UPDATE: Sadly Cliff Field passed away yesterday (31.10.10) just days before the release of his biography. Our thoughts and prayers are with those nearest to him at this time.

A cut above the rest - the Cliff Field story isthe biography of Dunstable legend Cliff Field - tipped by many as being the true guv'nor from the unlicensed fight game. ABA Naval champion, professional heavyweight boxer and unlicensed fighter, Cliff Field is the very essence of a warrior and this is a true account of his life in and out of the ring.

People often ask me, "Roy, who is the real guv'nor, you or Lenny McLean?" They usually look confused when I reply "Cliff Field"

Roy Shaw

The book is available to buy - HERE

Featuring Jamie O'Keefe & Paul Knight

In this increasingly violent and troubled world, people demand to be respected. But what is exactly is respect? Is it learned or earned? How do you go from being a 'nobody' to a 'somebody'? How do you respect others and equally how can you get other people to respect you? Can you only be truly respected if you have a reputation? There is probably no one more qualified to talk about respect and reputation in prison than Charles Bronson. Tagged one of the most violent prisoners in the UK, Charlie has spent over thirty years in solitary confinement, is respected by both prisoners and wardens alike and has a fearsome and frightening reputation. In complete contrast, although he has spent much of his life surrounded by violence, former bouncer and bodyguard Robin Barratt would now prefer to take a passive path away from any conflict. In this fascinating book, Barratt and Bronson examine in detail respect and reputation including how to behave in prison, how to treat other prisoners, how to be a great door supervisor, when to show respect, how to gain the respect of others and ultimately how to develop an awesome reputation both in prison, on the doors and in life generally. With lots of real life anecdotes as well as contributions from many other hard men (and a few women), this gripping book takes its reader into the psychology of a world rarely explored.

The book is available to buy - HERE

Featuring Paul Knight

Bouncers and Bodyguards is a collection of astonishing true stories about the tough world of personal protection and nightclub doors from some of Britain’s most notorious figures. Read how Charlie Bronson helped his friends out on the doors of his local in the early ’70s before being banged up for well over 30 years; how Ken Wharfe, personal bodyguard to the late Princess Diana, spent his life in Special Branch looking after royalty and diplomats worldwide; how Manchester gangster Mickey Francis ran most of the city’s doors back in the ’80s; and how a top British security firm advertised for bouncers for a high-risk ‘suicide’ operation in central Baghdad. By turns funny, sad and shocking, these candid accounts were written exclusively for this publication by individuals who have spent much of their working lives in what is a volatile, violent and frequently unpredictable industry. Compiled by former bodyguard, ex-mercenary and well-known nightclub bouncer Robin Barratt, Bouncers and Bodyguards is an exposé of an infamous twilight world about which rumours have often circulated. The truth has never really been uncovered – until now.

The book is available to buy - HERE

Featuring Jamie O'Keefe

Bouncers. Reviled, feared and admired in equal measure – yet rarely are their voices heard. What they can’t tell their customers, their bosses or the cops, they have now told Julian Davies and Terry Currie.

From the nervous first-nighter to the hardened veteran, here are the unforgettable voices of dozens of door staff from across the UK and abroad…the drugs, girls and gangs…the doorwars, reprisals and straighteners…the sex mad groupies and broken marriages…the hardmen, nutters, cowards and bullies…the tragedies, the camaraderie and the grim humour of a dangerous, thankless job.

From the bow tie-and-knuckleduster days of the Sixties to the huge security firms of today, Bouncers tells it like it is working the doors of pub and club land.

The book is available to buy - HERE

UPDATE: This book is no longer available to purchase.

WANTED: My life on the run as Billy Boy Yates

Billy Martindale, son of renowned fighter Lew 'Wild Thing' Yates, adopted the alias 'Yates' in recognition of his father's professional name whilst he worked the doors, when a string of misdemeanours from an adolescent age caused Billy to hide his true identity.

This amazing true story of one man's survival on the run and living life under the radar will test your emotions as Billy's life of abandonment, misery, violence, adventure and luck will have you laughing at his comical pranks, crying at his pain and in awe of his life amongst some of Britain's most notorious villains.

A harrowing story detailing the path of a young boy from the East End of London who began his journey experiencing bullying, discrimination, racism, violence, crime, suicide, drugs, alcoholism, and being sent away for burning down his family home.

After his period in a children's home he began secondary education at the prestigious ‘London Nautical’ Naval Academy. From then on his life around violence moved to the next level with Jamie clocking up over 300 street fights before reaching adulthood.

Through necessity Jamie took up the martial arts and pressure tested his new found abilities through the 15 years he spent as a doorman plus 30 years within the fighting arts. It took over three decades for Jamie to come to terms with the cards he had been dealt in life and this book tells how this apprenticeship served to nurture the role model you see today.

For over three decades Jamie swam against the tide battling through every hurdle thrown at him, to become a leading authority within the fighting arts. Throughout this journey he achieved his 7th Dan Black Belt, had his own column in both leading UK Martial Arts magazines, and was inducted into the Combat 'Hall of Fame' three times for his 25 years of contribution to the fighting arts.

Read this book and discover how goodness can come from bad.

The book is available to buy - HERE

This book chronicles the extraordinary life, exploits and adventures of Billy Michaels. Born into a family steeped in nefarious deeds and activity, Billy's fate was cast from the cradle, questioning whether it's genetics that provides a life pattern, or just fate. Billy learns the hard way that by fulfilling his bloodline's destiny, a life of crime and violence can get you where you want to be. Proving the fact that brain can beat brawn, schoolboy Billy falls in as a leader of the local gang, moving from demanding treats with menace from local vendors to running the neighbourhood drug trade. Billy, learning the tricks of his predestined trade from masters in the field, proves to be quite adept and effective in this endeavour. As his firm work their way up the criminal food chain, their futures appear to be nothing more than a litany of successful and profitable capers, events as they would have anticipated weren't exactly as they expected. After the overdose of one of his closest friends, Billy embarks on a drunken path of violent redemption, which leads him to the dark world of vice and security. By the time the end comes to his teenage years, Billy has witnessed death, experienced loss, repaid emotional debts and found the true meaning of sacrifice. This is the story of Billy Michaels, his East End heritage and his love for his brothers and extended family. A family that becomes at odds with choices made and sides taken within the criminal world that serves to destroy the oaths and family ties made by love and blood. As all their unflinching attitudes to life and the acceptance of 'normality' which those on the outside may think immoral and destructive become common practise. This is the Billy Michaels story, the animal from the concrete jungle.

The book is available to buy - HERE

About the Author Jamie O'Keefe has spent 28 years studying, training and teaching the Fighting Arts. He presently holds the rank of 7th Dan black belt with the 'The Self Defence Federation' and is the chief instructor of his own 'New Breed system of Self Protection.' Additionally he is also a former bouncer and has spent 15-years working the door. Whilst working as a doorman Jamie studied and gained his City & Guilds 'Further and adult education teachers certificate' and then his Cert ed. 'Certificate in Education and training' from Greenwich University. He is also an NVQ D32 D32 Assessor and 'Founder fellow of the Society of Martial Arts, (F.S.M.A.) Jamie has written many articles for Martial Arts magazines and is a former columnist for 'Martial arts illustrated and regular columnists with Combat magazine.' He has also been featured in 'Later' and 'Front' magazines. He has also appeared on BBC radio and on Television as an authority on Self-protection. Plus he also features in the ITV seven week series 'Bouncers'.Jamie was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame three times for his 25 years dedication and promotion of the Martial Arts worldwide. He has spent the best part of his life in contact with people displaying anger in some shape or form and has now put pen to paper in the hope that he can put his own, and many other people's anger to rest.

The book is available to buy - HERE

NEW BREED BOOKS

Around thirty years ago a girl informed the young Jamie O'Keefe that her father was sexually abusing her. That weight of information was something really hard for Jamie to come to terms with, especially as the girl was his younger sister and the abuser, his father. He was upset and confused and passed on this information about the abuse to his mother and then set a fire and burnt down the family home. The police arrived and that was the last time that he saw his father. His mother remarried a violent and abusive male that believed physical violence was acceptable as part and parcel of a marriage.

Since he was ten years old Jamie has always had to deal with his childhood memories that females suffer at the hands of some men. He spent 28 years studying and learning the fighting arts and hoped that he would one day be able to help females deal with male attackers. In 1996 he released this, his first ever book 'Dogs don't know kung fu' which he dedicated to all female and to aid his own daughter Kirsty for when she grows up. To date this book has never been equaled and is the standard reference text within female self protection. If you care for any female be it friend or family and you want to do your bit to help keep them safe from the male abuser, bully and rapist, them buy them this book. It will be the best gift you will ever give to a female because it will give them the gift of a safer life!

The book is available to buy - HERE