in hospital again. The ambulance came to take them away. It was the third time this had happened.
“Trouble like this continued all the time, so I turned round and said ‘If you come back again, I’m going to kill you’.
“The way I felt at the time I would’ve done but, of course, as time went by, I just forgot about it.
“I heard no more about that for a while, but then it got about that all the Fewtrells had done them, whereas, once again, it was just me and Chrissie who’d sorted them out between us.
“Being saddled with all that responsibility from an early age had a profound effect on me so when I finally got somewhere, my attitude was ‘Nobody is going to take this off me’.
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“I always ran my businesses as good businesses. I always paid my debts, I didn’t owe anyone anything. Continue reading
Eddie Fewtrell’s name is often related to the Kray Twins, the organized crime duo who ruled over the East End of London, England, from the late 1950s to 1967.
It is not the family bond or friendship that Eddie is known for with the Kray Twins.
Instead, it is the dangerous rivalry between the two families. Eddie is predominantly known for banishing The Krays from Birmingham when the twins had set eyes upon Eddie’s club business.
Daughter only Learns of Dad’s Secret Gangster Identity After Being Asked To Study His crimes At University
A father’s secret identity as a notorious gangster and enemy of the Krays was only discovered by his daughter when she studied crime fiction at university.
Abi Keogh was oblivious to the fact her dad, Eddie Fewtrell, was heavily involved in the UK’s underground crime network.
The Birmingham gangster kept East End crime kingpins the Kray twins out of the midlands whilst also keeping his daughter sheltered from the reality of his activities.
That was until Abi was asked to read a book about her father during her English Literature course at Gloucester University.
Abi, now 42, explained: ‘I took a module on crime fiction and opened one of the books on a page about Chris Lambrianou, a man who my dad would refer to as “London Chris”.
‘I knew who he was because he would hang around at the Elbow Room club where my dad said I was forbidden to go.
‘I read on and it started talking about my dad and referred to the Fewtrells as “the gangster family”.’
It was then she realised why boys had been so reluctant to make a move on her during her youth.
She said: ‘When I was a teenager, I always wondered why no boys would go out with me.
‘I never really had a boyfriend when I was younger because people were too scared to approach me.
‘I really fancied one of dad’s bouncers named Tony and always wondered why he was not interested in me at all. I eventually told him that I fancied him and asked him if he felt the same.
‘He said that if he went near me, what dad planned to do to the Krays would be nothing in comparison to the punishment he’d receive.’
Despite her shock at learning the truth, Abi admits her childhood was anything but ordinary.
Tina Turner sang at her christening and Tom Jones greeted her as he drank coffee in her kitchen one morning.
Her mother Hazel was also close friends with Scottish pop star Lulu.
Fewtrell was supposedly involved in the Battle of Snow Hill in the late 1960s, a huge stand-off which occurred after he threw the Krays out his his Bermuda Club.
Known around the city as ‘Mr Nightclub’, Fewtrell sold his empire nearly 20 years ago.
Alongside his brothers, including Don and Chris, he entertained the city and grew a vibrant club scene out of a few cafes and restaurants during the 1950s.
Abi Keogh and her writer husband David Keogh
Abi now lives in Ivybridge, Devon with her husband David, 52, and their two sons.
David has published his own exploration into Abi’s family called Accidental Gangster, documenting the Fewtrells’ battle with the Krays during the 1960s as the twins sought to take over Birmingham.
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