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The Complete Richard Allen, Vol. 6
The final volume--includes Glam, Teeny Bopper Idol and the ultra rare Demo.
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 1997
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About the author
Richard Allen
58 books37 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
'Richard Allen' is the name on the front cover of the million-selling Skinhead books. The name was thought of by the editors at the London publishing firm New English Library and given by them to Jim Moffatt, one of a number of hack writers who churned out their books to order.
Born of Irish extraction, Jim Moffatt went to Britain and learnt his trade writing up to six stories a week (thrillers, spies, Westerns) for pulp fiction magazines. He moved on to writing books, and by the mid-seventies reckoned he had produced 250 in the previous 20 years, at a rate of 10,000 words a day when deadlines were approaching. Meanwhile, the managing director of the ailing New English Library imprint was desperate to make inroads into a new audience of younger readers; his editorial board came up with the idea of commissioning a novel set in the emerging skinhead subculture. In six days Moffatt wrote Skinhead. The book was an immediate hit, and many of its youthful readers were convinced that the author was a real hooligan, not a 55-year-old Canadian who always wore a jacket and tie and whose lurid tales of sex and street violence were written from the same seafront cottage in Sidmouth in which he also penned a column for the local paper. Soon after Skinhead Farewell Moffatt's real-life relationship with NEL came to an end.
Moffatt died of cancer in the early nineties, just at the time when the skinhead style was coming back into fashion.
'Richard Allen' is the name on the front cover of the million-selling Skinhead books. The name was thought of by the editors at the London publishing firm New English Library and given by them to Jim Moffatt, one of a number of hack writers who churned out their books to order.
Born of Irish extraction, Jim Moffatt went to Britain and learnt his trade writing up to six stories a week (thrillers, spies, Westerns) for pulp fiction magazines. He moved on to writing books, and by the mid-seventies reckoned he had produced 250 in the previous 20 years, at a rate of 10,000 words a day when deadlines were approaching. Meanwhile, the managing director of the ailing New English Library imprint was desperate to make inroads into a new audience of younger readers; his editorial board came up with the idea of commissioning a novel set in the emerging skinhead subculture. In six days Moffatt wrote Skinhead. The book was an immediate hit, and many of its youthful readers were convinced that the author was a real hooligan, not a 55-year-old Canadian who always wore a jacket and tie and whose lurid tales of sex and street violence were written from the same seafront cottage in Sidmouth in which he also penned a column for the local paper. Soon after Skinhead Farewell Moffatt's real-life relationship with NEL came to an end.
Moffatt died of cancer in the early nineties, just at the time when the skinhead style was coming back into fashion.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2020
Having read all the six volumes over the lockdown period- This final cut of Allen stories is by the weakest of the volumes. Richard Allen's work all have a similar troupe of unlikeable sexist and racist characters, one-dimensional female support characters and disappointing endings. He is capable of a good story but occasionally he lets his personal views in such as favouring of scotch and frustrations as a Canadian living in the UK. such is the case with all the stories this book. skip Demo, and head straight to the other stories. I was glad to see the end of all these books i'd read of this period, but in you must dive into the world Allen's torrid tales of aggro, sex, and racism i would suggest reading in these volumes:
none of Volume 1's and 3's Joe Hawkins stories as they all rubbish.
Volume 2- Sorts and Knuckle Girls
Volume 4- Boot Boys (for the hilarious ending)
Volume 5- Dragon Skins and Punk Rock
Volume 6- Teeny Bopper Idol and Glam
none of Volume 1's and 3's Joe Hawkins stories as they all rubbish.
Volume 2- Sorts and Knuckle Girls
Volume 4- Boot Boys (for the hilarious ending)
Volume 5- Dragon Skins and Punk Rock
Volume 6- Teeny Bopper Idol and Glam
October 17, 2008
Richard Allen is an interesting figure in British pulp fiction literature. I discovered him via the works of Stewart Home, and it's fascinating to me that one can read about the youth subculture of London life via Allen's novels.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews