''Gangsters'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

programme made by

BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...

and shown in two series from 1976 to 1978. It was created by Philip Martin and starred

Maurice Colbourne Maurice Colbourne (24 September 1939 – 4 August 1989) was an English stage and television actor who starred as Tom Howard in the BBC television series ''Howards' Way''. He is also known for roles in other television series such as ''Gangster ...

as John Kline, a former SAS officer recruited by law enforcement to become an undercover agent in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Production

Produced at the BBC's

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

in Birmingham by David Rose, ''Gangsters'' began its television life as an edition of ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' in 1975, followed by two series transmitted in 1976 and 1978. The series, set in the multi-cultural criminal community of

, has remained a cult favourite, memorable for its strong violence, multi-ethnic cast (and realistic – and now rather shocking – depiction of the racism of the time) and highly stylised,

post-modern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

approach to storytelling. ''Gangsters'' featured references to

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

, gangster films, westerns,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

movies, as well as increasingly surreal end-of-episode cliffhangers and a bizarre final scene where the characters not only "break the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

" but walk off the set. The two series had quite different tones. The first was a gritty thriller whilst the second was more surreal, with more emphasis on the post-modern elements although it wasn't well received at the time. The

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

was an instrumental composed and performed by

Dave Greenslade David John Greenslade (born 18 January 1943) is an English composer and keyboard player. He has played with Colosseum from the beginning in 1968 until the farewell concert in 2015 and also from 1973 in his own band, Greenslade, and others inclu ...

. It was released as a single with a character theme from the series, "Rubber Face, Lonely Eyes", on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

; the single was credited to Dave Greenslade's band

Greenslade Greenslade were an English progressive rock band, formed in the autumn of 1972 by keyboard player Dave Greenslade and bassist Tony Reeves, with keyboardist Dave Lawson and drummer Andrew McCulloch. History The band made their live debut at ...

, even though the only performers on both tracks are Dave Greenslade and a session drummer. Greenslade recorded their own version of the song for their album ''

Time and Tide Time and Tide (usually derived from the proverb ''Time and tide wait for no man'') may refer to: Music Albums * ''Time and Tide'' (Greenslade album), 1975 * ''Time and Tide'' (Basia album), 1987 * ''Time and Tide'' (Battlefield Band album), ...

''. At David Rose's request, for the last series Dave Greenslade adapted it into a version with lyrics sung by

Chris Farlowe Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 196 ...

Cast

* John Kline (

) – a tough, shady former SAS soldier recently released from prison who becomes embroiled in the intrigues of the local underworld while attempting to go straight. * Khan (Ahmed Khalil) – police detective who uses Kline as a pawn in his bid to nail the organised crime syndicates of Birmingham. * Anne Darracott ( Elizabeth Cassidy) – a young woman and former

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addict who becomes Kline's live-in lover. * Aslam Rafiq (

Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and 1990s he wa ...

) – the charismatic boss of a racket trafficking illegal immigrants. * Sarah Gant (

Alibe Parsons Alibe Parsons (born 21 December 1945) is an actress who has worked in both film and television. On television, she is best known for her regular role in the 1970s BBC drama ''Gangsters'' as Sarah Gant. She also had a recurring role in the sc ...

) – glamorous undercover

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

agent out to nail the drugs trade in the city, with a private mission to avenge the murder of her sister. * Kuldip (Paul Satvendar) – Rafiq's murderous henchman. * Malleson ( Paul Barber) – a former thug who takes over his boss’s underworld empire after he is killed and proves to be a formidable adversary of Kline and Khan. * Shen Tang ( Robert Lee) – the leader of a local

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

triad gang. * Lily Li Tang (

Chai Lee Chai Lee is an actress, born in Canton, China. She is best known for her appearances in British films and television, particularly her uncredited role as a Moonbase Alpha operative in the science fiction series ''Space 1999'', as Esther in '' ...

) – the daughter of Shen Tang, who assists her father in the running of the triad. * Rolf Day (Rolf Day) – The racist night club comedian who performs in the Rum Runner night club. * The series's writer, Philip Martin, also appeared in multiple roles, playing the gangland boss Rawlinson in the original play, the hired assassin 'The White Devil' at the end of season two (though Martin was credited as Larson E Whipsnide, a reference to his WC Fields inspired performance as the character), and as himself, dictating the script to a typist, in cutaways throughout season two.

DVD release

The complete series of ''Gangsters'' was released on DVD (Region 2, UK) through 2 Entertain/Cinema Club in April 2006.

References

External links

*
Action TV

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gangsters (Tv Series) 1975 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1970s British crime television series Television shows set in Birmingham, West Midlands Play for Today English-language television shows