Playland

by Anthony Daly

Stylishly written and politically explosive, this is the haunting true story of a young man who moved to London to escape The Troubles in Ireland. Instead, he was fed into a living hell designed to satisfy the powerful, which destroyed the lives of everyone involved.

Genres: True Crime, Biography

363 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018

Reviews

[Luís · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Playland" is a shocking and essential new memoir from Anthony Daly, and I must say that as one who is not easily shocked, I was shocked as I read this book. This work is Daly's voice as he relates to us being part of a dark scandal in the heart of London's Soho in the 1970s. Daly came to London to escape the trials of living in his native Northern Ireland. He got a job at Foyles Bookshop and began a new life in England. However, because it was naïve, it soon dealt with predators looking for young men to blackmail and sexually exploit. The irony is that he left Ireland in hopes of a better and more accessible life and found one that was so much worse than he could have ever imagined. He was a victim of sexual and mental abuse by some of England's most influential men, and he had forcing to hide it. However, as time passed, the trauma became harder to contain as he witnessed other revelations of historic abuse coming to light on TV and in newspapers. Ultimately, he heard the voice he thought he had lost. He had been silent for forty years, and what he had to say was politically explosive. Yet, he has managed to tell all and to do so stylishly and with feeling (a feeling that I hope I never have). This work is a haunting true story of a young man's descent into a "hell designed to satisfy the powerful—a world which destroyed the lives of everyone involved.

[John Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave and well-written. If only his story was fictional, cleverly made up and at the very least exaggerated. I’d feel much better. Sadly, this is not the case.

Tony, a young Derry boy of 20, a book addict and a catholic, was keen to turn his back on the Irish troubles in the wake of Bloody Sunday. His girl friend was at college in England and he was walking on air, having secured a job at Foyles in the Antiquarian book department (interviewed by Ms Foyle, no less!) The future looked bright – London here I come.

This was 1975, the height of the IRA bombings on the mainland, not the best time to be Irish in London perhaps? A day or so into his new job he lost what little money he had - until his first pay day - and he was hungry. “Befriended” by two men, fed and watered and promised a loan to tide him over, he found himself working night and day. Foyles during the day and then satisfying the lusts of the rich and the powerful at night, many established household names. His ‘captors’ held all the trump cards, there was no escape for him apart from suicide.

I was living in London at the same time as all this was happening ...Scary! This story is shocking. Brave Tony managed to get his life back and somehow deal with all the scarring, physical and mental. Why hadn’t I heard more about Playland, (the name of the amusement arcade in central London where many very dodgy enterprises traded)?

And what of British Justice? You’ll have to look inside for the answers but hold your nose and breathe through your mouth. (and then say, if you dare: “I feel proud to be British”).

PS I wonder if Foyles are stocking the book. They don't exactly cover themselves in glory.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and harrowing memoir about the experiences the author had on his moving to London in 1975. Many famous names mentioned, with only a few having been prosecuted for their actions. Scary to think that such events go on more or less in plain sight, but recent high profile cases in many English cities, albeit with different clientele, suggest that nothing much has changed.

[Michelle B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartfelt, astonishing, eyeopening and sometimes graphic story of a 19 year old Derry teenager’s journey to London in the 1970’s where he got caught up in the dreadful world of male rape and coerced underage male prostitution.
By day Tony worked in Foyles Bookshop, by night he was passed around mainly high end clients (including cabinet ministers, lawyers and judges). Those who are dead have been named.
Why did he not walk away? He was threatened that he would be ‘fitted up’ for plotting with the IRA (at least two members of the Guildford four who were awaiting trial at the time had stayed in the same hostel as Tony and hysteria about the IRA was at its peak).
An excellent, although heart wrenching, read about life for those people forced to work in the sex industry and shows it is not just those from ‘poor, unsupportive families’ that can fall into this way of life.
Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly well-written and at the same time frustrating memoir. Mr. Daly is describing his brief period in 1975 working in Foyle's Bookshop in London during the day, and working the Meat-Rack by night, describing an underworld network of gangsterism revolving around slot machines, rent boys and the rich and famous. It is a riveting read- takes two sittings to get through all 363 pages but unfortunately Mr. Daly has conducted original research in the course of preparing the manuscript making it difficult to tell where his memory ends and original research as begun. The usual UK establishment names crop-up as closeted homosexuals if not out-and-out paedophiles: Havers, Hayman, Oldfield, Keith Joseph etc and the same locations are trotted out such as Dolphin Square, Kincora etc. If you're a follower of the recent UK-Irish sex scandals from Kincora to Savile and all points in between there is little contained herein that you didn't already know or at least suspect.
Without doing down Mr. Daly's experiences, or even his achievement with this book, the real story begins in the third part (Page 285) where all the strands of his sorrowful and occasionally touching tale suddenly make sense- the Playland trial, the cover-up, the gangsters, the arcade machine giants (Sega) and how they were/ are interlinked that I can't help feeling a trick has been missed here with this book.
Nevertheless it is still well worth a read, and hopefully can act as a springboard for further researches into an undoubtedly murky area of UK-Irish History.

[Beth Younge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book both fascinating and appalling. The grim description of the abuse that happened because of the Picadilly sex ring and the Troubles in Ireland was dreadful. I was shocked by it but the story was enthralling and kept me on the edge of my seat. The way that Daly wrote about the individuals he met brings them to life and it reminded me at times of The Very English Scandal, about the Jeremy Thorpe affair. I couldn't put this book down at all. It was enthralling and whilst it wasn't an enjoyable read, it was very interesting and informative.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Robin Newbold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely mind blowing book about the abuse of a young man at the hands of sexual predators in 1970s London. Daly names and shames his abusers, which stretch to the very top of the establishment. The only downside is that most of the accused are dead, so cannot be tried in a court of law to verify this heart-rending, totally engaging account.

The horrifying things related will stay with me a long time. I only hope by shining a light on this systematic abuse, it will help prevent such scandals occurring in the future.

[David Lowther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playland is a very well written memoir of a young Ulsterman who came to London when he was 20 to take up a job in Foyles bookshop and got enveloped in drink, drugs and working, involuntarily, as a male escort. Soon after his arrival he falls in with a couple of men, is drugged and then raped. He's then blackmailed into becoming the property of a succession of men who either use him for sex or hire him out to others for the same purpose.

Daly paints a bleak picture of the second half of the 1970s when there was unemployment, massive industrial unrest, police corruption, Irish terrorism, sordid sex and, at the end of the decade, Margaret Thatcher. As a young Irishman living in London, the author was easy to blackmail although he had nothing whatsoever to do with the IRA and, at no time, did he ever contemplate becoming involved with them.

The current sexual inquiry into allegations of historic sexual abuse by establishment members probably focusses, in part, on this period and the author does name names but, of course, these people are dead. One of the strengths of the book is that he paints a sympathetic portrait of one or two high profile figures with whom he had a relationship, although most are painted as they were; exploitative rapists. The role of organised crime in the rent boy rackets is interestingly told.

Overall Playland is an interesting read albeit, at times, a confused narrative which, on reflexion, is probably how the young man felt in the London of the 1970s.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and the Summer of '39.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you @netgalley for the option to read this book as an arc. It was definitely interesting to read the story about his life and what happened. It just amazes me how there are such things happening in this world! I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to anyone looking to read this type of book.

[Alex Vogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was also published under the title "The Abuse of Power - A True Story of Sex and Scandal at the heart of London's Elite". I prefer the more subtle design of the first edition, but the abuse of power is indeed at the core of this account.

This is a story of corruption in all its forms (aka politics lol). It's about corrupt people without any conceivable conscience or ethical compass, driven by self-interest and greed, either being in positions of power themselves or under the protection of those in power. It's about people who are so well-connected that they have no qualms to break the law over and over again, abuse and exploit others (especially those who would need protection most) with a sense of sickening entitlement, and still walk away, their reputation untarnished, protected by those in key positions.

Sadly, Playland is of course just a snapshot in time, as these very same patterns of corruption, abuse of power, entitlement and cover-ups are as alive and kicking today as they were back then. I can't commend the author enough for sharing his story and for doing his own research. It takes a massive amount of courage, especially in the face of such overwhelming adversaries. This considered, it's almost a miracle that the book was published at all.

I have more thoughts on it all but I'll leave it at that. Whilst many things didn't come as much of a surprise, the injustice and depravity of it all did get to me more than I expected. This book will stay with me for a while.

[Simon Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book regarding the Playland scandal of the 70’s/80’s from someone who was lured into it.

The more surreal and unbelievable parts of the narrative are backed up by facts, proof and evidence which just goes to show that truth really is stranger than fiction.

Mr Daly has an amazing writing style and has really done his research.

I hope the stunning book he’s written will go some way in helping him comprehend and come to terms with his past. I sincerely hope so.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to say negative things about books like this because it is a memoir of someone's suffering particularly when it involves sexual abuse. I can vaguely remember the Playland scandal, it wasn't the only rent boy (and I realise that even using that term now is wrong) how they were handled is shameful - attitudes towards sexp0loitation have changed, probably not enough, but some and in particular it is recognised that power, not sex, is the most important factor.

I have no doubt that Mr. Daly did not receive justice, what I don't believe is that there was any sort of real establishment cover up or anyway widespread powerful pedophile group pulling strings behind the scenes. There was an old boy net work amongst everyone from politicians to police officers but it mirrored the same forces that could be found with sellers of insurance or property. That there were repulsive sexual deviants in parliament is true - but it was rooted in a broader culture of disinterest. To blame the machinations of a cabal for miscarriages of justice in sexual abuse cases is to excuse all the rest of us. We didn't care, if it involved boys we thought of them as queers and disliked the men and the boys equally, we closed our eyes. We didn't need the rich and powerful to hide things, we hide from the truth - don't forget that it was only 2016 that the UK started to examine the seamy underside of sexual abuse of young footballers by trainers and coaches and even then it the same old denials and excuses could still be heard.


(I have reviewe3d this book twice because it is listed twice on Goodreads and I posted my first review against the edition which first appeared - it was only later I found this one - I intend to leave both stand.)

'Playland' tries to see something bigger in an sad, sordid and ugly scandal a miscarriage of justice by powerful men. The truth is that society hated queers and didn't care about what was done to queer young men. They were all as bad as each other. We all connived in denial, there were powerful men who used the UK's powerful libel laws in the days before the internet and social media to prevent their secrets getting out - for those younger then 45 or from outside the UK I suggest googling Cyril Smith MP a monster who everyone knew was a monster (I heard it from those working on the Nigel Dempster column in the mid-1980's) but no one would touch - not because they were monsters but because they didn't really care - and let me emphasise the rest of us didn't care.

This book has story to tell, but it aims to high and directs its blame in the wrong places. The past is a very different country and a very ugly one at times.