Perry Boys

by Ian Hough

The Perry Boys are one of the great untold stories of modern youth culture. They emerged in the pivotal year of 1979 in inner-city Manchester and Salford, a mysterious tribe of football hooligans and club-goers united by a new fashion. Their only counterparts at the time were the Scallies of Liverpool, who became their biggest rivals both on and off the terraces.

As a young follower of Manchester United, Ian Hough witnessed first-hand how the Jurassic bootboys of the infamous Red Army were slowly usurped by a small but fast-growing group of unlikely-looking pretenders. They sported Fred Perry polo shirts (hence the Perry name), Lee cords, Adidas Stan Smith trainers and wedge haircuts. Their sound and style-track was Roxy Music and David Bowie and they established an appetite for amphetamine-fuelled excess that would eventually transform both cities into clubbing and style capitals of the world.

Hough was one of the originals and charts those heady years in vivid prose. He describes the fights, the fanaticism, the drugs, the trips abroad and the main faces who scoured Europe for the latest obscure designer gear.

As the scene developed and split, it spawned gangsters, grafters, drug dealers and the nascent rave scene. It also went mainstream, influencing high street fashion and spewing out a host of imitators.  Perry Boys  is a witty, nostalgic yet unsentimental look at a cultural explosion whose tremors are still being felt.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sally Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first chapter but struggled with the rest of the book. I'm stubborn so had to finish it but it felt like someone bragging about their tales of getting off their nut. Not my cup of tea!

[Mark Maddock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snapshot of the new wave of football hooligans in the late 70’s. More style conscious and less ‘bovver boy’. Having said that it’s a bit self-important and dull in sections. There are more entertaining reads out there such as ‘Grafters’ and the Red Army Years.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work with Ian. He's a great chap. His writing has a wonderfully frantic style. If you like books like Trainspotting you should check this one out. While it is in part a historical exploration of fashion, football, and life in late 70's manchester, there's a lot of great organic philosophy mixed in. A truly fun read.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the better-written football hooligan cash-in memoirs. That being said, it's a bit disorganized and suffers for a lack of illustration (at least in the sections discussing fashion). Of course the early Perry Boy/Scally/proto-Casual years went without much photographic evidence or press coverage, so there isn't really a pool to draw from in terms of illustrations.