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Bournemouth 90
It's April 1990 and the world is changing. Margaret Thatcher clings to power in the face of poll tax protests, prison riots and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. The Berlin wall has fallen, South Africa's Apartheid government is crumbling and in the Middle East Saddam Hussein is flexing his muscles, while Iran is still trying to behead Salman Rushdie.
In Leeds, United are closing in on a long-awaited return to the first division. Neil Yardsley is heading home after three years away and hoping to go straight.
That's the plan, but Neil finds himself being drawn back into a world of football violence, and finds a brother up to his neck in the drug culture of the rave scene. Dark family secrets bubble to the surface as Neil tries to help his brother dodge a gangland death sentence, while struggling to keep his own head above water in a city that no longer feels like home.
The pressure is building with all roads leading to the south coast, and a final reckoning on a red-hot Bank Holiday weekend in Bournemouth that no one will ever forget.
Dark, uncompromising crime fiction from a time when it was still grim up north.
In Leeds, United are closing in on a long-awaited return to the first division. Neil Yardsley is heading home after three years away and hoping to go straight.
That's the plan, but Neil finds himself being drawn back into a world of football violence, and finds a brother up to his neck in the drug culture of the rave scene. Dark family secrets bubble to the surface as Neil tries to help his brother dodge a gangland death sentence, while struggling to keep his own head above water in a city that no longer feels like home.
The pressure is building with all roads leading to the south coast, and a final reckoning on a red-hot Bank Holiday weekend in Bournemouth that no one will ever forget.
Dark, uncompromising crime fiction from a time when it was still grim up north.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2021
2 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Billy Morris
7 books1 followerBilly Morris was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1966. He left Leeds in the late 1990's and has lived and worked in Europe and USA. He now lives mainly in South East Asia with regular visits back to Yorkshire.
He wrote his first book 'Bournemouth 90' in 2021 and published the sequel, LS92, in 2022. The books open the 'Eighties Leeds' series - Gritty crime fiction set against the backdrop of a northern English city trying to reinvent itself, as its once famous football team emerges from a period in the doldrums to reclaim its position at the forefront of European football.
In September 2023 Morris published LS65. A prequel to the first two books, the story is set in 1965 and finds one of the key characters from Bournemouth90 arriving in Leeds as a teenager at the height of the swinging 60's. Mods and Rockers, scooters, dance halls and pills form the backdrop to the tale as Alan Connolly tries to establish himself in the criminal underworld while battling his own demons.
Paris 75 is the fourth and final book in the 'Eighties Leeds series'. Set ten years after LS65 and fifteen years before Bournemouth 90, the book contrasts the declining fortunes of the city of Leeds during the economic turmoil of the mid 1970's with the achievements of its football team, who are now chasing the elusive dream of a European cup victory. On the streets of Leeds, a gangland feud spirals out of control and leaves Alan Connolly trying to stay one step ahead of the police, special branch, the Provisional IRA and the demons in his own head.
"If you like crime thrillers with a touch of terrace culture you will enjoy the journey these books take you on."
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR - "I'm often asked which order the 4 'Eighties Leeds' books should be read in. Although each book is a standalone story, so can be read individually, they do feature some of the same characters and reference is occasionally made to previous storylines. I would therefore say that either LS65 (the earliest date in the timeline) or Bournemouth90 (the first book written) are the obvious places to start."
'Birdsong on Holbeck Moor' is Morris's first standalone story, set during the tumultuous period at the end of World War 1. The Leeds Pals have been decimated at the Somme and the soldiers who survived return to find a city in the grip of a global pandemic, with food rationing, unemployment and a football team facing expulsion from the league due to financial irregularities during the war years. Throw in an unhealthy dose of corruption, inter-city gang wars and witchcraft and you have the makings of a dark, gritty, Edwardian thriller.
Morris's 6th book, Spotter, published in April 2025, moves into the new millenium, but follows the same gritty fact-meets-fiction formula of his previous work. It's April 2001. The city of Leeds is reinventing itself as an economic powerhouse, and David O'Leary's young United side are conquering Europe in the champions league. For PC Charlie Mills it couldn't be better time to return to his home town as Leeds' football intelligence 'spotter.' But Charlie and the city have a dark history and when a local gang leader is released from prison to unleash a reign of terror, Charlie is forced to revisit his past and question whose side he's on… and try to remember who he really is.
Morris's latest book is nineteen85, released in Nov 2025. The latest story is set against the usual football background with Leeds United languishing in the second division, in a decaying stadium plagued by the worst hooligans in the country. Margaret Thatcher's government have beaten the miners and the IRA bombers but social unrest is rising. Adversity represents opportunity for 3 men - a politician, a tabloid reporter and a local crime boss who wants to own a football club. 3 men trying to manage a situation which is spiralling out of control in an era of greed, power and corruption.
Follow the author on Twitter @Yorkshire_Tales and Facebook BillyMorrisAuthor
He wrote his first book 'Bournemouth 90' in 2021 and published the sequel, LS92, in 2022. The books open the 'Eighties Leeds' series - Gritty crime fiction set against the backdrop of a northern English city trying to reinvent itself, as its once famous football team emerges from a period in the doldrums to reclaim its position at the forefront of European football.
In September 2023 Morris published LS65. A prequel to the first two books, the story is set in 1965 and finds one of the key characters from Bournemouth90 arriving in Leeds as a teenager at the height of the swinging 60's. Mods and Rockers, scooters, dance halls and pills form the backdrop to the tale as Alan Connolly tries to establish himself in the criminal underworld while battling his own demons.
Paris 75 is the fourth and final book in the 'Eighties Leeds series'. Set ten years after LS65 and fifteen years before Bournemouth 90, the book contrasts the declining fortunes of the city of Leeds during the economic turmoil of the mid 1970's with the achievements of its football team, who are now chasing the elusive dream of a European cup victory. On the streets of Leeds, a gangland feud spirals out of control and leaves Alan Connolly trying to stay one step ahead of the police, special branch, the Provisional IRA and the demons in his own head.
"If you like crime thrillers with a touch of terrace culture you will enjoy the journey these books take you on."
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR - "I'm often asked which order the 4 'Eighties Leeds' books should be read in. Although each book is a standalone story, so can be read individually, they do feature some of the same characters and reference is occasionally made to previous storylines. I would therefore say that either LS65 (the earliest date in the timeline) or Bournemouth90 (the first book written) are the obvious places to start."
'Birdsong on Holbeck Moor' is Morris's first standalone story, set during the tumultuous period at the end of World War 1. The Leeds Pals have been decimated at the Somme and the soldiers who survived return to find a city in the grip of a global pandemic, with food rationing, unemployment and a football team facing expulsion from the league due to financial irregularities during the war years. Throw in an unhealthy dose of corruption, inter-city gang wars and witchcraft and you have the makings of a dark, gritty, Edwardian thriller.
Morris's 6th book, Spotter, published in April 2025, moves into the new millenium, but follows the same gritty fact-meets-fiction formula of his previous work. It's April 2001. The city of Leeds is reinventing itself as an economic powerhouse, and David O'Leary's young United side are conquering Europe in the champions league. For PC Charlie Mills it couldn't be better time to return to his home town as Leeds' football intelligence 'spotter.' But Charlie and the city have a dark history and when a local gang leader is released from prison to unleash a reign of terror, Charlie is forced to revisit his past and question whose side he's on… and try to remember who he really is.
Morris's latest book is nineteen85, released in Nov 2025. The latest story is set against the usual football background with Leeds United languishing in the second division, in a decaying stadium plagued by the worst hooligans in the country. Margaret Thatcher's government have beaten the miners and the IRA bombers but social unrest is rising. Adversity represents opportunity for 3 men - a politician, a tabloid reporter and a local crime boss who wants to own a football club. 3 men trying to manage a situation which is spiralling out of control in an era of greed, power and corruption.
Follow the author on Twitter @Yorkshire_Tales and Facebook BillyMorrisAuthor
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 22, 2023
I'm writing this review after just finishing the book. I only started reading it yesterday morning, I honestly couldn't put it down.
Let's be honest, this book is intended for a target audience, namely Leeds United supporters. So as a member of that target audience, I don't want my review to be biased solely based on the book being about the football club I support. But I must say, this was an excellent read.
As a Leeds fan who was born in the early 90's, I grew up hearing stories about that chaotic weekend on the Dorset coast on that sunny bank holiday in May 90 and what going to football in those days was like, but this book took the stories and the descriptions to a whole other level.
The excellent and detailed descriptions and story-telling from Billy Morris made me feel like I was there amongst all the chaos, as well as being in the city of Leeds in a dark and gritty era for the city, which was trying to find itself at the dawn of a new decade after years of Thatcherism.
The bleak and hopelessness felt across the city at that time comes across superbly in this book, and I loved hearing all the old names of the pubs that no longer serve the city that my dad and uncle used to drink in.
The story itself was superb, which actually was a pleasant surprise. Being completely honest, I thought this book was just going to be a simple story of a football match that had "some trouble", but it was so much more than that. It was emotional, thrilling, exciting. You really felt attached and invested in the characters.
I highly recommend this book to all Leeds United supporters and have been doing so since I finished it, but more than that, I recommend this book to football supporters of all clubs and even people who don't like football. You won't be disappointed.
Let's be honest, this book is intended for a target audience, namely Leeds United supporters. So as a member of that target audience, I don't want my review to be biased solely based on the book being about the football club I support. But I must say, this was an excellent read.
As a Leeds fan who was born in the early 90's, I grew up hearing stories about that chaotic weekend on the Dorset coast on that sunny bank holiday in May 90 and what going to football in those days was like, but this book took the stories and the descriptions to a whole other level.
The excellent and detailed descriptions and story-telling from Billy Morris made me feel like I was there amongst all the chaos, as well as being in the city of Leeds in a dark and gritty era for the city, which was trying to find itself at the dawn of a new decade after years of Thatcherism.
The bleak and hopelessness felt across the city at that time comes across superbly in this book, and I loved hearing all the old names of the pubs that no longer serve the city that my dad and uncle used to drink in.
The story itself was superb, which actually was a pleasant surprise. Being completely honest, I thought this book was just going to be a simple story of a football match that had "some trouble", but it was so much more than that. It was emotional, thrilling, exciting. You really felt attached and invested in the characters.
I highly recommend this book to all Leeds United supporters and have been doing so since I finished it, but more than that, I recommend this book to football supporters of all clubs and even people who don't like football. You won't be disappointed.
September 25, 2024
This was a very entertaining read for me. The story is a mixture of real life history with a fictional plot sprinkled in as well. After reading the book and watching a few YouTube videos, I was able to match certain points of the book to the scenes captured in the news special that I watched.
The book almost seemed like I was watching a movie, as it was broken up into small “scenes” that allow a reader to experience a level of tension that rises and falls. I don’t think the twists in this book were hard to see coming, so that’s why it is a four for me. There’s nothing wrong with that however, as I don’t always read to walk away with an epiphany. I am excited to continue the series from this author, and I’m looking forward to starting LS92 next.
The book almost seemed like I was watching a movie, as it was broken up into small “scenes” that allow a reader to experience a level of tension that rises and falls. I don’t think the twists in this book were hard to see coming, so that’s why it is a four for me. There’s nothing wrong with that however, as I don’t always read to walk away with an epiphany. I am excited to continue the series from this author, and I’m looking forward to starting LS92 next.
September 13, 2021
Kept me guessing till the final chapter and I didn't see the end coming. Probably more enjoyable if you're familiar with the city of Leeds, especially how it was in the early 90's, though it would probably be interesting for those who didn't know it back then to read to see how things have changed. Another element which will surprise those not around is how difficult it was to stay ion touch before mobile ohones. In fact, the storyline really centres around the fact that you couldnt communicate with people when they weren't at home in the way we now take for granted. If mobiles were around then it would have saved Neil a whole lot of trouble!
December 30, 2022
Evocative snapshot of a memorable period in time for anyone who lived in Leeds at the start of the 90s. Well worth a read especially of you followed LUFC back then but good for anyone who remembers the late 80s/early 90s.
September 5, 2024
Decent read but wasn’t what I was looking for.
October 15, 2022
Good storyline, believable characters and a plot which kept you guessing until the twist at the end. Earthy and atmospheric, Morris conjures up images of Leeds in the late 80s that are often stark and brutal. The novel encompasses a range of themes including terrace culture, the rave scene, family secrets and a sense of wanting to belong to a tribe or gang. I've read this and the sequel, LS92 and enjoyed them both.
June 16, 2022
An entertaining story built which culminates around the events of the Bournemouth v Leeds match in May 1990. As a Bournemouth fan who was there, it's still a very resonant memory. A Yorkshire 'Lock, Stock' with a fair amount of dramatic licence, particularly with the attempt to make Dorset Plod the villains of the piece! As far as the scenes in Bournemouth are concerned though, the depiction of the town, the bars and the scenes on the day it is as accurate as I remember it, so kudos to the author for that.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews