Door Wars

The men who ran the doors of Britain's nightclubs, and the wars fought over who stood on them.

1. Wigan: Mick Lyons and the 'Firm' · In the 1990s one man dominated door security in Wigan. Mick Lyons, a former miner, had worked the doors since the 1970s, and at his peak he controlled more than 100 doormen. Contracts, venues and territory sat under his
2. Salford: Paul Massey v Paul Doyle · Paul Massey and Paul Doyle were once like brothers. In the early 1980s they fought older villains together for respect and reputation. By the early 1990s they were on opposite sides of a war over the doors of Salford and
3. London: Cass Pennant v the South London Gangsters · Cass Pennant stepped out of the Albany nightclub in Deptford, South London, and something felt wrong. For two decades he had moved through two of Britain's most violent worlds, football hooliganism and nightclub security
4. Essex: Lew Yates v Essex's Deadliest Gangsters · Lew Yates was built like a tank: short, but broad and thickset, with powerful shoulders and legs like tree trunks. He was a northern powerhouse who could fight, and as a northerner working the doors down south he needed
5. Newcastle: Geordie Gangsters v the Bouncers · Viv Graham was five foot ten and built like a bodybuilder, but what made him dangerous was his speed. His hands were unnaturally fast, and one punch was usually enough. In the late 1980s he worked the doors of Newcastle,